Moments with Melinda: Interview with Shirley Jefferson

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From Melinda Moulton:

Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) named longtime professor and administrator Shirley Jefferson JD’86 Vice President for Community Engagement and Government Affairs. Jefferson is the school’s first ever vice president of color.

In the newly created position, Jefferson reports directly to the VLGS president while providing strategic insight and advice to the school’s senior leadership regarding local, state, and federal government matters, community issues, and efforts for the enrichment of society and intercultural understanding.

“One of the first things I learned at VLGS was that Shirley Jefferson is the school’s heart and soul,” said VLGS President Smolla. “Building strong relationships with the community will be more important than ever and nobody is better suited to being the ‘ambassador’ of Vermont Law and Graduate School than Shirley Jefferson. Her passion for educating students who want to be catalysts for change is unmatched and infectious."

A nationally sought after speaker and adviser on matters relating to race and the law and equitable access to legal education, Jefferson is a member of the Vermont State College Board of Trustees and Vermont State Policy Advisory Commission. She is a multiple-time winner of the Women’s Law Group Phenomenal Woman Award, recipient of the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) Edge Diversity Award, and National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair Legal Education Access & Diversity Champion award winner, among many other honors.

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