L. Rae (she/her)

Rae is a New England native with a commitment to social justice. She joined World Learning in 2007 as Associate General Counsel, and in 2011, became Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel. She advises World Learning and School for International Training on all legal matters relating to its international education and exchange programs, inclusive of student and staff health and safety concerns, labor issues, agreements with international ministries and host countries, and crisis response. Rae also manages all litigated matters for World Learning internationally and has taken cases to the Supreme Court in several countries. She is a frequent speaker at the national level for NACUA and NAFSA and has been a faculty speaker for the Harmonie Group Network. Earlier in her career, she focused on corporate law, but always pursued pro-bono assignments and nonprofit service, supporting NAACP “Get Out the Vote” initiatives and lobbying legislators on civil rights issues in the Boston area. She was the lead author on an amicus brief in the landmark case regarding the constitutionality of same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 2003, she moved to Vermont and specialized in business law and litigation with a private practice. She was then named director of the Medicare Advocacy Project of Vermont Legal Aid, where she fought for health coverage for elderly and disabled Vermonters. Always a proponent of local community-building, Rae has served on the boards of United Way of Windham County and the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center and volunteers for Out in the Open. She is an elected member of the Representative Town Meeting, serves as chair of the Town of Brattleboro’s Finance Committee, and lives in Brattleboro with her two teenage sons. Rae graduated cum laude from Brandeis University in politics and earned her JD magna cum laude from Suffolk University Law School.