Alison Hirschel is the Director of the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative. In that capacity, she oversees and supports a number of statewide litigation and advocacy efforts for older adults and people with disabilities including the Michigan Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, the MI Health Link Ombudsman Program, the Crime Victims Legal Assistance Elder Justice Project, and several elder abuse prevention projects. She writes and speaks frequently about elder justice, long term care, and advocacy for older adults, has published several articles, and is the co-editor and one of the authors of Advising Clients on Elder and Disability Law. Since 1998, she has also served on the adjunct faculty at the University of Michigan Law School where she is as a Public Interest/Public Service Fellow. Alison was appointed to serve on Michigan’s Elder Abuse Task Force, is a member of the national Elder Justice Forum/Elder Justice Roadmap Steering Committee, and is co-chair of Michigan’s Medical Care Advisory Council. Previously, she was a Commissioner on the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging and President of the Board of NCCNHR, now known as the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care. Alison also worked as an attorney at Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service and Community Legal Services in Philadelphia and as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a law clerk to a federal district judge in Philadelphia.  Alison received the Toby Edelman Legal Justice Award in 2010, the National Aging and Law Award in 2003, and served as the first Yale Law School Arthur Liman Fellow in 1997. Alison received her B.A. in 1981 from the University of Michigan and her J.D. in 1984 from Yale Law School.Â