Last week Rick Pildes covered the exciting news that Heather Gerken is going to head the Ford Foundation, after a successful stint as Yale Law School dean. And even better, as the NYT headline puts it, Ford Foundation’s New Leader Says She’ll Work to Protect Democracy. That work is urgent of course, and has been my focus and the focus of many of us in the field for the last few years. But to have Heather head up the Foundation’s efforts here is tremendously good news.

She helped to build the field of election law, advancing ideas of both theoretical and very practical experience. She has been an ELB contributor for many years. (She’s no longer going to be listed on the ELB masthead going forward, consistent with her move to the Foundation.)

Heather is not just a brilliant and generous scholar who will do great work to help safeguard American democracy. She’s thoughtful, compassionate, and always there to lift others up. In a word, she’s a mensch.

I’m grateful for her friendship, support, and her past service, and I look forward to seeing what she will do at the Foundation.