LDICP Team
Ruby Andrew: Project Director
Ruby Andrew is an associate professor at Southern University Law Center. Her research areas are legislative policymaking and child protection, and her current research is on legal representation for children in cases of abuse and neglect. In 2013, she received Southern University System’s award for Outstanding Researcher at SULC for her law review articles.
Before joining the SULC faculty, Prof. Andrew was Legislative Director for a USAID-funded project in Indonesia, where she established legislative clinics at eight public law schools. She trained Indonesian law professors and lawmakers in policymaking methods and supported their drafting work. The resulting bills established national regulations in banking, corruption control, criminal law, elections, and land use, among others.
Prof. Andrew has worked as a policy analyst for the Congressional Research Service, analyzing bills for the Senate and House. As a legislative expert, she has consulted for non-profit organizations and legislatures in states including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Arkansas, and Rhode Island.
Prof. Andrew is a graduate of Brown University, where she received her A.B. in linguistics and in Russian literature. She earned her J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of Legislative Services. She earned her J.S.M. from Stanford Law School, where she held the Carl B. Spaeth Fellowship in Law Teaching.
Beatrice Rose Blanco-Chamberland: Administrator
With a background in administrative support and financial management, Beatrice Rose Blanco-Chamberland came to be a member of The LDICP staff in September of 2018.
Dynamic and organized, with a sharp financial acumen and experience providing overarching administrative support within both the profit and non-profit sectors, she oversees all administrative functions, including correspondence, budgeting, donor database management, and special funding projects. A keene expertise in full cycle accounting, processing payroll, and managing assets ensures compliance with all governmental policies and procedures. Compassionate and professional, she's adept at communicating with individuals from all walks of life.
While working towards her Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Anthropology at Seattle University, she spent time tutoring at-risk youth and working closely with homeless populations. In 2011, she earned her Master's in Business and Healthcare Administration from Webster University. Recently, she spearheaded the grassroots movement to update the legislation in her city to allow citizens to raise backyard chickens. Blanco-Chamberland is also a volunteer with her local SPCA.
Wendy Shea: Legal Editor
Wendy Shea is an Associate Professor of Legal Analysis & Writing at the Southern University Law Center. She teaches in the areas of criminal law and legal analysis and writing. She is the coauthor of a Louisiana criminal law textbook and treatise. Prof. Shea was awarded an Excellence in Teaching award from Southern University, and she was selected co-professor of the year by the SBA for the 2015-2016 school year.
Prof. Shea is actively involved with youth education programming through the Baton Rouge Bar Foundation. She acts as a classroom attorney for the Junior Partners Academy, providing monthly civics programming to second and third grade students. She also prepares problems for the Summer Law Institute and is involved with the High School Mock Trial competition and Law Day.
Prior to joining the SULC faculty, Prof. Shea worked for the Appellate Court of Illinois and taught legal writing as an adjunct instructor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and DePaul University College of Law. Shea has also worked as a public policy liaison for two Latin American solidarity organizations in Chicago.
