Abbey V. Richards has been part the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel at the George Washington University since 2003, starting as a law clerk and working her way through the ranks to her present Senior Counsel role. She regularly advises senior leaders on a wide range of issues impacting higher education. Her principal areas of focus include non-profit governance and compliance, business and banking transactions, non-profit taxation, international issues, conflicts of interest, research compliance, and general contract review. In addition, for several years she taught a course in Higher Education Law and Politics at Drexel University's Graduate School of Education.   

Abbey joined NACUA in 2005. During this time, she has served on several committees including multi-year terms on the Committee on Finance and Audit, the Committee on Strategic Planning, the Committee on Membership and Member Services, and the Committee on Program for Annual Conference. She has also spoken several times at NACUA conferences and workshops.  

Abbey holds a B.A. in International and Area Studies from the University of Oklahoma and both a J.D. and an M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University.