Professional Experience

Bridget Mugane is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, holding a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in both European History and African History from that institution. After fieldwork in East Africa, she taught these subjects at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, the first environmental university.

As a professor Ms. Mugane became involved in employee rights, serving as president of the Women’s Faculty Association and then being elected to the Wisconsin National Education Association (NEA) Board of Directors, to represent NEA members of all University of Wisconsin campuses. She was trained as a union organizer, interned with the NEA state president, and testified before state legislative committees.

In her NEA experience Ms. Mugane found she particularly enjoyed advocacy; she decided to become a lawyer. She chose the Antioch School of Law which had an extraordinary legal clinic program with students representing clients from the second semester until graduation, under supervising attorneys. In her last semester she represented a federal whistleblower, which led to referrals from the Government Accountability Project.

After passing the bar early Ms. Mugane went into private practice as a solo practitioner in employment litigation; one of her first clients was a Foreign Service officer. Gifted clients with careers in international affairs was a winning combination for Ms. Mugane because of her deep interest in global matters. She decided to specialize in Foreign Service litigation and has remained in that specialty, greatly enjoying this niche and the opportunity to help Foreign Service members advance in their careers.