Michael Ashley Stein, JD, PhD

Professor Michael Ashley Stein is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School since 2005. Considered one of the world’s leading experts on disability law and policy, Dr. Stein participated in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; works with disabled peoples’ organizations and non-governmental organizations around the world; actively consults with governments on their disability laws and policies; advises an array of UN bodies and national human rights institutions; and has brought landmark disability rights litigation globally. Stein has received numerous awards in recognition of his transformative work, including the inaugural Morton E. Ruderman Prize for Inclusion; the inaugural Henry Viscardi Achievement Award; and the ABA Paul G. Hearne Award. His authoritative and path-breaking scholarship of over 200 publications and 9 edited volumes have been published worldwide by leading journals and academic presses, and has been supported by fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, among others. Dr. Stein also teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Medical School, holds an Extraordinary Professorship at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law’s Centre for Human Rights, and is a visiting professor at the Free University of Amsterdam Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences’ Athena Institute. He earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.