Alicia Plerhoples is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Social Enterprise & Nonprofit Law Clinic. Professor Plerhoples is a leading scholar in social enterprise law, nonprofit governance, and clinical legal education. Professor Plerhoples joined the faculty at Georgetown University Law Center in 2012, where she is director of the Social Enterprise & Nonprofit Law Clinic. Professor Plerhoples is active in the social enterprise legal sector, advising clients and organizations on governance arrangements and organizational structures that facilitate the work of social entrepreneurs. In 2017, Professor Plerhoples received the American Bar Association’s Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer of the Year (Academic) Award. She serves on the Legal Advisory Group of Echoing Green, a global nonprofit which identifies, incubates, and funds social entrepreneurs. Examples of Professor Plerhoples’ recent research articles include integrating social enterprise into poor communities, pursuit of charity through public benefit corporations, and how to apply traditional corporate law principles to new social enterprise legislation. Her publications have appeared in the Lewis & Clark Law Review, Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, and the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education, among others. Professor Plerhoples previously was the Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Clinical Teaching Fellow at Stanford Law School and a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of California Hastings College of the Law. Prior to entering academia, she practiced with the law firms of DLA Piper in New York City and Cooley in Silicon Valley. Professor Plerhoples graduated from Yale Law School in 2005 and holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Policy. She completed her A.B., cum laude, from Harvard College in 2001.

Chaz Brooks is a Clinical Teaching Fellow with the Social Enterprise & Nonprofit Law Clinic. Prior to joining the Clinic, Chaz was an experienced legal professional in the private equity space. Most recently, Chaz served as a Director at EJF Capital LLC, an investment manager focused on regulatory change and financial markets. While at EJF, Chaz was responsible for legal matters at the firm. Prior to joining EJF, Chaz practiced law as an associate in the Investment Funds Group at the DC office of Latham & Watkins LLP where his practice focused on advising clients on various transactional matters. During his time at Latham & Watkins, Chaz advised fund sponsors on the launch of their private funds, portfolio company holding structures, credit facilities, restructurings and operational matters. Chaz earned a B.S. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an M.S. in Finance from the University of Tampa, and obtained his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Charity Fort (she/her) is a Clinical Fellow teaching in the Georgetown University Law Center’s Social Enterprise & Nonprofit Law Clinic. Professor Fort is a practitioner of finance and real estate law with a decade of study and practice centered on alternative dispute resolution, transactional negotiations, and urban development—most recently focused in affordable housing and community development. Her scholarship interests are rooted in her practical experience in corporate law in conjunction with the application of alternative dispute resolution theory, as well as in the intersection of urban development policy with housing, education, and economic outcomes. Prior to entering academia, she practiced with the law firms of Mayer Brown LLP and Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C. in Chicago and Washington, D.C. Professor Fort graduated with her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2015 and is also pursuing an L.L.M. in Advocacy from Georgetown University Law Center.