PERSON: Michelle Bernard

Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy

President &CEO

Michelle D. Bernard is a lawyer, political and policy analyst, media commentator, author, and president and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy.<br> <br> An attorney by training, Michelle D. Bernard is a political and policy analyst, media commentator, author, and president & CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy, concentrating on domestic and foreign policy matters, particularly matters of racial, social, and gender justice and the advancement of democracy, economic liberty, and the human rights of women and ethnic and religious minorities globally. <br> <br> On March 31, 2015, the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University announced that Mrs. Bernard will be honored in the University’s Plaza of Heroines which honors women role models who have made an impact on their families, communities and society. On January 23, 2015, Mrs. Bernard was awarded the Anvil of Freedom Award for journalism and democracy by the University of Denver’s Edward W. and Charlotte A. Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media. <br> <br> The Estlow Lecture series and the Anvil of Freedom Award were created to ‘offer recognition and honor to individuals whose careers demonstrate true leadership and commitment to democratic freedoms, ethics and integrity and recognize those who work to see journalism reach and maintain the highest standards.’ Mrs. Bernard’s Estlow lecture was entitled, ‘America’s Promise: Moving America Toward True Racial, Social, and Gender Justice.’ Additionally, Mrs. Bernard was named in the November 2014 issue of Essence magazine as a ‘Rising Star’ on its annual ‘Money & Power List.’ She is a regular political analyst on CNN’s Smerconish and MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, Politics Nation with Al Sharpton, and Up with Steve Kornacki. Additionally, Mrs. Bernard appears regularly on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher and The McLaughlin Group. She is a contributor for The Huffington Post and is a regular guest commentator on National Public Radio’s Tell Me More with Michel Martin and WAMU and NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show. In 2009, Mrs. Bernard co-created and hosted at Howard University’s Ira Aldridge Theatre, MSNBC’s television special, About Our Children.<br> <br> Ms. Bernard is the author of ‘Naming the Sin: Are Churches Helping to Stop Domestic Violence or Enabling It,’ Sojourner’s (December 2013), Moving America Toward Justice: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 1963-2013 (2013), Women’s Progress: How Women Are Wealthier, Healthier and More Independent Than Ever Before (2007) and is a contributing author to the National Urban League’s State of Black America 2009: Message to the President ( 2009) and Lifetime Network’s Secrets of Powerful Women: 25 Successful American Politicians Tell How They Got Where They Are – And What It’s Like (2010). Additionally, Mrs. Bernard is the author of numerous opinion editorials that appeared in The Washington Post’s She The People blog from its inception in 2012 as a platform for exploring the intersection of women and politics and culture, through its farewell in early January 2015.<br> <br> Ms. Bernard is a member of the Board of Trustees of Hampton University and sits on the Board of Directors of the Coalition for Opportunity in Education and the Executive Board of the International Women’s Forum of Washington, D.C. where she is the Leadership Foundation Liaison. Additionally, she is a member of the Advisory Board of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence.<br> <br> Ms. Bernard has spoken before numerous organizations and as the former president and CEO of the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), founded IWF’s Iraqi Women’s Democracy Initiative, which assisted in the development and implementation of training programs built on the pillars of democracy, women’s rights and religious freedom, political activism in a democracy, issues of governance, free markets, and non-governmental organizations.<br> <br> Prior to founding the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy and joining IWF, Ms. Bernard was a partner at the District of Columbia’s Patton Boggs LLP.<br> <br> Ms. Bernard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and political science from Howard University and a Juris Doctor degree from The Georgetown University Law Center.<br> <br> — bernardcenter.org