Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza

Rebecca Buckwalter Poza is a Senior Fellow and Aron Senior Justice Counsel at the Alliance for Justice. Rebecca is an activist, advocate, and attorney best known for successfully suing former president Donald Trump under the First Amendment.

A two-decade veteran of Washington and second-generation American, Rebecca has worked on progressive campaigns and policy projects on five continents, including as a Luce Scholar at Hong Kong’s Asian Human Rights Commission and Asian Legal Resource Center and as Deputy National Press Secretary of the Democratic National Committee during President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

RPBP, as she’s also known on Twitter and in person, went on to direct access to justice project Making Justice Equal at the Center for American Progress as a Yale Law Journal Justine Polier Wise Public Interest Fellow, work with NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg, and originate the role of Judicial Affairs Editor at Daily Kos. She is a co-founder of Prism, a publication that elevates stories, ideas, and solutions from the underrepresented leaders, thinkers, and activists whose voices are critical to a reflective democracy.

Rebecca co-authored James Carville’s 40 More Years and led research for Paul Begala’s Third Term. A contributor to Pacific Standard, her writing on politics and law has been published by Democracy Journal, Washington Monthly, CNN, NPR, The Daily Beast, The Nation, and The Atlantic, among others. Rebecca has also been featured for her role in advancing free speech protections in publications from The New York Times to Cosmopolitan to The New Yorker.

Rebecca has been a regular guest on the Bill Press Show as well as appearing on multiple podcasts, such as The Electorette, and networks including MSNBC. She has spoken or led panels at conferences and universities from Netroots Nation and Lesbians Who Tech to Yale and Duke University.

Rebecca received her A.B. from Harvard College and her J.D. from Yale Law School. A student of military law who served as an observer at Guantanamo, Rebecca clerked for the Honorable Meg Ryan on the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces as well as the late Honorable Juan R. Torruella on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Rebecca is barred in Virginia and before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Rebecca, who serves on the board of LPAC—the only organization dedicated to electing queer women and non-binary candidates—has been recognized by Glamour, Bitch, and the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation for her work in public service and by Tagg, The Washington Blade, and The Office of the Mayor of Washington, D.C., for her contributions to the LGBTQ community.

In her capacity as an LGBTQ Latina activist, comedian, and storyteller, Rebecca has performed in locations from The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to Washington’s 9:30 Club. During her spare time, you’ll find Rebecca writing, hiking, or SCUBA diving.