Kathryn Kolbert, a renowned civil rights lawyer, advocate and award-winning journalist, assumed the role of president at People for the American Way in mid-March. The progressive national advocacy organization is dedicated to preserving constitutional liberties and promoting American values.
Kolbert most recently was a senior research administrator with the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylva-nia, where she created a nationally recognized public education program about law and American life that includes the National Public Radio program, Justice Talking. As an attorney specializing in women’s rights, she is credited with saving Roe v. Wade, the landmark case legalizing abortion, through her 1992 argument before the Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
“We have a tremendous opportunity to advocate for core American values such as justice, equality and religious tolerance at a critical turning point in our nation’s history,” said Kolbert in a press release issued by PFAW upon her appointment.
Prior to joining the Annenberg Public Policy Center, Kolbert was a founder and vice president of the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (now the Center for Reproductive Rights). Early in her career she developed the state legislative advocacy program at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project and was a staff attorney at the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia.
Kolbert has lived in Philadelphia with her partner Joann Hyle for nearly 30 years. They have two children.
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