Join us for a conversation with Vanita Gup ta\, Judge Dale Ho\, and Boston City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune ‘14\, thre e panelists who have built remarkable public service and civil rights caree rs in varied ways. Come learn about how they got started\, what has shaped their career trajectories\, and what advice they have for law students inte rested in pursuing similar paths.
This event is sponsored by the Rac e & Law Clinic
Lunch provided. Please RSVP https://app.smartsheet.co m/b/form/01a08c88949175798c01eeae1de589a9
Open only to the HLS commun ity.
If you require a disability-related accommodation\, please cont act HLS Accessibility Services at accessibility@law.harvard.edu two weeks i n advance of the event.
JUDGE DALE HO
Dale Ho is a United State
s District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Prior to being app
ointed as a federal judge\, he was the Director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights
Project. In that capacity\, he supervised the ACLU’s voting rights litiga
tion nationwide\, including arguing two cases before the United States Supr
eme Court. He is the first lawyer to be appointed as an Article III judge
directly from the ACLU since Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the D.C.
Circuit.
Prior to his work at the ACLU\, Judge Ho was Assistant Counse
l at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund\; an associate at Fried\, Frank\, Harris\
, Shriver & Jacobson LLP\; and a judicial law clerk\, to Judge Barbara S. J
ones\, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York\, a
nd to Judge Robert S. Smith\, at the New York Court of Appeals.
Judge
Ho has served as an adjunct professor at NYU School of Law\, Brooklyn Law S
chool\, and New York Law School. He has published articles in law reviews i
ncluding the Yale Law Journal Forum and the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Libe
rties Law Review.
Judge Ho is the recipient of the 2020 Asian Law Alli
ance Legal Impact Award\, and the 2019 National Asian Pacific American Bar
Association (NAPABA) President’s Award. In 2018\, he was named to the New
York City Charter Revision Commission. In 2017\, he was named one of the be
st Asian American Lawyers under 40 by NAPABA. He is a graduate of Yale Law
School and Princeton University.
VANITA GUPTA
Vanita Gupta is a
Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Director of the Center for Law and
Public Trust at NYU Law. She also directs Nonprofits Together\, an initiati
ve she launched in 2025 to protect civil society organizations defending th
e rule of law and vulnerable communities. Gupta served as the 19th Associat
e Attorney General of the United States (2021–2024)\, the third ranking lea
der of the Justice Department\, overseeing a dozen civil litigating and gra
ntmaking divisions as well as initiatives on gun violence reduction\, polic
e reform\, reproductive rights\, and environmental justice. Previously\, sh
e was President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rig
hts and served as the DOJ Civil Rights Division's leader during the Obama a
dministration. Earlier\, she was deputy legal director at the ACLU and assi
stant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund\, she helped overturn wrongfu
l convictions in Tulia\, Texas. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale C
ollege and NYU Law.
BOSTON CITY COUNCILOR RUTHZEE LOUIJEUNE
Bost
on City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune is working to build a just and
equitable Boston. The daughter of Haitian immigrants\, she was raised in M
attapan and Hyde Park\, attended Boston Public Schools\, and began civic wo
rk at 14 with MYTOWN. An experienced lawyer\, she has represented families
facing eviction\, advanced voting rights before the U.S. Supreme Court\, an
d served as senior attorney on Senator Warren's presidential campaign. As C
ouncilor At-Large\, she fights for affordable housing\, immigrant support\,
and racial equity. As former Council President\, Ruthzee has advanced anti
-displacement through the Acquisition Opportunity Program\, codified the Of
fice of Returning Citizens\, and expanded civic participation through Ranke
d Choice Voting. She is Boston's first Haitian American elected citywide an
d a proud graduate of Harvard and Columbia.