June 11, 2026
Marilyn Tucker, at the 2012 Georgetown Women's Forum
Marilyn Tucker, a longtime Georgetown Law employee who retired in 2021, died on June 10, 2026.
Tucker served at the Law Center for over four decades in a variety of capacities, and remained a dedicated member of the community until her retirement in 2021.
Throughout her time at the Law Center, Tucker served within the Office of Career Strategy (OCS), holding roles as an advisor, the office’s director, and ultimately as the Director of Alumni Careers. As the first staff member dedicated to supporting alumni through career transitions, she became a reliable mentor for countless alumni managing job searches and professional growth.
In a message to the community, Interim Dean Joshua C. Teitelbaum wrote, “Marilyn was a beloved colleague and mentor who brought warmth to everyone she met.”
Tucker created several initiatives that have become signature programs not only of OCS, but also of the Law Center. One of those, the Women’s Forum, is now a cross-campus collaboration, alternating annually between university-wide and Law-focused events that bring hundreds of alumni, faculty, staff and students together to celebrate the contributions women have made to Georgetown and beyond. The International Internship Program, which Tucker not only created but spearheaded for many years, has connected employers from around the world with more than 1,600 law students who have an interest in complementing their classroom education with international legal work experience. A third, “World of Choices: A Forum on Careers in the Law,” is a 1L-focused networking program designed to introduce students to the “world of choices” available to them with a law degree. It is as popular today as it was when Tucker created it more than 30 years ago. Many an alumnus has remarked throughout the years that their first exposure to their chosen practice area came from a connection made through World of Choices.
For Tucker, Georgetown was also a family affair. From 1990 to 2017, her husband, Stef, served as an adjunct law professor. Sons Matthew and Lawrence each received MBAs from the McDonough School of Business and Lawrence also earned a J.D. at the Law Center.
Beyond her campus contributions, Tucker was recognized by the ABA and NALP for her writing on the advancement of women in law, and she served on the Board of the Alzheimer’s Association of the National Capital Region. She also shared some of her legal career expertise in her 2018 book, Success Tips For Lawyers Leaving Practice: Rewire, Refire – Do Not Retire.
In 2021, Tucker’s career and her meaningful contributions to the Georgetown Law community were celebrated with the online event “International Conversation with Marilyn Tucker.” She announced her retirement later that year.
You may add your personal reflections of Marilyn Tucker, which will be included in the In Remembrance section below.
A special fund in her honor was created to support the next generation of global legal advocates. Those wishing to make a memorial gift to the Marilyn Tucker International Summer Fellowship Fund may do so on Georgetown’s secure online giving page.
Marilyn was a very special friend and colleague. To me, she personified the very best of a special era at Georgetown Law. She was incredibly caring, collaborative, thoughtful and generous with her time and talents. She also was very kind to me and my late wife, particularly in the time of Melinda's illness. I am devastated to hear of her passing.
Marilyn was such a positive force and will be dearly missed. Traveling with her to London to meet our alumni remains one of the highlights of my time at Georgetown. Everyone was so excited to see Marilyn and thank her for the impact she made in their lives and careers.
Marilyn was a rare gem, beloved by so many. She interviewed me when I was hired at Georgetown Law in 2002, and has remained a mentor and advisor ever since. I have always cherished every conversation and so appreciate her profound impact on my career, and the careers of so many Georgetown Law students, faculty, and colleagues. My heart goes out to everyone who deeply feels her loss.
Count me among the many indebted to Marilyn and her commitment to international opportunities, which helped set a path for me that became a 20 year career with the UN. In many of those, she reached out and encouraged me to pay it back by hosting Georgetown interns, most of whom have gone on to do tremendous things. Her legacy lives on in so many of us.
Marilyn Tucker was a fabulous colleague. She was generous with her time, creative with her problem-solving, and intensely supportive of our students. She served as the primary point of contact for my students who were seeking international internships or jobs, and she regularly came as a guest speaker to my international law class, to introduce students to a range of global opportunities. I never heard her say the word "No" to a student; she was always thinking of work-arounds that could solve the problems. She was awesome.
May our dear Marilyn Tucker rest in peace. It was the privilege of a lifetime to work side by side with her for 15 years. As so many have said, Marilyn was not just a colleague — she was a mentor, a cheerleader, and a true friend.
Thank you, Marilyn, for always making room for me in your heart from day one. Your legacy and your light, as beautifully mentioned today, will live on forever. You illuminated thousands of lives around the world, and your impact will continue to shine through all of us.
Thank you for everything, my dear Marilyn. Your memory is a blessing.
Marilyn was my career counselor in law school, colleague when I worked in the Career Services Office, a mentor, and a dear friend who I have treasured through the years. She has impacted so many lives during her long tenure at the Law Center and will forever live in my heart.
Marilyn had an endless warmth and was always eager to provide help and guidance. She was an incredible mentor and guide and made my time at Georgetown Law truly special.
I was fortunate to meet Marilyn in 2015, five years after graduating from Georgetown Law. I had just relocated to Seattle after having lived in New York and was trying to change jobs. Marilyn generously reviewed my resume and introduced me to several alums in the Seattle area. In her office, she kept this endearing old-fashioned huge tome filled with contacts that looked like fine prints. We flipped through it together, and she pointed out names and contact information for me to write down. As we turned the pages, Marilyn shared stories about the alums she had advised over the years.
She vividly recalled one graduate from decades earlier who had gone on to build a prominent litigation practice in a major law firm in the Pacific Northwest. She remembered him because he had a tough time when he first moved to the East Coast but eventually became editor-in-chief of Georgetown Law Journal. In her admirable penmanship, Marilyn wrote a note to him on the back of her business card and asked me to pass it along if I happened to meet him.
I reached out to alums Marilyn introduced, and every one of them responded. Many offered to meet for coffee including the editor-in-chief. When I passed along Marilyn's note to him, he smiled and remembered Marilyn fondly. I eventually found an in-house counsel position in Seattle. I am one of many people whose lives and careers have been changed for the better because of Marilyn’s kindness and generosity. Now, as I teach and advise students myself at Georgetown Law, I strive to honor Marilyn’s legacy by living up to her example.
My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace.
Marilyn Tucker changed the course of my life in ways that I am only now (two decades later) fully able to name. As a 1L, I worked with her as a student assistant on the International Internship Programme. It was one of the signature initiatives she built from nothing into something that would go on to place over 1,600 students in legal work around the world, including me. It was in that role, and through her encouragement, that she pointed me towards a legal life in London.
Then in 2006, after 4 wonderful years in private practice, she encouraged to take the leap into the then-nascent area of compliance. I will never forget her saying…what do you have to lose by trying, Chrissy?! That nudge changed the direction of everything that followed.
She had a gift for seeing where people might go before they could see it themselves, and the generosity to say so plainly. Georgetown was lucky to have her for four decades. I was lucky to have crossed her path at the right moment.
My condolences to her family (Stef, Matthew, and Lawrence) and to her colleagues in OCS who worked alongside her for so many years.
Thank you, Marilyn!
Marilyn was a legend at GULC. She cared deeply about students and was always passionate about helping them succeed. I was fortunate to know her as a student and to continue supporting her internship program years later. Her kindness, warmth, and love for Georgetown Law touched so many people. She will be greatly missed. RIP Marilyn.
I was so sorry to hear about Marilyn's passing. I am grateful to her for her kindness and patience as I explored international internship opportunities after my 1L year - thanks to her, I spent a wonderful summer in London working at a law firm with a GULC alum. That experience was one of the highlights of my time in law school, and it would not have happened without her guidance and support.
Marilyn made my dream of interning for the UNHCR in Turkey come true the summer after my 1L year. She was always kind, generous with her time, and extremely helpful. She always had her students’ best interest in mind. After I matriculated, we remained in touch for a few years and she connected me with other students who needed help or guidance. I often thought of her fondly over the years and even recently discussed how helpful and kind she was, always with a bright smile, with an alumn at a GLaw event. May she rest in peace.
Marilyn was one of a kind. She was deeply committed to Georgetown alum in their pursuit of rewarding careers that matched their talents. She was genuine and warm, and she had a gift of connecting people. Over the years we became good friends, and I will be very grateful for her support and generosity and interest in what I was doing. She will be greatly missed!
Two internships; the first steps in a 20+ years career in human rights and humanity; thank you Marilyn. 🌹
Thirteen years ago, during the most difficult time in my professional career, as I struggled to balance the demands of a law firm career with a growing family, Marilyn was a mentor and great source of support. While helping me, she shared a personal motherhood story that impacted me and helped me to make the decision to leave private practice and join a government agency. I have reflected on her words frequently over the years, and I credit her with my successful transition into the best job I have ever held. I'm really sorry to hear of her passing, and I am sure that you will receive countless stories like my own.
Marilyn Tucker was a tireless advocate for Georgetown Law students. I am grateful to have known Marilyn - her kindness, passion and dedication were an example to others. It was always wonderful to see Marilyn at different legal events in different cities around the world. She had so much energy and infectious smile which brightened every room. I am very sorry to learn of Ms Tucker’s passing and I wish her family all the very best.
Marilyn was an extraordinary mentor and a deeply trusted advisor. Having had the privilege of working with her as a student, I consistently benefited from her sharp insight and invaluable perspective. Her encouragement during my third year—specifically her advice to apply to the Department of Justice—fundamentally altered the trajectory of my career. I am profoundly grateful for that pivotal nudge; Marilyn recognized my potential long before I did, and she remains a central reason for my professional success today.
Marilyn was such a kind, caring person who did so much to support the law students who passed through her doors. My career in human rights and migration/displacement began because of her support and encouragement to take an international internship in Egypt. She stayed in touch as I moved into the legal profession, started and grew the nonprofit Asylum Access, and beyond. She was always quick to send a kind word when she read an update or attended an event where I was speaking. I'll miss her, and I hope her memory will in time be a comfort to her family and many friends and colleagues.