Staff
Melissa Stimell is a professor of the practice in the Legal Studies Program, chair of the program in Social Justice and Social Policy and director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life. She also is the academic program director of ENACT: The Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation. Stimell currently teaches Advocacy for Policy Change, Conflict Analysis and Intervention, and Global Justice and Societies in Transition. She also has led Brandeis Summer in The Hague and the seminars accompanying the internship programs. Stimell received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her law degree from Boston University School of Law. She has been a public interest attorney for over 30 years, focusing on the representation of vulnerable populations in such areas as criminal law, discrimination of individuals with disabilities, and child welfare.
In his role as assistant director of ENACT and communications, David Weinstein coordinates the national expansion of the Educational Network for Active Civic Engagement program, manages communications for the Ethics Center, serves as coordinator of the Ethics Center Leadership Council and is editor of the Ethics Central newsletter and the Ethical Inquiry series. He has also worked with the Office of Global Affairs to support international exchanges of students and faculty.
Weinstein is an educator with K-12 teaching experience in public and alternative school settings and has more than 18 years of communications and project-management experience in nonprofits and higher education. In 2020, he was elected to the Cambridge (Massachusetts) School Committee.
Weinstein is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he earned a bachelor's in American studies, and holds a master's in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Jay R. Kaufman served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1995 through 2018, and now leads a nonprofit organization, Beacon Leadership Collaborative, which provides leadership education, mentoring and professional-development support to those in, and aspiring to, public life. In the House, Kaufman chaired the Committee on Revenue and led the charge for a major reform of state and local taxes. He also initiated major pension reforms, environmental protection legislation and policies to promote social and economic justice. His "Open House" monthly public policy forum was recognized in 1997 with the Beacon Award as the nation's best televised government relations series. Kaufman's new nonprofit offers workshops and consultation to individuals, groups and institutions working in the public square. He brings to the collaborative three decades of teaching and project design and management in the public and nonprofit sectors. Kaufman holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and master's degree in history from Brandeis as well as a master's in history from New York University. He serves as the Distinguished Legislative Mentor for the Ethics Center's national ENACT program.