Karen Sandler is the

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the

Software Freedom Conservancy Software Freedom Conservancy, Inc. is an organization that provides a non-profit home and infrastructure support for free and open source software projects. The organization was established in 2006, and as of June 2022, had over 40 member pro ...

, former executive director of the

GNOME Foundation GNOME Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Orinda, California, United States, coordinating the efforts in the GNOME project. Purpose The GNOME Foundation works to further the goal of the GNOME project: to create a computing platfor ...

, an attorney, and former

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of the

Software Freedom Law Center The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) is an organization that provides '' pro bono'' legal representation and related services to not-for-profit developers of free software/open source software. It was launched in February 2005 with Eben Moglen ...

Work in Free Software

As of March 2014, Sandler is executive director of the

. From June 2011 to March 2014, Sandler served as executive director of the

. Under her leadership, GNOME embarked on an ambitious project to draw more women into Free and Open Source software, the Outreach Program for Women. Between October 31, 2005 and June 21, 2011 she worked at the

(SFLC), first as counsel, and then as the organization's

General Counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

after January 6, 2010. Karen Sandler - FISL 16

While at the SFLC, Sandler advised a wide range of free and open source software organizations such as the

Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)#501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed ...

, the

Apache Software Foundation The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is an American nonprofit corporation (classified as a 501(c)(3) organization in the United States) to support a number of open source software projects. The ASF was formed from a group of developers of the A ...

, the

X.Org Foundation The X.Org Foundation is a non-profit corporation chartered to research, develop, support, organize, administrate, standardize, promote, and defend a free and open accelerated graphics stack. This includes, but is not limited to, the following p ...

Software in the Public Interest Software in the Public Interest, Inc. (SPI) is a US 501(c)(3) non-profit organization domiciled in New York State formed to help other organizations create and distribute free open-source software and open-source hardware. Anyone is eligible to ...

and the

. With SFLC, she became a public speaker about issues of Free and Open Source software at conferences such as OSCON, SCaLE, and LinuxCon. In 2010, she led an initiative advocating for free software on implantable

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

s after exploring the issues surrounding the software on her own implanted medical device (a defibrillator), which regulates hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an inherited heart condition. In addition to her work with the Software Freedom Conservancy, Sandler also served as general counsel (

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

) of the non-profit Question Copyright. She is also co-host of the "Software Freedom Law Show" (2008-2010) and "Free as in Freedom" (2010-) podcasts. Sandler received the 2017 Free Software Award for her work promoting software freedom.

Prior legal career

Before working with the SFLC, Sandler worked as an associate in the corporate departments of

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

LLP in New York and

Clifford Chance Clifford Chance LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and a member of the "Magic Circle", a group of London-based multinational law firms. It ranks as one of top ten largest law firms in the world measured bo ...

in New York and London.

Education

Sandler received her law degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 2000, where she was a James Kent Scholar and co-founder of the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review. She received her bachelor's degree in engineering from

The Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

Personal life

As of May 21, 2011, she is married to Mike Tarantino, a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated music engineer. Their wedding invitation, a working paper record player and playable record, was covered by a number of internet publications. The record contained a song ''Here's the Invitation!'' that Sandler and Tarantino made together.

References

External links

Karen Sandler's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandler, Karen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American lawyers American women lawyers GNU people People associated with Gibson Dunn 21st-century American women