Eric R. Biel *85

Eric died Nov. 27, 2023, in Bethesda, Md.

Born in Cleveland in 1959, Eric earned a B.A. from Johns Hopkins, and joint JD-MPA degrees from Yale and from the Woodrow Wilson School.

Eric’s government service included positions in the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor, the bipartisan Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy, and as senior policy adviser to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He worked on private sector engagement, supply chain issues, and labor rights in a range of countries and under trade preference programs, and on key issues in the International Labor Organization. He led initiatives to promote and protect workers’ rights and to improve working conditions through adherence to international labor standards. In 2009, he began teaching Business and Human Rights at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Eric’s post-government activities included the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on the Future of the U.S. Workforce, and as an adviser to Burson-Marsteller, Human Rights First, and the Fontheim International law and consulting firm. Before entering government, he was an attorney at Arnold & Porter and Mayer Brown & Platt.

Eric is survived by his wife, Dana Rosenfeld; sons David and Josh; and brother Steven.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.