Administration and Staff

William Alford

is the Vice Dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies, Director of East Asian Legal Studies and the Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law. He is the author of To Steal a Book is an Elegant Offense: Intellectual Property Law in Chinese Civilization (Stanford University Press, 1995) and scores of articles concerning Chinese law and legal history, U.S.-East Asian relations, international law, the legal profession, and other subjects. Professor Alford earned his undergraduate degree at Amherst and holds graduate degrees from Yale (in Chinese and History), the University of Cambridge (in law), and Harvard Law School. He has served as a consultant to various entities of the U.S. government, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, Special Olympics, corporations, foreign governments, law firms and NGOs, and been a dispute resolution panelist under the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Academy of Foreign Law, and the Académie internationale de droit comparé; an Honorary Professor of Renmin University and Zhejiang University (PRC), and an Honorary Fellow of the American Studies Institute of the Department of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; has served on the Executive Committee of the US Committee on Legal Education Exchange with China (CLEEC), and as Director of the China Center for American Law Study (in Beijing); is on the roster of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission arbitrators; is on a number of editorial boards; and is the recipient of numerous academic awards.

Jeanne Tai

is the Assistant Dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies. Jeanne previously served as the Graduate Program's Director of Admissions and Financial Aid. A native of Hong Kong, Jeanne holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Chinese History from Barnard College in New York City and a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor. Under the auspices of the U.S. Committee for Legal Education Exchange with China (CLEEC), she spent 18 months in China during 1985-86 as an Exchange Scholar, conducting research into Chinese industrial relations and labor law while also lecturing on U.S. administrative law and labor law at various universities, including Beijing University, Fudan University in Shanghai, and the Southwest University of Politics and Law in Chongqing. Jeanne's other professional experiences include practicing law for four years in the New York and London offices of Sullivan & Cromwell; pro bono and consulting work for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now known as Human Rights First); and teaching modern Chinese literature in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. Jeanne has published two anthologies of translations of contemporary Chinese fiction, and has contributed essays and translations of modern Chinese poetry and fiction to several other anthologies. She maintains an active interest in literary, cultural, and legal developments in East Asia.

Responsibilities

As the Graduate Program’s senior administrator, Jeanne has overall responsibility for academic programs, admissions, financial aid, and policy matters. She also is a resource for students with questions about scholarly work, courses, student life and careers in the law.

Nancy Pinn

the Director of Administration and Student Affairs, joined the Graduate Program in August of 2001. Originally from New Jersey, Nancy holds a J.D. degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, an M.A. in East Asian Studies from the Washington University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and a B.A., in English, from Tufts University. Before joining the Graduate Program, Nancy worked as counsel for Alpine Electronics, Inc., at the company's corporate headquarters in Japan, as Assistant Vice President and Associate Counsel at State Street Bank and Trust Company, and as an attorney for edocs, Inc., a software company in Natick, Massachusetts. Having studied and worked in Japan, Nancy enjoys practicing her foreign language skills (particularly Japanese, French and some Spanish), and maintains a strong interest in all things international. Nancy is admitted to the practice of law in New York and New Jersey.

Responsibilities

Nancy is responsible for administrative matters and for the academic affairs (course requirements, registration, writing requirements, exam information), overall coordination and general student life issues for the Graduate Program population.

Sarine Der Kaloustian

is the Graduate Program’s Director of Admissions and Financial Aid. She obtained her LL.B. and LL.M. degrees at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal and is a member of the Quebec Bar. Prior to joining the Graduate Program, Sarine served as Program Director for the Global Public Service Law Project at NYU Law School where she was in charge of managing the LL.M. program in Public Service Law. In that capacity, she also coordinated two international summer courses on public service lawyering held respectively in Beirut, Lebanon and Budapest, Hungary. Sarine maintains a special interest in human rights and humanitarian law. She spent four years in the Middle East working for local NGOs and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Beirut, Lebanon. In addition to English, Sarine is fluent in French, Armenian, and Arabic.

Responsibilities

Sarine’s responsibilities include managing the admissions process, financial aid, visa documentation, and student billing matters. She is also a resource for students with general questions about student life and careers in law.

Jane Fair Bestor

is the Special Assistant to the Graduate Program. She earned her first two degrees (a B.A. and an M.A. in anthropology) at McGill University before taking her Ph.D. (in anthropology) at the University of Chicago. For her M.A. thesis she carried out fieldwork in Iranian Baluchistan on the incorporation of a regional system of peasants and nomads into the Iranian state. Her Ph.D. research was an archival study of dynasty and state formation in Italy between 1250 and 1500, with a focus on the House of Este. As a Liberal Arts Fellow at Harvard Law School from 1993-1994, she studied the anthropology of law and the history of the formation of the ius commune from civil, canon, and feudal law. The results of this research have appeared in articles on succession and marital transactions in Past & Present, Comparative Studies in Society and History, the Rivista internazionale di diritto commune and elsewhere. Jane has recently completed a book manuscript on succession and state formation in Italy.

Responsibilities

Jane runs the LL.M. Writing Workshop, advises LL.M. students on admission to the S.J.D. program, and advises S.J.D. students on their study plans, dissertations, and other writing projects. She is available to help all students in the Graduate Program with general issues of research and writing and on getting by as a graduate student in general.

Heather A. Wallick

is the Admissions and Financial Aid Officer for the Graduate Program. Originally from Connecticut, Heather holds a J.D. degree from the New England School of Law (formerly Portia Law School) and a B.A., in International Relations with a concentration in Security Studies, from Boston University. Before joining the Graduate Program, Heather worked as an Immigration Law Specialist with the law firm Hale & Dorr (now known as Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP), focusing on the area of Business and Family Immigration. She is admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In her spare time, Heather enjoys practicing her foreign language skills (particularly Spanish, French, Italian, and basic German) and performing with the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus.

Responsibilities

Heather works closely with the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid on matters relating to the admissions process, financial aid, visa documentation, and student billing. She also welcomes general questions from students, researchers and scholars about social life in Cambridge and Boston.

Valentina Perez

is the Coordinator for the Graduate Program’s Admissions and Financial Aid Office. Valentina studied Anthropology at Harvard College, where she was a member of the Harvard University Band, manager of the Harvard softball team, and a percussionist for various undergraduate theatrical productions. After college, Valentina worked as a field archaeologist on prehistoric sites in the southwestern United States and also started a web design company specializing in small business solutions. Currently, Valentina enjoys the perks of not worrying about wildlife in the workplace and the comfort of a climate-controlled office. When out of the office her hobbies include karate, swimming, reading in the sun, and collecting interesting rocks.

Responsibilities

Valentina coordinates the admissions and financial aid application processing for the LL.M Program. She can answer general questions about Harvard, the Law School, and living in Cambridge, as well as questions more specific to the Graduate Program, including admission requirements and application procedures for the LL.M. and the Visiting Scholar/Visiting Researcher Programs.

Sarah Jane Vaughan

Is a Staff Assistant for the Graduate Program's Administration and Student Affairs Office.  Originally from Connecticut, Sarah Jane holds a B.A. in English from Kalamazoo College in Michigan and an M.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from Loyola Marymount University in California. Before joining the Graduate Program, Sarah Jane taught English in South Korea and worked for an environmental non-profit in California. In her free time, Sarah Jane enjoys writing poetry, exploring Boston, and playing kickball.

Responsibilities

Sarah Jane can answer general questions about the S.J.D. Program including degree requirements and colloquium scheduling, as well as questions about LL.M. Orientation, student life and academics.  She also develops and edits Graduate Program publications such as the facebook and handbook.  

Alexis Boyce

Is a Staff Assistant for International Legal Studies and the Graduate Program. Alexis previously worked as Assistant Program Coordinator and Publications Coordinator for the Institute for African Development (IAD) at Cornell University. IAD's mandate included facilitating discussion on issues related to African development in both the academic and local community and providing tuition fellowships for graduate students from sub-Saharan Africa. Alexis is currently working on her Master's in Gender and Cultural Studies at Simmons College.

Responsibilities

Alexis can answer questions regarding International Legal Studies and Graduate Program reimbursement requests, event planning, and website maintenance.

Tracey Godbold

Is a Staff Assistant for the Graduate Program's Administration and Student Affairs Office. Originally from the Midwest, Tracey attended Wellesley College and studied in the UK at Lancaster University before graduating with a B.A. in English Literature. Before joining the Graduate Program, Tracey worked as a paralegal for a small law firm in downtown Boston, specializing in employment law. Outside of work, Tracey enjoys knitting, running, traveling, and playing the violin.

Responsibilities

Tracey can answer questions about the LL.M. Program, LL.M. student life and academics, student schedules, course registration, and the J.D. Host program.

Peg Tamiso

Is a Staff Assistant for the Graduate Program’s Admissions and Financial Aid Office.  Peg graduated from Saint John Fisher College in Rochester, New York with Bachelor of Arts Degrees in History and English. She moved on to Syracuse University and worked for the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science while pursuing her paralegal certificate. Certificate in hand, she left academia and fled to the profession of law and moved to Boston. After a brief stint working in corporate law, she has managed to intertwine her legal and academic professional experiences here at Harvard. In addition, she is pursuing a master’s degree in Intercultural Relations at Lesley University.

Responsibilities

Peg can answer questions about admission requirements and application procedures for the LL.M. and S.J.D. Programs. She also maintains the electronic and archived files, and serves as the assistant to the Graduate Program Assistant Dean.