Eric Biel Fellowship for International Labor Rights

The family, friends, and colleagues of Eric Biel have created the Eric Biel Fellowship for International Labor Rights in memory of Eric, who passed away on November 27, 2023. The Fellowship is a tangible way to remember the contributions Eric made to furthering international labor rights as well as his scholarship in the field of business and human rights.

Click here to contribute to the Fellowship Fund.

Eric’s life was one of purpose. As a US government official, labor rights advocate, and law professor, his legacy is reflected in government policies and corporate practices that have improved workers’ lives.

After years working both within and outside of government, from 2012 to 2017 he served as Associate Deputy Undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Upon leaving government at the end of the Obama Administration, Eric served on the Council on Foreign Relations’ Task Force on the Future of the U.S. Workforce and volunteered in various capacities, including on the 2020 presidential campaign. Additionally, since 2008, Eric taught a business and human rights course at the Georgetown University Law Center. 

He uplifted everyone he interacted with – colleagues, friends, and students. From the time he joined FLA in 2018, Eric was an integral part of the lives and work of his FLA colleagues, and his contribution to improving the lives of millions of workers worldwide will never be forgotten.

About the Fellowship

The Eric Biel Fellowship for International Labor Rights is funded through a fund established by his spouse, Dana Rosenfeld, his children David and Josh, and other family, friends, and colleagues.

The Fellowship will provide an opportunity for students in law school or a graduate degree program to pursue practical work experience as they develop their skills to contribute to the advancement of international labor rights in the broader context of the business and human rights space.

Each year, a fellow will be chosen by an external committee which manages the search and selection process. The committee members are:

• Dana Rosenfeld
• Meg Roggensack, Georgetown Law
• Sarah Altschuller, Verizon
• Sif Thorgeirsson, Fair Labor Association
• Cindy Lewin, Whitman-Walker Health System

Fellows must be full-time graduate students pursuing a course of study that contributes to the advancement of international labor rights and/or business and human rights at any accredited college or university in the United States. 

The fellowship covers travel and living expenses for the summer term while the fellow gains experience and contributes to the work of a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the rights of workers.

The fund is administered by the Fair Labor Association, and 100% of your donation goes directly to the Fellowship fund.