Executive Board

The LIDS Executive Board is composed of current students actively engaged in the organization. It is responsible for the overall management of the organization and implementation of its activities. Each spring semester, new co-presidents are elected and a new board is appointed for the following academic year.

Co-President: MELISSA FREEMAN

Melissa Freeman is in the class of 2017 at Harvard Law School. A California native, she studied English at UC Davis, and volunteered in Brazil after graduating. She then left Brazil to work at a study abroad agency in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while also interning at the Argentinean chapter of Transparency International.

Before joining the LIDS board, Melissa participated in two LIDS projects, one involving negotiations at the International Committee for the Red Cross and the other related to import and business regulations for a social enterprise. She is also on the board of the Social Enterprise Law Association at HLS and is spending her summer at a dispute resolution organization in Washington, DC, focusing on corporate-community relations.

As LIDS Co-Vice President for Professional Development, Melissa is working to expand and institutionalize development-oriented experiential opportunities for at HLS and solidify a development-focused network with students, related organizations and alumni.

Co-President: Ted Brackemyre

Ted Brackemyre is a member of the J.D. Class of 2017 at Harvard Law School. He was born and raised in Indiana and graduated from Indiana University in 2014, majoring in economics, history, and political science.

At HLS, Ted has been involved with the Trade Innovation Initiative, the Harvard ELSA WTO Moot Court Team, and the Harvard International Law Journal. Over the past two summers, he has worked as a judicial intern for Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu at the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City and then as a summer associate at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington D.C.

Ted’s international development interests center on the regulatory barriers facing enterprises and entrepreneurs in the developing world, particularly the possibility of removing those obstacles through the reform of existing trade agreements and administrative regimes.

Co-Vice President, Projects: Michael Harold

As a student at Fletcher, Michael is pursuing his Masters and Law & Diplomacy (MALD), with a focus on security studies and transboundary water conflict. Prior to heading back to school, Michael worked on Capitol Hill, serving in various capacities, finishing as the Legislative Director for a senior member of the House Ways & Means Committee. While on the Hill, Michael crafted, implemented and managed a successful legislative process, helping the Congressman earn the 2nd highest Legislative Effectiveness Score amongst House Democrats and secure one of the highest totals for numbers of bills passed into law by any Democrat in the 113th Congress. In addition to directly managing the legislative process for the Congressman, he served concurrently as the policy expert on all issues related to trade, foreign policy, development assistance, and defense for a member who, in addition to being a senior member of Ways & Means, also served for over a decade on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

CO-VICE PRESIDENT, PROJECTS: MICHAEL Maruca

Mike Maruca is a DC native who came to HLS via Yale and the Peace Corps in Morocco. He worked at the OECD Development Centre during a deferral year and is excited to work continue working in the international development field after graduation. He is interested in energy, health, education, and social enterprise in Africa.

Co-Vice President, Projects: Isabel Yang

Isabel Yang is a member of the Harvard Law School J.D. class of 2018. She received her MSc. in Economics for Development from Oxford University. In addition to serving on the executive board of LIDS, she is also an EC10 teaching fellow at the Economics Department of Harvard University.

Before coming to law school, she worked for two years as a Senior Economist for the National Treasury of South Africa (under the Ministry of Finance). Her main role included designing policy instruments to boost export competitiveness and proposing institutional configurations that would better accommodate the business needs of small and medium-sized export companies. She also worked alongside South Africa’s senior economic diplomats in supporting trade and investment positions that would optimize developmental impact. Isabel has also worked briefly for the World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Development Program.

As Co-Vice-President of Projects, Isabel generates, organizes, staffs, and oversees the development projects implemented each semester with partner organizations.

Vice President, Press & Media: Ashley Lee

Ashley Lee is a doctoral candidate and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she studies the Internet and youth’s civic and political expression. Ashley has worked on a number of international development projects with the U.N., focusing on labor and human rights, youth empowerment, and child protection. Ashley graduated from Stanford University’s School of Engineering with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

As Vice President of Press & Media, Ashley is responsible for media relations, coverage and promotion of LIDS events and projects, including on social media. Ashley is also responsible for managing LIDS Live.

Vice President, Finance: NAOMI CAMPBELL

Naomi Campbell is a member of the Harvard Law School J.D. class of 2017. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2012 with a B.A. in History and Political Science. Prior to law school, she was the Microdemocracy Fellow at the Right Question Institute and the Women’s Program Manager for a non-profit organization in Lima, Peru. She has worked on two projects since joining LIDS, researching communal land rights in Latin America and contributing to a report prepared for negotiations between coal mining companies and local communities in Colombia. She was also the Co-Vice President of Projects for 2015-2016.

Naomi spent the summer of 2015 in Bogotá, Colombia at the Programa de Acción por la Igualdad y la Inclusión Social (PAIIS), a disability rights legal clinic at the Universidad de los Andes School of Law. She spent the summer of 2016 working at the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices at the Department of Justice, and at Namati, a legal empowerment organization with a community paralegal model.

As Vice-President of Finance, Naomi procures financial support for LIDS activities and works on establishing new funding partnerships within Harvard and externally. She is also responsible for establishing LIDS’ budget and managing operating expenses.

Co-Vice President, Events (International Women’s Day): Kelsey Davidson

Kelsey Davidson is a joint degree J.D.-M.P.P. student graduating in 2018. She graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a B.A. in Political Science. Since joining LIDS, Kelsey worked directly on a project for the Afghan Independent Bar Association and, as co-VP of Events, planned last year’s Security and Development Symposium. She is also involved in the International Law Journal.

Prior to law school, Kelsey worked at the Center for International Security and Cooperation as the Research Assistant on the biography of George Shultz. During the summer of 2015, Kelsey worked at the International Institute for Counterterrorism in Israel. She spent her 1L summer at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California.

As Co-Vice-President of Events, Kelsey organizes events on behalf of LIDS – in particular the 2017 International Women’s Day celebrations.

Co-Vice President, Events (SYMPOSIUM): Molly Doggett

Molly Doggett is a member of the J.D. Class of 2017 at Harvard Law School. She is from Maryland and graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2012 with a degree in International Studies and a Spanish minor. Prior to attending law school, Molly worked as a paralegal/legal assistant at a law firm in Bethesda, Maryland.

At Harvard, Molly is a Research Assistant for the Program on International Law and Armed Conflict. This past summer, Molly was a summer associate at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. She has also held legal internships at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, and with the Public International Law and Policy Group in Istanbul, Turkey.

As the VP of Events (Symposium), Molly looks forward to planning and executing the fall 2016 LIDS symposium, entitled “Technology and Development.”

Vice President, Community: Sarah Dorman

Sarah Dorman is a member of the J.D. class of 2018 at Harvard Law School. She is interested in the intersection between good governance, development, and human rights. After earning her B.A. in political science from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, Sarah moved to Mexico to partner with community development organizations in Tlamacazapa, Guerrero and Cuernavaca, Morelos. She was later awarded a Fulbright grant to spend 15 months in Cairo, Egypt from 2010 to 2011, during which time she witnessed the Arab Spring and its aftermath firsthand. As a result, Sarah decided to remain in Cairo from 2011-2014 in order to join the International Advocacy Program of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. Her work with this Institute centered around monitoring ongoing abuses in Arab states in the years following the Arab uprisings; supporting transitional justice reforms where possible; and partnering with civil society actors from across the region to carry out advocacy initiatives at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights, and other forums. She has also worked extensively as an Arabic-English translator. In the summer of 2016, she returned to Latin America to work with Dejusticia in Bogota, Colombia, where she conducted comparative research to inform the structure of the Special Peace Tribunal, which is expected to be created following the completion of the Colombian peace process.

Co-Vice President, Professional Development: Carina Bentata Gryting

Carina Bentata Gryting is a member of the J.D. class of 2018 at Harvard Law School. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in International Development and Legal Studies. She has worked on two projects since joining LIDS, contributing to a report regarding access to information in Latin America and evaluating community land laws for the World Resources Institute. She also assisted in planning the LIDS career trip to New York.

At HLS, Carina is involved with the International Law Journal, the National Security Journal, and the Immigration and Refugee Clinic. Carina spent her past summer at the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), where she worked on human rights litigation in the Inter-American System. Prior work experience includes a year-long fellowship with Bridge International Academies and an internship with Namati.

As Co-Vice President of Professional Development, Carina plans the annual LIDS career trip and organizes events related to career opportunities and skills trainings.

Co-Vice President, Professional Development: Helen Kim

Helen completed her Master of Public Administration at HKS this spring. Prior to HKS, she was a foreign attorney at a big law firm in Seoul, Korea, where she remains a consultant. As a member of the international dispute resolution team, she focused on maritime law, international arbitration, and cross-border litigation. She also worked for the Korean Minister for Trade and at the United Nations in Zimbabwe. She completed her undergraduate and law school studies at the University of Alberta in Canada.

As one of the Vice Presidents of Professional Development, Helen will be organizing professional development trips to Seoul over Spring Break and to Washington DC.

Vice President, Liaisons: Michelle Rosin

Michelle is a member of the J.D. class of 2018 at Boston College Law School, where she is also a research assistant for Professor George D. Brown in the area of political corruption. Prior to her position as LIDS Vice President of Liaisons, Michelle served as the Boston College Liaison and worked on an international environmental public interest litigation project for, and in cooperation with, the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) China Environmental Law and & Governance Project. This past summer, she was a summer intern for the Honorable Bernard A. Friedman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Prior to law school, Michelle was a research consultant at the Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER) at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a co-founder of the Institute for Career Transitions. She was also a co-founder of an acquired internet startup company and a Deputy Finance Director during the 2012 presidential campaign.

Michelle graduated from Wellesley College in 2011, where she received a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in comparative politics. As an undergraduate, Michelle conducted international political and economic development research in the MIT Department of Economics. In addition, she was an undergraduate research assistant at MIT Sloan, where she conducted cross-cultural research on unemployment and job search strategies in the United States and Israel.

Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy Liaison: Emily Barnes

Emily Barnes is completing a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Since joining LIDS, Emily has worked with Transparency International to identify the social costs of corruption. Emily holds a B.S. from the University of Maryland.

As liaison to the Fletcher School, Emily will strengthen ties between LIDS and the Fletcher School community to promote an interdisciplinary approach to international development.

Boston College Liaison: Caitlin Toto

Bio coming soon.

BOSTON University LIAISON: Taryn Strohmeyer