Director, Thurgood Marshall Institute

Since 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) has played a critical role in the fight to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society. LDF’s litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education programs in the areas of criminal justice, economic justice, education, and political participation seek to ensure the fundamental and basic human rights of all people.

LDF seeks an accomplished and dynamic thought leader, researcher, and convenor with deep experience and interests at the intersections of civil rights, racial, social, and economic justice, law, policy, and advocacy to serve as the next director of the Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI). 

Launched in 2015, the Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multidisciplinary think-tank style research center within LDF. TMI complements LDF’s traditional litigation strengths and brings critical capabilities to the fight for racial justice, including conducting and disseminating cutting-edge research to inform policymaking, educate the public, and support targeted advocacy campaigns; organizing issue-focused convenings; serving as a strategic hub within LDF for the incubation of ideas; and collaborating with other advocacy and research partners on joint projects and initiatives. The institute also houses LDF’s Archives—one of the most comprehensive and significant collections of materials chronicling the legal history of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

The director of the Thurgood Marshall Institute will lead the ongoing execution, review and alignment of the institute’s strategy, priorities, and key performance indicators; manage the dissemination, promotion, and application of critical research and archival findings both internally and externally; lead, support, and collaborate with a team of dedicated researchers, advocates, and archivists; and facilitate effective and strategic engagement with critical internal and external stakeholders to build productive relationships.

You are a good fit for the role of director of the LDF Thurgood Marshall Institute if: 

• You are passionate about advancing racial justice through the production, promotion, and application of civil rights-centered research in advocacy settings.
• You have a proven track record of multidisciplinary thought leadership in social justice, legal, public policy, and/or social scientific research.
• You have a deep understanding of ongoing social change, advocacy, and public education efforts being undertaken by LDF and peer civil rights and social justice advocacy organizations.
• You value documenting and preserving the history of a legacy civil rights institution and the civil rights movement, including the ongoing movement for racial justice in the U.S. 
• You create a culture of transparency around you while also enforcing appropriate and necessary boundaries and maintaining confidentiality around sensitive matters.
• You can manage a team of research and archives professionals, drawing upon their expertise and enhancing esprit de corps.  
• You build respect, trust, camaraderie, and credibility among your colleagues while also driving performance and holding team members accountable.
• You are solution-oriented and address challenges with a sense of clarity and determination without compromising the need for patience, understanding, and flexibility when warranted.

Ernest Brooks is leading this search with Kahn Lee and Clay Batley.

Anticipated Salary Range: $200,000-300,000


The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to you without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, age, veteran status, medical condition or disability, genetic information, gender identity, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law.