Tracy Boak has been practicing law for more than thirty years since obtaining her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Widener University Commonwealth Law School. After several years as a business litigator in private practice, she went to work for the Pennsylvania Department of State as a prosecutor. In 2007, she accepted the role as the Director of the Pennsylvania Department of State’s Bureau of Charitable Organizations, the agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of the State’s charitable solicitation law. During her tenure in that position, she served on the board of the National Association of Attorneys General/National Association of State Charity Officials (NAAG/NASCO) for six years, serving as Secretary, Vice-President, and then, finally, as President. She was also an adjunct professor at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, where she taught Nonprofit Law.

Since 2011, Tracy Boak has been a partner at Perlman & Perlman, LLP, a firm dedicated to providing legal counsel to the charitable sector. During her tenure, she has represented a multitude of nonprofit clients on a variety of legal matters, including representing clients in connection with regulatory investigations and enforcement actions initiated by the various states’ charity and other government agencies; organizational internal member and board governance disputes; breach of contract claims; and whistleblower investigations. She has served as an expert witness in several matters involving issues of law related to charitable fundraising compliance. Of significance, Ms. Boak works with nonprofits to conduct legal audits, working with organizations to assess their legal health, whereby strengths and weaknesses are identified and then develop a plan to improve legal compliance and manage risks. She is also a certified mediator, which is helpful in navigating board and other internal disputes.

Tracy is regularly invited to speak at conferences and in educational programs on legal matters of interest to the nonprofit sector. She serves on the board of directors of The Nonprofit Alliance, Reisenbach Philanthropies, and the Nonprofit Collective Foundation. She is an active member of the NYC Bar’s Nonprofit Organizations Committee, having recently served as co-chair from 2022 to 2025, as well as Nonprofit New York’s Government Relations Council and The Nonprofit Alliance’s Government Affairs Committee.