Fernando Chang-Muy, MA, JD

Fernando Chang-Muy is a lawyer, activist and strategic business and leadership adviser. He is the Thomas O’Boyle Lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law. He also teaches courses at the Graduate School of Social Policy and Practice on topics such as US Immigration Law, International Human Rights and Refugee Law, and Non-Profit Leadership. He has expansive, parallel careers in immigration and refugee law, higher education, philanthropy, and leadership development: He served as Legal Officer with both the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO), AIDS Program. He also served as the first director of Swarthmore College’s Intercultural Center, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, advisor to the Provost on Equal Opportunity, and lecturer on International Human Rights in Peace and Conflict Studies.

He began his legal career as a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia serving as Director of the Southeast Asian Refugee Project, providing free legal aid to low-income immigrants and refugees in Philadelphia. He is also past founding director of the Liberty Center for Survivors of Torture, a project of Lutheran Children and Family Services, established to serve newcomers fleeing human rights violations.

In addition to teaching, he combines his experience in academia and operations, as principal and founder of Solutions International, providing independent management consulting, facilitation and training to philanthropic institutions, non profit organizations and government agencies. His areas of expertise include designing and facilitating large group, action-focused strategic planning processes, board governance retreats, staff internal communications systems, and resource development plans and individual donor campaigns.

His civic leadership volunteer positions include serving on the Leadership Council of the Philadelphia Cov-19 Fund, which raised 18M for grants to local non profits; Trustees of the Philadelphia Foundation serving on its Grantsmaking Committee; Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs; Commissioner to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.; Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Multicultural and Immigration Transition Committee. He is former Board member of Philanthropy Network, The Philadelphia Award, The Merchants Fund, the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, and the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Coalition. He is author of numerous articles on diverse topics dealing with immigration & refugees, public health, and management. He is co-editor of Social Work with Immigrants and Refugees (3nd ed. NY: Springer Publication, 2023) and contributing author to diverse publications. He is a graduate of Loyola, Georgetown, Antioch, and Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation. He is a recipient of both the 2011 and 2018 Penn Law Public Interest Supervisor/Advisor of the Year Award honoring outstanding project supervisors. and advisors; and the 2016 recipient of the Law School Beacon Award, recognizing exemplary commitment to pro bono work by a Penn Law faculty member.