Helen Alvare, J.D. is Honorary Fellow in Law at the Culture of Life Foundation and is an Associate Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia. There she teaches and publishes in the areas of property law, family law, and Catholic social thought. From 2000 to Spring 2008, Professor Alvare taught at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law.  Professor Alvare also lectures widely in the United StatesEurope on matters concerning marriage, family and respect for human life. She is a consultant to ABC News and to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Marriage and Pro-Life Committees.  In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named Professor Alvare a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

From 1987-2000, Professor Alvare was an attorney with the USCCB's General Counsel Office and director of information and planning for the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. In these positions, she testified before the U.S. Congress and before the political platform committees of the Democratic and Republican parties. She also lobbied the U.S. Congress and drafted amicus briefs for the United States Supreme Court, as well as appearing regularly on national television and radio programs.   Prior to 1987, Professor Alvare spent three years as a litigation associate at the Philadelphia law firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens and Young.  She received her juris doctorate from Cornell University in 1984 and her masters degree in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of America in 1989. Helen is currently on sabbatical from the Fellows Program while writing a book on Marriage and Family.