Lambda Legal is pleased to announce the election of Michelle S. Riley as the new Chair of its Board of Directors. Riley previously served as Vice-Chair of Lambda Legal’s Board of Directors.
“Ms. Riley has been an invaluable member of our board of directors for five years,” said Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings. “We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Riley into her new role as head of the board, and we look forward to her leadership as we continue to fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and people living with HIV.”
Riley is General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer – Americas at Bregal Investments, a New York and London-based international private equity firm with over $18 billion in assets under management and direct investing and fund-of-funds teams across the US and Europe. Riley also serves as General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer of Bregal Sagemount, a private equity firm that provides flexible capital and strategic assistance to market leaders in high-growth sectors. Prior to joining Bregal in 2007, Riley was Vice President and Co-General Counsel of ICON Capital Corp., a global asset manager and specialty finance company based in New York. Before joining ICON, she spent eight years as an M&A attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, in New York and London. She also served as In-House Counsel to John Edwards’ 2004 U.S. Democratic Presidential Primary Campaign.
Riley is also a Tony Award-winning theatre producer, having produced 2019’s Best Musical Hadestown, on Broadway and on London’s West End, 2018’s Best Musical Revival Once on This Island, Be More Chill, Funny Girl, New York, New York, Fat Ham, and Harmony on Broadway. She serves on the board of non-profit theatre company WP Theater (formerly Women’s Project), the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of Women+ at every stage of their careers. Riley has also served on the Yale Law School Fund Board and Executive Committee. She was selected by Inside Counsel Magazine as one of 100 women “Poised for Prominence” as a Fortune 500 General Counsel, and highlighted by Buyouts as “Women in PE: 10 Rock Stars Who Are the Faces of Private Equity’s Future.”
Riley splits her time among West Palm Beach, New York City, and the Netherlands with her wife, Susanne Kandel, the General Counsel of Radius Global Infrastructure.
“As we enter into Lambda Legal’s second 50 years, we find ourselves at a critical point in the fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and everyone living with HIV,” said Riley. “I am honored to be leading Lambda Legal’s Board, and I recognize the significance of this time and the urgency that we must have to continue to empower the organization’s work as the last line of defense for LGBTQ+ Americans.”
Lambda Legal has been at the forefront of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights for 50 years as a national legal nonprofit organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and people living with HIV. Lambda Legal’s lawyers have won precedent-setting civil rights cases on everything from marriage equality to expressions of gender identity to health care discrimination. Through education, advocacy, and legal action, Lambda Legal strives to protect and advance the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for a society that embraces diversity and inclusivity.