Deborah Archer

Deborah Archer is the President of the ACLU, the first person of color to serve in that role in the organization’s history, and a nationally recognized expert on civil liberties, civil rights, and racial justice. She is an award-winning teacher and legal scholar whose articles have appeared in leading law reviews and national publications, and she has offered commentary for national and international media. Prior to full-time teaching, Archer worked as an attorney with the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., where she litigated in the areas of voting rights, employment discrimination, educational equity, and school desegregation. Archer previously served as chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. She is the author of the national best-selling book, Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality, and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Law Institute.

Archer is a graduate of Yale Law School and Smith College. She currently serves as a trustee of Smith College and received the Smith College Medal.