JILLIAN HOPMAN

Jill Hopman is a practicing immigration and human rights attorney for the past 15 years and currently serves as Chair of the New Hanover County Democratic Party (NHCDP). Jill grew up in Wilmington and won the John T. Hoggard Award as a high-school senior, before graduating cum laude from Duke University and earning her law degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. While in law school, she served as the Executive Editor of the First Amendment Law Review and was the recipient of the Gressman-Pollitt Award for Exemplary Skill in Appellate Advocacy. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, ThinkProgress, Huffington Post, The Intercept, Las Vegas Sun, ABC, FOX, Univision, Raleigh News & Observer, and many other media sources, as well as published by the ACLU, in journals like New Labor Forum, and in books such as Deportation: Who Goes and Who Stays?. She has also been honored by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Ms. Foundation's Special Commendation for Excellence in Leadership. With nearly 20 years of campaign and election experience, Jill’s political activism flourished in 2015 when she served as Volunteer Leader at national headquarters for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, as well as a voter-protection attorney on her Victory Counsel. In July 2020, Jill returned to Wilmington and began serving as an at-large poll observer for New Hanover County and overseeing voter-protection efforts for Brunswick County during the general election. She helped lead the recount campaign for Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and testified before the New Hanover County Board of Elections. Jill also oversaw voter-protection efforts for the 2021 municipal elections and 2022 midterm elections, while serving as the North Carolina Democratic Party’s County Liaison for Voter Protection and a member of the State Executive Committee. In particular, Jill is passionate about voting rights, voter-protection initiatives, and free and fair elections. She was honored to participate in the NC Trusted Elections Tour last year, and she is very excited to serve on this critical bipartisan commission. In addition to her election-related work, Jill serves on the Board of Directors for Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, as a Judge for the NYU National Immigration Law Competition, on the Innovation Council for Eleanor’s Legacy, and as a member of the Duke Alumni Admissions Committee.