This spring, Lisa Brown ’78, a member of the second cohort of women at the school, will return as the commencement speaker for the class of 2025’s graduation.
Coming from Washington, D.C. and entering as a new Lower Mid, she described the school as a “cultural shock.” She said, “It was my first time away from home. I was especially astonished at how well-structured the athletic program for women was at the time.”
As a Bearcat, Mrs. Brown played with Girls Varsity Field Hockey, Girls Varsity Lacrosse, and Girls JV Tennis. She continued playing field hockey and lacrosse at Princeton University, where she earned a B.A. in political economy.
After graduating from Princeton, Mrs. Brown earned a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. She began her career in law serving as a clerk for a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Montgomery, Alabama.
Mrs. Brown later served as the attorney advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice. She remained in this position until she was invited to join then Vice President Al Gore’s counsel. After the end of the term, she decided to take a break from work, got married, and have her first child.
Two years later, Mrs. Brown jumped back into the field of law by working at Relman & Associates, a law firm in Washington, D.C. She provided advice to lenders in the primary and secondary market and litigated civil rights cases regarding discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
In 2003, she became executive director of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. “It was amazing to have an opportunity to build a start-up into a nationally recognized organization dedicated to furthering a progression of vision of law and policy in merely six years,” she said.
Mrs. Brown then returned to the White House as the assistant to the president and staff secretary from 2009-2011. “I controlled the paper flow to and from the president and oversaw the offices of the executive clerk, records management, and presidential correspondence. I also managed presidential awards,” she said.
After serving the Office of Management and Budget for another two years as the acting chief performance officer, she became vice president and in-house counsel of Georgetown University. “Being an in-house counsel member was probably my favorite profession. It’s so satisfying when I believe in the mission and can contribute to further this mission. At Georgetown, I advised on the legal implications of the University’s policy and decision- making and also managed the in- house team of lawyers and outside counsel,” she said.
In October, 2021, Mrs. Brown joined the general counsel of the Department of Education, where she supervised a team of over 100 lawyers.
Mrs. Brown is currently the chair of crisis management at the law firm WilmerHale, where she serves in the crisis management and strategic response group.
“Hotchkiss is the cornerstone of my extremely diverse career. In Lakeville, I learned that education is the foundation of opportunity in this country. I realized my strong passion for law, developed a sense of independence, and was able to gain a sense of who I was. I had high expectations from my family and pressure to grow academically. I learned to use this burden as fuel and use sports as an outlet to continue striving,” she said.
She said, “I cannot wait to speak in front of the class of 2025. I want to say something meaningful, because for me graduation was definitely an exciting and memorable moment of my life.”
