Helen M. Alvaré is chair of the Task Force on Conscience Protection and Associate Professor of Law at George Mason School of Law. Previously an associate professor at the Catholic University's Columbus School of Law. Professor Alvaré practiced with the Philadelphia law firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens and Young, specializing in commercial litigation and free exercise of religion matters. For three years, she worked at the Office of General Counsel for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, where she drafted amicus briefs in leading U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning abortion, euthanasia and the Establishment Clause. For the next ten years, she worked with the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities at the NCCB. There, she lobbied, testified before federal congressional committees, addressed university audiences, and appeared on hundreds of television and radio programs on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops. She also assisted the Holy See on matters concerning women, marriage and the family, and respect for human life. Professor Alvaré chaired the commission investigating clerical abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and is an advisor to Pope Benedict XVI's Pontifical Council for the Laity, as well as an ABC News consultant. Professor Alvaré received her law degree at Cornell University and a master's degree in systematic theology from The Catholic University of America.

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