I write to introduce myself as the inaugural Executive Director of the Edley Center on Law and Democracy at UC Berkeley Law. I began work yesterday and I look forward to continuing the Center’s strong start over the last academic year and to meeting the dangerous moment facing American democracy now. Faculty Co-Director Dan Farber and incoming Co-Director Bertrall Ross, and I, are in active conversation about the direction and urgent work of the Center. And in fact on my first day Professor Farber submitted an important public comment about the democracy impacts of five regulations the U.S. Department of Energy has proposed to limit the effectiveness and reach of federal protections against race, sex, and disability discrimination.  I look forward to work, as well, with Dean Chemerinsky, the Faculty Advisory Board, and with Berkeley Law’s talented students when they return in August.

The Center has significant programming and publications planned for the coming months, which we are eager to share with you. And we hope to grow our staffing to match our ambition for intervening in the current crisis of civics education and public knowledge regarding democracy principles. The Edley Center will be devoted to protections and effective guardrails to sustain and advance the rule of law, to bring the nation to experience – for all of us – the nation’s highest aspirations to equality; fair, effective, and responsive governance; and a government that responsibly serves all its constituents.

With your help and support, we look forward to every day of democracy sustenance to come. Onward!

You can reach me at celhamon@berkeley.edu and at Berkeley School of Law should you be on campus. I look forward to collaboration in pursuit of a just democracy.

Take care in this time.

Catherine E. Lhamon

Executive Director