Nationally Recognized Expert in Non-Discrimination Law and Anti-Transgender Discrimination Joins Lambda Legal’s Washington, D.C. Office
Lambda Legal is pleased to announce the appointment of Cathryn (Kate) Oakley (she/her) as Deputy Legal Director of Policy. Oakley joins Lambda Legal’s Washington, D.C. office and brings more than a decade of experience at the forefront of LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy, non-discrimination law, and legislative strategy.
“Kate Oakley is exactly the kind of leader Lambda Legal needs at this moment,” said Kevin Jennings, Chief Executive Officer at Lambda Legal. “Her command of non-discrimination law and her years on the front lines fighting anti-transgender legislation make her an outstanding addition to our team. We are thrilled to welcome her.”
Oakley joins Lambda Legal from the Human Rights Campaign, where she served since 2012 in a range of roles including Senior Director of Legal Policy, Senior Counsel, and State Legislative Director. She supervised HRC’s legal policy and impact litigation teams and directed its cross-departmental state legislative program, providing expert counsel to legislators and advocates at the federal, state, and local levels. Her policy accomplishments include work on the Respect for Marriage Act (2022), the Virginia Values Act (2020), and the successful fight against North Carolina’s House Bill 2. She also served as a founding author of HRC’s Municipal Equality Index and co-author of the State Equality Index, two of the organization’s most widely accessed resources.
A nationally recognized subject matter expert, Oakley has worked extensively on non-discrimination protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations; access to healthcare for transgender people; non-discrimination in education, including athletics; family law and child welfare; and constitutional protections for LGBTQ+ people. She has provided on-the-spot legal analysis of landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Skrmetti v. United States, Obergefell v. Hodges, and Windsor v. U.S., and has appeared as a spokesperson and commentator on PBS NewsHour, CNN, Al-Jazeera, NPR, and NBC, as well as in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and other major outlets.
“Kate’s experience is a tremendous asset to Lambda Legal,” said Douglas Curtis, Chief Legal Officer at Lambda Legal. “She has spent her career turning legal expertise into real wins for LGBTQ+ people at every level of government, and I could not be more excited to have her alongside us in this fight.”
Oakley is a member of the Virginia Bar. Prior to joining the Human Rights Campaign, Oakley practiced domestic relations law at the Law Offices of Jay B. Myerson in Fairfax County, Virginia. She has served as an adjunct professor at George Washington University since 2014, co-teaching “Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Law” in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. She is also a published legal scholar, with recent articles appearing in the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal and the Richmond Public Interest Law Review, among other publications. In 2023, she was named to the National LGBTQ Bar Association’s 40 Best Lawyers Under 40.
Oakley holds a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law and a B.A. from Smith College.
“Freedom and equality are hanging in the balance in America, and LGBTQ+ people are on the frontlines,” said Cathryn Oakley, Deputy Legal Director of Policy at Lambda Legal. “Lambda Legal has been at the forefront of fighting for LGBTQ+ civil rights for decades, and the nation needs that leadership now more than ever. I am honored to join this powerful team and look forward to fiercely and passionately defending the communities we serve together.”