For the Leaders in Advocacy Institute, Georgetown University is partnering with the Close Up Foundation to provide experiential learning opportunities that will guide students through leadership in the 21st century. Close Up is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that educates and inspires young people to become informed and engaged citizens. Since 1971, Close Up has partnered with schools and organizations across the country to inform, inspire, and empower young people to exercise the rights and accept the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. Close Up program instructors will work directly with students in groups of 20–25 to facilitate discussions, lead simulations, and provide hands-on experiences throughout the week. All program instructors have college degrees, more than 120 hours of training in curriculum and methodology, and first aid and CPR training. To learn more about program instructors, visit the Close Up website.
Andrea Mayer
Andrea Mayer is the Academic Director of the National Security & Counterintelligence, Law, and American Politics Institutes and Capstone Director of the Leaders in Advocacy Institute.
Professor Mayer served as a trial attorney for the federal government for nine years, where she specialized in litigation related to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, other laws prohibiting discrimination in federally assisted programs, and federal receiverships. She has represented the federal government in numerous capacities, including Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, receivership counsel, and agency counsel, where she provided legal advice relating to employment law, fraud, venture capital and investment law, regulatory enforcement, and governmental privileges.
Previously, she served on the legal staff of the U.S. Bankruptcy Review Commission and the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Professor Mayer has also worked as a trial and jury consultant in connection with numerous high-profile criminal and civil cases, and as a judicial law clerk. She regularly lectures on topics related to constitutional law and federalism, including lectures at Georgetowns Center for Intercultural Education and Development, Program on Public Policy and Ethics in the USA, and the Library of Congress Open Leadership Program. She has been selected as Georgetowns 2009 Pro-Seminar Fellow for American Government, and will serve as Georgetown Adjunct Faculty in spring 2010. Professor Mayer received her J.D. from George Washington University and M.A. in Government from Georgetown University. She has completed coursework towards her Ph.D. in Government at Georgetown University and Harvard University, and is currently working on her dissertation in the area of Law and Society. Her research and teaching interests center on constitutional law, tolerance attitudes, and social change.
