
Eileen Hershenov
As Senior Vice President, Democracy Initiatives, Eileen Hershenov develops thought leadership and strategies for ADL's fight against authoritarianism and illiberalism in addition to leading ADL’s emerging litigation capacity. She also oversees ADL’s civil rights team, cross-organizational work on tech policy, the Civil Society Fellowship (a partnership between ADL and the Aspen Institute), and the library and archives work.
Eileen joined ADL in 2018 after serving as General Counsel (GC) for several of the nation’s leading mission-driven not-for-profits. Directly prior to coming to the ADL, she served as GC and head of public policy for the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, one of the top ten global internet sites. Prior to that, she was GC at Consumer Reports and before that, GC at the Open Society Foundations. Eileen began her legal career clerking for a NY federal district court judge, litigated as an attorney with the ACLU, and then spent three years at the law firm Morrison & Foerster, where among other things, she brought cases supporting racial justice and the rights of women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community, and also litigated and lobbied in the intersection of civil rights and national security.
Eileen began her professional career as a campus and community organizer in New York State, working on environmental issues, transit reform, student and worker rights, and ultimately leading a successful access-to-justice legislative campaign on behalf of victims of toxic substances such as asbestos and DES.
Eileen earned a BA from Yale College and a JD from Yale Law School.
Sunday, May 1 Office Hours (Morning)
Office Hours with Eileen Hershenov, ADL SVP, Democracy Initiatives & Steve Freeman, ADL VP, Civil Rights
Office hours required pre-registration. If you signed up in advance, please refer to your Cvent registration confirmation email for your timeslot.
Sunday, May 1 GLI Breakout Sessions Block 1
Suing to Hold Extremists Accountable: From Charlottesville to January 6th and Beyond
In November 2021, a landmark federal lawsuit, supported by Integrity First for America, against the white supremacist organizers of the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia resulted in a verdict of more than $25 million in damages. Now, ADL has partnered with Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine to represent the District of Columbia in a groundbreaking lawsuit against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and individuals affiliated with those groups to hold them accountable for their role in planning and executing the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Hear from the lawyers involved in these historic cases as they discuss the long-term impact of using litigation as a tool to combat domestic extremism and hate.
Sunday, May 2 Office Hours (Late Afternoon)
Office Hours with Eileen Hershenov, Senior VP, Policy and Steve Freeman, VP, Civil Rights
Office hours required pre-registration. If you signed up in advance, please refer to your Cvent registration confirmation email for your timeslot.