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Levi to Serve as Inaugural Fellow for Berry Institute of Politics

SPRINGFIELD, MA (02/02/2022) Western New England University (WNE) School of Law professor Jennifer Levi has been named an inaugural Fellow in a new Salem State University program of the Berry Institute of Politics (IOP). Levi will share this honor with former Boston Mayor Kim Janey for the Spring 2022 semester.

Jennifer L. Levi is a lawyer, a professor, and a nationally recognized expert on transgender legal issues who has dedicated their career to fighting for the rights of women; children; the poor; and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) clients. Currently, Levi serves as the Director of the Transgender Rights Project for the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and as Professor of Law at Western New England University. Throughout their career, Levi has led legal fights for transgender equality across a range of contexts including in the areas of family law, education, health care, incarceration, military service, and beyond.

As rising or seasoned professionals, Fellows share their knowledge, skills, and experiences with students who are exploring and pursuing careers in politics and public service. As current practitioners, Fellows support students building practical skills that will supplement what they are learning through academic courses. Through one-time and ongoing engagement, Fellows serve as a resource and a mentor to students. During their visits, IOP Fellows will participate and lead both curricular and co-curricular programs.

Established in 2019, the Frederick E. Berry Institute of Politics is a nonpartisan effort to expand political engagement at the university and on the North shore.

Western New England University (WNE) is a private, nationally ranked, comprehensive institution with a focus on preparing work-ready and world-ready graduates. Founded in 1919 in Springfield, Massachusetts as a division of Northeastern College, WNE’s 215-acre suburban campus serves more than 3,700 students, including over 2,500 full-time undergraduates. More than 47,000 alumni have earned degrees through its 90+ undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs at Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and School of Law. Students come from 39 U.S. states and territories and 23 countries. Of 45,104 living alumni, 30% remain within the region, residing in the four Western Massachusetts counties and northern Connecticut.

WNE is classified among nationally ranked universities in US News and World Report, and among the Top 100 Undergraduate Engineering programs, and in the Doctoral/Professional Universities category in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.