Lia Epperson

Lia Beth Epperson is an American civil rights lawyer and Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law. She previously served as the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs at the law school. Epperson served as Director for Education Litigation and Policy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 2001–2005.[1] Her scholarship focuses primarily on federal courts and educational policies with regard to race.[2] Epperson was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and an Institute of Advanced Studies Fellow at Collegium de Lyon.[3][4] Epperson has authored multiple amicus briefs for the Supreme Court of the United States related to affirmative action and education law.[3][5][6]

Lia Beth Epperson
Born
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Other namesLia Epperson Jealous
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationProfessor of Law
Home townPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Spouse(s)
Benjamin Jealous
​
(
m. 2002; div. 2015)
Children2
Parent(s)Dr. David E. Epperson and Cecelia T. Epperson
Relatives
Academic background
Education
Academic work
DisciplineLegal scholar
Institutions
Main interestscivil rights, education law, constitutional law, public law

Early life and education

Epperson grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[7] alongside sister Sharon Epperson. Epperson's father, Dr. David E. Epperson, was the Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh for nearly 30 years and was the first African-American dean at the school.[8][9] Her mother was a first-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in Pittsburgh.[9]

Epperson attended Harvard University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and graduated magna cum laude.[9][3] While at Harvard, Epperson joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first historically African-American Greek-lettered sorority, of which her sister, Sharon, was also a member.[10][11] In her senior year, Epperson received the Bayard Rustin Fellowship.[12][6] She later attended Stanford University School of Law, receiving a juris doctor in 1998.[9][6] At Stanford, Epperson worked as an editor of the Stanford Law Review and the Stanford Law and Policy Review.[3] Prior to graduating, Epperson was a Summer Associate at the Children's Defense Fund.[12] Epperson was admitted to the California State Bar on May 5, 1999, although her license is no longer active in the state.[13]

Career

After graduating from Stanford Law School, Epperson worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Timothy K. Lewis of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[3][6] Epperson and Lewis later served together as board members for The Constitution Project.[14] In 1991, Epperson began working as an associate at Morrison & Foerster in Palo Alto, California. Epperson litigated commercial and civil rights.[6] Additionally, she was a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco and the Peninsula.[12] From 2001–2005, Epperson served as the Director of Education Litigation and Policy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.[15][16]

Epperson began her career in academics in 2005, serving as an Associate Professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, teaching constitutional law until 2010.[6][17] While at Santa Clara, Epperson served on the Board Nominating Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Justice Fund Honorary Committee of the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center.[5] Epperson was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress from 2008–2010, conducting research that focused on federal civil rights enforcement of educational policies and practices.[3] From 2009–2010, Epperson also worked as a visiting professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. In 2010, Epperson began working at American University Washington College of Law. She previously served as Director of the Doctor of Juridical Science Program.[18] In addition, Epperson served as Senior Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs at the school.[3]

On several occasions, Epperson has been a panelist and correspondent on C-SPAN, discussing Supreme Court case Ricci v. DeStefano as well as public school integration.[19][20][21]

Publications

Books
  • Racial Discrimination in Education The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion (Richard A. Shweder ed., U. Chi. Press 2009).
  • The Rehnquist Court, the Resurrection of Plessy and the Elusive Definition of “Societal Discrimination" Awakening From the Dream: Pursuing Civil Rights in a Conservative Era (Denise C. Morgan et al. eds, Carolina Acad. Press 2006).
  • Biography of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander African American Lives (Henry Louis Gates & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham eds., Oxford U. Press 2004).

Articles
  • Resisting Retreat: A Trench-Level View of the Struggle for Equity in Educational Opportunity in the Post-Brown Era, 66 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 131 (2005).
  • True Integration: Advancing Brown's Goal of Educational Equity in the Wake of Grutter, 67 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 175 (2005-2006).
  • Undercover Power: Examining the Role of the Executive Branch in Determining the Meaning and Scope of School Integration Jurisprudence, 10 Berkeley J. Afr.-Am. L. & Pol'y 146 (2008).
  • Equality Dissonance, 7 Stan. J. Civ. Rights & Civ. Liberties 101 (2011).
  • New Legal Perspectives: Implications for Diversity in the Post-Grutter Era Diversity in American Higher Education: Toward a More Comprehensive Approach (Lisa M. Stulberg & Sharon L. Weinberg, eds., Routledge Press 2011).
  • Legislating Inclusion, 6 Harv. L. & Pol. Rev. 801 (2012).
  • Bringing the Market to Students? School Choice and Vocational Education in the 21st Century, 87 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1861 (2012).
  • The Promise and Pitfalls of Empiricism in Educational Equality Jurisprudence, 48 Wake Forest. L. Rev. 101 (forthcoming 2013).
  • Brown's Dream Deferred: Lessons on Democracy and Identity from Cooper v. Aaron to the School-to-Prison Pipeline, 49 Wake Forest L. Rev. 687 (2014).
  • Beware the Unintended Consequences: Government Transparency, Racial Data Collection, and Minority Rights in the United States and Abroad, Revue Internationale des Gouvernements Ouverts (2016).

Briefs
  • Brief for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. and the American Civil Liberties Union as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents, Grutter v. Bollinger, 5 Rutgers Race & L. Rev. 149 (2003).

Personal life
Epperson, Jealous, and their child in 2008

Epperson married Benjamin Jealous, the former president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), in July 2002.[22][9] Epperson and Jealous met in 1993, when Epperson replaced Jealous as the intern at the New York national office of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.[9] Epperson and Jealous have two children together, Morgan and Jack.[23][24][25] The couple divorced in 2015.[26][27] Epperson and Jealous remain amicable, and co-parent their two children.[28] Epperson is the sister of CNBC correspondent Sharon Epperson.[8]

Honors and awards
  • In 2013, she was the Honorary Chair for the Women in NAACP program at the NAACP National Convention.[29]
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See also
  • NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund

References
  1. "THE NAACP NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS RATIFIES THE CONTRACT OF ITS INCOMING PRESIDENT & CEO BENJAMIN TODD JEALOUS". NAACP. August 15, 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  2. Allen, Freddie (January 20, 2015). "Scholar says race-neutral approach needed for affirmative action". The Louisiana Weekly. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. "Lia Epperson". Collegium de Lyon. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  4. "Reaffirming the Role of School Integration in K-12 Public Education Policy: A Conversation Among Policymakers, Advocates and Educators". Howard University. November 13, 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  5. "Panelist Profiles". Berkeley Law. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  6. "After Advancing Civil Rights on National Field, Alumna Tackles New Challenge: Teaching" (PDF). CREATE CHANGE PUBLIC INTEREST AT STANFORD LAW SCHOOL. Spring 2005. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  7. Sciullo, Maria (September 3, 2012). "NAACP's leader assails voter ID in address here". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. Kalson, Sally. "Obituary: David E. Epperson / Longtime dean at University of Pittsburgh social work school". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  9. "Weddings:Lia Epperson, Ben Jealous". The New York Times. July 28, 2002. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  10. "Lia Epperson, Harvard student and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, enjoys the Annual Greek Festival". Northeastern University Photograph collection (A103) Student Life. May 2, 1992. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  11. Carrejo, Cate. "Who Is Sharon Epperson? The CNBC Correspondent Will Add A Lot To The GOP Debate". Bustle. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. "The Future". Ebony. Vol. LVII no. 2. Johnson Publishing Co. p. 123.
  13. "Attorney Licensee Profile Lia Beth Epperson". The State Bar of California. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  14. "Board Members: Lia Epperson". The Constitution Project. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  15. "What's Next for Affirmative Action in Higher Education?". The Century Foundation. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  16. Hart, Peter (February 19, 2004). "FEBRUARY 19, 2004 50 years later: Beyond Brown v. Board of Education". University of Pittsburgh University Times. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  17. "Lia Epperson". Santa Clara University. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  18. Blake, Sharon (May 22, 2014). "Pitt-Hosted Conference to Revisit Civil Rights Act". Pitt News Services. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  19. "Ricci v. DeStefano Racial Discrimination Case". C-SPAN. April 14, 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  20. "Supreme Court 2013 Term Review". C-SPAN. June 27, 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  21. "Public School Integration". C-SPAN. November 13, 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  22. "14 MOST INSPIRING BLACK COUPLES (2012 EDITION)". Black Love Forum. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  23. "5 things to know Monday". Pouoghkeepsie Journal. September 9, 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  24. Hond, Paul. "Justice's Son" (Spring 2013). Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  25. Eversley, Melanie (September 8, 2013). "NAACP chief Ben Jealous to resign, cites family reasons". USA Today. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  26. DuBose, Brooks (November 4, 2018). "Jealous aims to be Maryland's 1st African-American governor". The Star Democrat. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  27. Wiggins, Ovetta (June 6, 2018). "Ben Jealous: Sanders-style Democrat gains traction in Clinton-loving Md". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  28. Miner, Ryan (April 29, 2019). "Jealous campaign spokesman says attorney request was not intimidation". A Miner Detail. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  29. Lee, Lynn (July 27, 2013). "NAACP National Convention Highlights". Akron, Ohio: The Reporter. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
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