Published:
Monday, March 3, 2014
Kathleen Taylor has been executive director of the ACLU of Washington since 1980. Under her leadership, the organization has grown tremendously to become one of the nation’s largest branches of the ACLU, with more than 20,000 members and a staff of 32, plus hundreds of volunteers.
Taylor has been designated "Outstanding Non-Lawyer" by the King County Bar Association and was a leader in the 1990 passage of Initiative 120, which guarantees reproductive freedom in Washington. Previously, she headed the Coalition on Government Spying, which exposed extensive political spying by Seattle police and led to Seattle's adoption of the nation's first law restricting political spying by police.
Recently, she spoke on KUOW-FM’s “The Record” about her long career of defending and advancing civil liberties, including such notable causes as the legalization of marijuana for adults and the approval of civil marriage for lesbian and gay couples in Washington. The interviewer was KUOW’s Ross Reynolds.
