Gretchen Bellamy recently joined University of Miami’s law school as the Director of International Public Interest Programs for the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center. Before joining in April, Bellamy earned a J.D. and an LL.M. in international and comparative law from Duke University School of Law in 2005. While in law school, she pursued an externship where she worked for an international non-governmental organization in Harare, Zimbabwe. In addition, she studied comparative law at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
While pursuing a B.A. in international relations at the University of Delaware, during her junior year, she began working for a transitional homeless women’s shelter as an Assistant House Manager. What started out as part-time job paying $10 an hour turned into a life changing experience-she was promoted to House Manager and her commitment to public service was solidified.
“It was one of the hardest things I had to do,”she said. Quitting wasn’t an option for her either. “It was being in the community helping those less fortunate than me that kept me going.”
Her passion for international public interest work began in Africa – a seed planted during her first trip to the continent while working in Cameroon as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2001. Since her return from central Africa, it’s been her mission to promote positive international development through the law.
