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Person

Meryl Chertoff

Occupational Background:

Law
Spouse:

Michael Chertoff

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Meryl Chertoff is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and the executive director of the Georgetown Project on State and Local Government Policy and Law (SALPAL). 1

Chertoff is a “Task Force Member” of the National Task Force on Election Crises, a nonprofit advocacy group which calls for “critical preventative reforms” to the U.S. election system. 2 Meryl Chertoff is married to Michael Chertoff, an attorney and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2005 to 2009. 3 4

Career

Chertoff has worked as the director of State of New Jersey’s Washington office and has served as the legislative counsel to the chair of the New Jersey State Assembly Appropriations. She has worked on the legislative staff of a New Jersey Assembly leader and worked as a lobbyist in Trenton. 5 6

She sat on the board of the Anti-Defamation League in New Jersey and was the chair of its civil rights committee. In 2000 she received the ADL’s award for Distinguished Service in Civil Rights for this work. 7

In 2003, Chertoff was serving in the Office of Legislative Affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) when it transitioned into the Department of Homeland Security.

From 2006 until 2009, Chertoff directed the Sandra Day O’Connor Project on civic education and judicial independence at Georgetown Law. 8

Chertoff worked as the executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Justice and Society Program from 2009 to 2019. During this period, Chertoff directed seminars for judges, lawyers, and state government officials, created the pro-religion Inclusive America Project, and directed the Sandra Day O’Connor Conversation. 9 10 As of May 2022, Chertoff was listed as a consultant for the Aspen Institute’s Justice Seminars program. 11

Chertoff has provided testimony to state legislatures regarding issue she was deemed an expert on, has given briefings on American federalism to foreign members of U.S. State Department-sponsored programs, and served as an ABA advisor to the Uniform Law Commission’s Study Committee on State Governance During Public Health Emergencies in 2020. 12

She sits on the board of ChangeLab Solutions, a think tank that advocates for left-progressive public health policies. She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. 13

As an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, Chertoff teaches state government, intergovernmental affairs and state courts. 14 SALPAL, the Georgetown program of which Chertoff is executive director, advocates the ability for state and local government offices to solve “hard public policy problems.” It offers law students access to courses on state and local government policy and law. 15

Chertoff is a “Task Force Member” of the National Task Force on Election Crises, a nonprofit advocacy group which calls for “critical preventative reforms” to the U.S. election system. 16

Writing

Chertoff is the managing editor of the State and Local Government Blog (SLoGLaw). 17 Chertoff writes opinion pieces for The Hill, Bloomberg Law, HuffPost, and other publications. 18 In 2020, she wrote an article for Bloomberg Law criticizing state-mandated restrictions on travel related to COVID-19 as unconstitutional. 19 She referred to Donald Trump’s “bigotry” in a HuffPost op-ed in September 2016 and cast Hillary Clinton by contrast in a positive light. 20 In a piece from that same month, Chertoff cited the Southern Poverty Law Center on right-wing hate groups and said “more needs to be done” to quell the “anxiety” of U.S. Muslims. 21

Personal Life

Meryl Chertoff is married to Michael Chertoff, an attorney and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2005 to 2009. 22 23 He is also a “Task Force Member” of the National Task Force on Election Crises. 24

References

  1. [1] “Meryl J. Chertoff.” Georgetown Law. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/meryl-j-chertoff/.
  2. [1] “About.” National Task Force on Election Crises. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/about.
  3. “Michael Chertoff.” Chertoff Group. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.chertoffgroup.com/team/michael-chertoff.
  4. “Meryl Justin Plans to Wed.” NYTimes, 21 February 1988. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/21/style/meryl-justin-plans-to-wed.html.
  5. “Meryl J. Chertoff.” Georgetown Law. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/meryl-j-chertoff/.
  6. “Meryl Chertoff.” HuffPost. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.huffpost.com/author/meryl-chertoff.
  7. “Meryl Chertoff.” HuffPost. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.huffpost.com/author/meryl-chertoff.
  8. “Meryl Justin Chertoff.” Aspen Institute. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/our-people/meryl-justin-chertoff/.
  9. “Meryl Justin Chertoff.” Aspen Institute. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/our-people/meryl-justin-chertoff/.
  10. “Aspen Institute’s Inclusive America Project Changes Name to Religion & Society Program.” Diverse Education, 10 January 2022. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.diverseeducation.com/news-roundup/article/15287114/aspen-institutes-inclusive-america-project-changes-name-to-religion-society-program
  11. “Meryl Justin Chertoff.” Aspen Institute. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/our-people/meryl-justin-chertoff/.
  12. “Meryl J. Chertoff.” Georgetown Law. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/meryl-j-chertoff/
  13. [1] “Meryl J. Chertoff.” Georgetown Law. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/meryl-j-chertoff/.
  14. “Meryl Chertoff.” HuffPost. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.huffpost.com/author/meryl-chertoff.
  15. “The Georgetown Project on State and Local Government Policy and Law.” Georgetown Law. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/salpal/.
  16. “About.” National Task Force on Election Crises. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/about.
  17.  “Meryl J. Chertoff.” Georgetown Law. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/meryl-j-chertoff/.
  18. “Meryl J. Chertoff.” Georgetown Law. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/meryl-j-chertoff/.
  19. [1] “Meryl J. Chertoff, New York Fellow, Publishes “Bloomberg Law” Article on Constitutional Threats During COVID-19.” American Bar Foundation. Accessed 21 April 2020. https://www.americanbarfoundation.org/fellows/news/8294.
  20. Chertoff, Meryl. “Race, Fair Housing and the Outer Boroughs: 1970’s Edition.” HuffPost, 28 September 2016. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/race-fair-housing-and-the_b_12233662.
  21. [1] Chertoff, Meryl. “Homeland Security Secretary Addresses Anxiety of US Muslims, But More Needs to be Done.” The HuffPost, 8 September 2016. Accessed 1 May 2018. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/homeland-security-secreta_b_11915796.
  22. “Michael Chertoff.” Chertoff Group. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.chertoffgroup.com/team/michael-chertoff.
  23. “Meryl Justin Plans to Wed.” NYTimes, 21 February 1988. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/21/style/meryl-justin-plans-to-wed.html.
  24. “About.” National Task Force on Election Crises. Accessed 1 May 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/about.
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