People for the American Way
People for the American Way (PFAW ) is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Organized as a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, PFAW was registered in 1981 by the television producer Norman Lear, a self-described liberal who founde ...
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
's School of Arts and Sciences in 1974, and graduated cum laude from
Temple University School of Law
The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Temple University, a public university, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls ...
in 1977.
Before she became a journalist, Kolbert was a public interest attorney specializing in women's reproductive rights.Kathryn Kolbert, Director, Athena Center for Leadership Studies, Barnard College, retrieved on March 7, 2012, at https://web.archive.org/web/20120711201946/http://athenacenter.barnard.edu/about/director From 1979 to 1988, she was a Staff Attorney with the Women's Law Project and Community Legal Services in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Kolbert served as the State Coordinating Counsel of the American Civil Liberty Union's Reproductive Freedom Project in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
from 1988 to 1992. Between 1992 and 1997, she directed domestic litigation and public policy programs for the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, where she was Co-Founder and Vice President.
In 1992, Kolbert argued before the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
in ''
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
''Planned Parenthood v. Casey'', 505 U.S. 833 (1992), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court upheld the right to have an abortion as established by the "essential holding" of '' Roe v. Wade'' (1973) ...
'', a case which challenged five abortion regulations in Pennsylvania. Kolbert was unsuccessful and four out of five regulations were upheld (This needs to be contextualized).
From 1998 to 2008, Kolbert oversaw a program on law and American life at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
's Annenberg Public Policy Center. She was the Executive Producer of Justice Talking, a radio program distributed by
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, and directed an educational website called JusticeLearning.org, which received a Webby Award in 2005.
Prior to working at Barnard, Kolbert spent a year in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
as president and CEO of the People for the American Way and People for the American Way Foundation. She resigned as president and CEO on April 3, 2009.
Awards and honors
Kolbert has been recognized by the
National Law Journal
''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''.
Originally a tabloid-sized weekly new ...
as one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America," and by
the American Lawyer
''The American Lawyer'' is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM (then American Lawyer Media), were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill. In 2011, Kolbert received the Edith I. Spivack Award from the New York County Lawyers' Association's Women's Rights Committee.