Name: Alexandra “Ali” Curd
Job Title: Staff Policy Attorney
Pronouns: She/her
Location: Washington, D.C.
For years, the nation’s best and brightest legal minds have put their skills and passion to work for carrying forth Lambda Legal’s mission to advance the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with H.I.V. In this series, you’ll get to know the people at the heart of what we do.
In this edition of “Meet Our Lawyers,” we will be highlighting Alexandra “Ali” Curd. Her warm energy and dedication to person-centric advocacy has been a great asset to Lambda Legal’s legal team. Since joining in 2023, Ali has fought hard against the onslaught of attacks against the LGBTQ+ community in general, and the trans and gender-nonconforming community in particular, at the federal level. She has been involved in many efforts to prevent the use of the federal appropriations process to force through discriminatory policies as well as efforts to confirm diverse judicial nominees and stand against bigoted bill proposals. On the local level, Ali has been a part of efforts to bring the LGBTQ+ community to the forefront of conversations around housing policy in the Washington, D.C. area.
What brought you to work at Lambda?
Lambda’s legacy for fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV is what made me want to work here. I joined the team because I am driven to work with and for the communities that shaped me and poured into me, and I knew that working here was a wonderful opportunity to continue to do so. In my “past life,” I worked with unstably and unhoused youth and families, but as the political climate in our country became increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ folks in general — and trans folks in particular — I felt a strong pull towards being more directly a part of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. As a proud Black, bisexual femme, I felt especially drawn to the movement right now because I think our voices are needed now more than ever.
What issue or area of the law do you specialize in?
My work largely focuses on federal policy, with a bit of state public policy work in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. I work to push back on laws, policies, and regulations that are harmful to LGTBQ+ people and everyone living with HIV. This requires me to know a little about a lot of different issue areas, including health care and education. While my work here at Lambda Legal can run the gambit in terms of subject matter, my background is in racial, housing, and economic justice.
What has been your proudest moment or project here at Lambda Legal, and why?
All of the amazing work we do here at Lambda Legal makes it nearly impossible to pick just one thing! But one moment that has brought me so much pride is being a part of the Freedom to Be Ourselves rally. Lambda Legal and our partners at the ACLU hosted the rally in front of the Supreme Court in support of our case L.W. v. Skrmetti. Despite the frigid winter temperatures and the gloom and doom of the opposition’s rally, our rally was a celebration full of music and laughter and hope. We danced to Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga to keep warm. We cheered for trans joy and smiled until our cheeks were sore, then settled in for incredibly moving speeches from members of our community. Getting to stand in solidarity with trans youth, hear their stories, see them witness the first openly trans litigator to argue before the Supreme Court, is why I am drawn to this work.
How have you seen the rights for LGBTQ+ folks advance in your lifetime? What would you like to see in the future?
One of the most disorienting things is living in an era where we’ve experienced so many advancements in the rights, acceptance, and overall visibility of our community, and knowing that so many still support us, while witnessing a backslide orchestrated by a vocal, bigoted minority. The biggest advancement in my eyes is the sheer amount of queer and trans youth who are unapologetically and loudly themselves. One of the main things that I want to see are more Black, queer femmes, trans and gender-nonconforming people in leadership and strategist roles within the LGBTQ+ movement, because our movement has the most to learn about survival in hard times from those who have to find ways to survive even during the “good times.”
What’s something fun or interesting you would like to share about yourself?
I love being on stage! I have performed all my life, including completing a vocal performance minor at the University of Kentucky. Since college, I’ve continued to perform by being a member of Howard University School of Law’s gospel choir and doing community theatre. My most recent role was Sebastian in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” in Summer 2024! I’ve also been competing in pageants for about a decade and recently accepted another pageant title. Wish me luck!
What is bringing you joy right now?
Two things: musical theatre and the video game, “The Sims!” It’s audition season for some of the community theatres in the D.C. area, which is a very exciting time because I get to spend time preparing audition pieces and watching shows. As for “The Sims,” I’ve been playing the “Sims” franchise since the very first game came out. For the game’s 25th anniversary, the developers re-released the first two games for download, and all I want to do with my time is play the “Sims 2”!