Celebrate Constitution Day by joining us on September 16 for our live, virtual Rule of Law Expert Panel for Students!
Students are encouraged to submit their questions in advance or during the panel discussion by texting (240) 863-2406. Teachers will also be able to submit their students' questions to panelists live during the discussion.
Students should NOT register for this event. Teachers, please register for this event using this form, and then share the event link with your students. This event is only for students 13 years of age and older.
This expert panel will feature the following rule of law experts:
- Scott Carlson, Associate Executive Director, Global Programs, American Bar Association
- The Honorable Zia Faruqui, United States Magistrate Judge, United States District Court, District of Columbia
- Fe LopezGaetke, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Law School Admission Council
- Colleen Sinzdak, Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States
Scott Carlson’s legal career spans over 30 years and includes over 20 years in the international development and rule of law fields. He began his work in rule of law in the early 1990s, as a pro bono Rule of Law Liaison for the ABA. In the years since, he has worked in both field-based and headquarters settings. Currently, he is Associate Executive Director of the ABA's Center of Global Programs, previously the Senior Director for Programs and Strategic Initiatives at ABA ROLI. In this capacity, he oversees the design, management, and evaluation of ABA ROLI’s complex international legal assistance programs. He brings experience working with a variety of donors and international organizations, including USAID, UN, European Union, ILAC, African Union, U.S. Department of State, The Hague Institute for Global Justice, and International IDEA.
Before recently rejoining ABA, Scott served in ABA’s Washington Offices, as the Director for Central and Eastern Europe and Judicial Reform from 1999-2003. He designed and managed multiple international legal reform programs and supervised over 80 employees in offices across Eastern Europe. He also led the implementation of ABA ROLI’s first assessment tool, the Judicial Reform Index. Scott has published regularly on rule of law, human rights, anti-corruption, and other legal fields.
Judge Zia Faruqui has been serving as a federal magistrate judge for the District of Columbia since September 2020. Prior to his appointment, he was a federal prosecutor, first in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and then in the District of Columbia. Over the span of over twelve years of federal service as an AUSA, he prosecuted numerous criminal cases, most recently serving as the lead prosecutor for complex and novel crimes involving, for example, terrorists’ use of cryptocurrency, nuclear weapons proliferation, darknet sites dedicated to child exploitation, and antiquities theft. He also litigated over $700 million in money laundering and asset forfeiture proceedings. As a subject-matter expert, he has presented on cryptocurrency and anti-money laundering issues in conferences spanning from Europe to Asia and the Middle East. Prior to serving as a federal prosecutor, Judge Faruqui worked at a corporate law firm where he focused on government investigations and general commercial litigation. Judge Faruqui is a board member for Jobs for Homeless People, a non-profit that provides housing and vocational training to people in the D.C. metropolitan area and is a volunteer at the Rendell Center for Civics and Civics Engagement where he hosts a podcast Grab the Gavel. He also served as a Muslim-outreach coordinator for the Department of Justice and an as an adjunct professor at Harris-Stowe State University. He received his J.D. and undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.
Fé LopezGaetke is the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Law School Admission Council. Prior to joining LSAC, she was appointed executive director of the Seattle Community Police Commission (“CPC”) by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and was confirmed by the CPC and Seattle City Council in early 2014.
At the CPC, she engaged with minoritized communities to help drive policy and practice changes to improve police impact on marginalized communities. Before that, she was director of alumni relations and annual fund at Seattle University School of Law.
LopezGaetke is a past president of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW), where she was co-chair of the Judicial Evaluation Committee, chair of the Banquet Committee, and co-chair of the Community Outreach Committee. During her time with LBAW, she worked with minoritized communities on the MEDC Task Force on Police Accountability in Seattle and with the United for Fair Representation Coalition advocating for minority-majority congressional and legislative districts and the Washington State Voting Rights Act. She developed diversity initiatives with LBAW, other minority bar and community organizations, law students, and lawyers.
She is also a co-founder and past co-chair of the Judicial Institute, which encourages qualified diverse attorneys to seek judicial positions through a comprehensive education and mentorship program in order to promote court benches that reflect the richness and diversity of the communities and populations served by our judicial system throughout the state of Washington.
Colleen Sinzdak is an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States. In that role, she briefs and argues cases before the Supreme Court. Colleen previously served as an associate and then partner in the appellate practice at Hogan Lovells, and as a law clerk in the Supreme Court to Chief Justice John Roberts and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to then judge, now Attorney General, Merrick Garland. Colleen earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and received her J.D. from Harvard Law School. In addition, Colleen received a bachelor and master’s degree from Cambridge University, from which she also received a teaching certificate. After Cambridge and before she went to law school, Colleen served as a high school English teacher in Bishop’s Stratford, England and in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
