Kathryn Kolbert
Kathryn Kolbert is the Co-Founder and Producing Director of the Athena Film Festival and served as the Founding Director of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies from 2009 - 2018. She is a former president of People for the American Way and the People for the American Way Foundation.[1]
Biography[edit]
Kolbert graduated from the Kingswood School Cranbrook in 1970, received her Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University's School of Arts and Sciences[2] in 1974, and graduated cum laude from Temple University School of Law[2] in 1977.
Before she became a journalist, Kolbert was a public interest attorney specializing in women's reproductive rights.[2] From 1979 to 1988, she was a Staff Attorney with the Women's Law Project and Community Legal Services in Philadelphia.[2] Kolbert served as the State Coordinating Counsel of the American Civil Liberty Union's Reproductive Freedom Project in New York City[2] from 1988 to 1992. Between 1992 and 1997, she directed domestic litigation and public policy programs for the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, where she was Co-Founder and Vice President.[2]
In 1992, Kolbert argued before the United States Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey,[3][4] a case which challenged five abortion regulations in Pennsylvania. Kolbert was unsuccessful and four out of five regulations were upheld (This needs to be contextualized).
From 1998 to 2008, Kolbert oversaw a program on law and American life at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center.[2] She was the Executive Producer of Justice Talking, a radio program distributed by National Public Radio, and directed an educational website called JusticeLearning.org, which received a Webby Award in 2005.[2]
Prior to working at Barnard, Kolbert spent a year in Washington, D.C. as president and CEO of the People for the American Way and People for the American Way Foundation.[2] She resigned as president and CEO on April 3, 2009.
Awards and honors[edit]
Kolbert has been recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America," and by the American Lawyer as one of 45 public-interest lawyers "whose vision and commitment are changing lives."[2] In 2011, Kolbert received the Edith I. Spivack Award from the New York County Lawyers' Association's Women's Rights Committee.
References[edit]
- ^ "Attorney Kathryn Kolbert will lead Athena Center". Columbia Spectator. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kathryn Kolbert, Director, Athena Center for Leadership Studies, Barnard College, retrieved on March 7, 2012, at https://web.archive.org/web/20120711201946/http://athenacenter.barnard.edu/about/director
- ^ "FRONTLINE: the last abortion clinic: interviews: kathryn kolbert". Public Broadcasting Service. 8 November 2005. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ "Kathryn Kolbert to Head People For the American Way". People For the American Way. Retrieved 4 July 2010.