Jessica Vapnek

Jessica Vapnek had a long international career before joining the faculty at USF School of Law. She has served as Associate Dean of the MLS Program, Associate Director of Global Programs, and Faculty Director of the International Development Law Center at UC Law SF (formerly UC Hastings); Regional Technical Director for a consulting firm implementing rule-of-law projects around the world; and Legal Officer with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome. At FAO, she provided policy advice to member countries, drafted legislation on agriculture and natural resources, and wrote a number of articles and books. Professor Vapnek has lived in Africa (she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the former Zaire and a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana) and has worked in or traveled to more than 95 countries during her career. She continues to do occasional work for the United Nations as an expert, for example traveling to Bhutan and Malawi to review their veterinary legislative frameworks and to Nepal to evaluate a proposed draft food safety law. Professor Vapnek has degrees from Yale University and Berkeley Law School, where she was Editor in Chief of the California Law Review. She speaks French, Spanish, and Italian.

• Legislative Drafting
• Food and Agriculture Law
• International Development

• Legislative drafting
• Food and agriculture law
• International development

• JD, UC Berkeley, 1991
• BA, Yale University, 1985