Kate Kendell Esq.

Kate Kendell, Esq. was the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the first lesbian-led legal organization in the US, from 1996 to 2018. Named one of California’s Top 100 attorneys, Kendell’s leadership has bee central to the fight for LGBTQ equality, including marriage equality, protections for LGBTQ families and youth, and the ongoing fight for transgender rights. NCLR argued or filed amicus briefs and won in four cases brought before the Supreme Court, including marriage equality nationally in the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell v. Hodges case.

Winner of the National LGBT Bar Association’s Dan Bradley Award, the Bar Association’s highest award recognizing an LGBTQ member who has led the way in the struggle for equality under the law, Kate Kendell grew up Mormon in Utah and received her JD degree from the University of Utah College of Law. It was not until she worked for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah that she felt comfortable and safe being out as a lesbian. She continued her activism in San Francisco, first as the legal director of NCLR and, then, as the executive director.

Following NCLR, Kendell worked as the interim chief legal officer for the Southern Poverty Law Center from 2019 to 2021. Currently, Kate Kendell is the chief of staff of the California Endowment, a statewide foundation focused on expanding access to affordable, quality health care for underserved communities. The California Endowment is the largest health justice foundation in California. Dr. Robert K. Ross, CEO/president of the California Endowment, said of Kate’s appointment in 2022, “Kate’s career is steeped in racial justice, LGBTQ advocacy, and civil rights, she will be a strong leader for our work in the next decade.”

Kendell has appeared in media as a spokesperson for LGBTQ civil rights on Good Morning America, CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post, among many others. Her excellent performance in a televised debate in 2011 with Moral Majority Evangelical leader Rev. Jerry Falwell was a pivotal moment for lesbian visibility in mainstream media. Kendell continues to be a fierce advocate for civil rights. She lives in Oakland, CA.