New executive director for Rappaport Center

Amanda M. Teo, a career public servant who managed and advised two of Massachusetts’ largest public law offices, was named the executive director of the acclaimed Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Boston College Law School, announced Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean Odette Lienau.

Teo succeeds the retired Elisabeth “Lissy” J. Medvedow, the center’s inaugural executive director, who was named in 2015 following a $7.53 million endowment from the Phyllis & Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation [rappaportfoundation.org].

“The Rappaport Center has become a central part of both our Law School community and the Greater Boston legal community,” said Lienau. “I could not be more thrilled with the selection of Amanda Teo for this crucial role moving forward, as we look to build upon that success through the next decade of shaping public policy leaders who can ensure that law serves the greater good in the world.

“We are grateful to the Rappaport Foundation, to faculty directors [BC Law Professors] Michael Cassidy and Daniel Kanstroom, and to Lissy Medvedow, who was such a driving force in the center’s success over the past decade.”

“I am excited to work with the talented staff, faculty, and students at Boston College Law School and the outstanding advisory board and alumni of the Rappaport Center to advance the mission of creating and mobilizing leaders in state and local public policy,” said Teo. “Policy is the bridge between our vision of a just world and our reality, and there is no more timely or urgent challenge than cultivating a community of doers who can talk and listen across differences, are committed to making a difference, and are empowered with the tools to build and strengthen that bridge.”

The Rappaport Center—which has been housed at BC Law since 2015—convenes the region’s policymakers and thought leaders in generative discussions on critical public policy issues through its Distinguished Public Policy Series. Each year, the center coordinates forums, conferences, and symposia to address pressing societal problems with leaders and innovators from government, business, academia, and the nonprofit world.

Its Rappaport Fellows Program provides funded summer internships for 12 public-service focused students from eight Massachusetts law schools, providing opportunities for them to work in a state or local government agency and to help advance high-profile, important policy initiatives and key priorities. Through summer internships, students work with top policy makers; are mentored by the center’s staff, civic leaders, and respected attorneys; and have access to educational programming.

An assessment of the program found that more than 55 percent of former participants had gone on to work or currently work in the nonprofit or public sectors, and over 90 percent agreed that the fellowship has positively impacted their careers. Among those former fellows praising the program was Michelle Wu, now mayor of the City of Boston: “As one of many young people who walked through doors opened by Jerry Rappaport’s commitment to public service, I know his legacy will continue to have a profound impact on our city.”

The center’s Jerome Lyle Rappaport Visiting Professors in Law and Public Policy program brings public sector luminaries to spend a semester at BC Law, where they teach a seminar on public policy, deliver a community address, and meet with students, faculty, and members of the BC and Rappaport Center communities. Visiting professors have included Jane Swift, one-time acting governor of Massachusetts; former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray; former Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Geraldine Hines; and Jeffery Robinson, CEO of The Who We Are Project.

Teo most recently served as counsel to the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, where she advised the leadership team on strategic planning and cross-functional policy initiatives, and also served as assistant U.S. attorney in the Civil Rights Unit. Previously, she was chief of staff in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and led efforts to shift the office toward a more public health-focused and data-informed model of prosecution. Prior to assuming her role on the executive team, she spent nearly 10 years as an assistant district attorney in the Appeals Unit.

Teo holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, where she served as executive editor of the Harvard Law Review. She clerked for judges Sandra Lynch and Kermit Lipez on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She also taught for nearly a decade at Harvard University, where she conducted doctoral work in English and American Literature and was a fellow at the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Teo is a 1999 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Princeton University.

The strength of today’s Rappaport Center for Law and Public policy is a testament to the work of Medvedow, who brought to the program an extensive background in law and public policy, noted Lienau. During her tenure, the center supported nearly 120 emerging public policy leaders and hosted over 140 panel discussions, debates, and convenings.

“Lissy has done incredible work at the Rappaport Center, which has deeply impacted the next generation of public leaders,” said Lienau. “It has contributed significantly to law and public policy in the commonwealth and beyond and also built a wonderful foundation for the transition to Amanda’s executive directorship going forward.”

“I am very happy to welcome Amanda to BC Law,” said Kanstroom, the center’s current faculty director. “Her strong background in public service and her engaged intellect are a perfect fit with the mission of mentoring students and bringing in leading practitioners and academics for discussions of—and research about—major contemporary issues of law and public policy. I am personally excited to work with her to help the center move in new directions as we sustain the legacy of Lissy Medvedow’s excellent work over the past 10 years.”