Public Justice Names Sharon McGowan Chief Executive Officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2024
Contact: Steve Ralls
(202) 679-0362 | sralls@publicjustice.net
PUBLIC JUSTICE NAMES SHARON McGOWAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Civil Liberties & Workers’ Rights Litigator and Advocate Will Succeed Outgoing Leader Paul Bland
Washington, DC – The Public Justice Foundation and Public Justice, P.C. announced today that Sharon McGowan has been selected as the groups’ new Chief Executive Officer. McGowan, who is currently a partner with Katz Banks Kumin and has held leadership positions within the non-profit and government sector, will succeed Paul Bland, who announced last year that he will be stepping down from the organization on May 31st.
Prior to her current role at Katz Banks Kumin, where she represents individuals who have experienced harassment and other forms of discrimination in the workplace, McGowan served as Chief Strategy Officer and Legal Director for Lambda Legal, where she helped to lead the country’s oldest LGBTQ+ litigation advocacy group and developed and implemented Lambda’s strategic priorities, led its litigation and policy advocacy teams, and built partnerships with national civil rights groups on intersecting issues. McGowan also served in key roles within the Obama administration, including Principal Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where she supervised attorneys and advised DOJ leadership, including the U.S. Solicitor General, on a broad range of civil rights issues. She earned her J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School in 2000 and her B.A. with honors from the University of Virginia in 1995.
“Sharon has exactly the right combination of talent, experience and passion to lead Public Justice into the future and to ensure we can continue our vibrant litigation and advocacy work on behalf of all those who have been harmed by corporate greed, industrial polluters, unjust government practices and hatred and discrimination,” said Preston Tisdale, President of the Public Justice Foundation. “She is a skilled litigator, strategic policy advocate and talented leader who understands the importance of ensuring that those who have been wronged can have their day in court and can use their stories and experiences to build impactful movements for positive change. I am confident she will be a leader and partner who ensures everyone, including our Public Justice members, staff, clients and allies, feel proud of, and invested in, our continued success.”
McGowan’s experience and expertise closely mirror’s Public Justice’s mission and case docket. Founded in 1982, the organization has won critical court victories furthering equity and equality, ending systemic oppression, and protecting and expanding access to justice. Under Bland’s leadership, the organization doubled in both size and budget and expanded its work to include strategic communications campaigns, grassroots mobilization and advocacy and partnerships with numerous local and national advocacy groups. In recent years, Public Justice has won three U.S. Supreme Court victories – two of those unanimous – on behalf of workers and consumers.
“I am excited and honored to take on this important role at Public Justice and to partner with the amazing staff and Board as they tackle some of the most pressing issues facing our country,” said McGowan. “Over the course of four decades, Public Justice has made a long list of wrongdoers account for the injustices they have inflicted on people and communities. From fighting the scourge of forced arbitration to cleaning up rural communities damaged by industrial polluters, changing school policies on harassment and discrimination and helping to end unjust cash bail policies that criminalize poverty, the impact of this essential organization is both impressive and inspiring. I look forward to meeting with Public Justice members in the weeks and months ahead to strategize on how we can do even more to help those who have been locked out of our country’s courts, to lift up the work and multiply the impact of the plaintiffs’ bar and to honor and build on the legacy that Public Justice, and those who have ensured its success for so many years, have so carefully and expertly built.”
Katz Banks Kumin founding partner Debra Katz praised the selection of McGowan. “Sharon has spent her entire career advocating for issues at the very heart of Public Justice’s mission. At the Department of Justice, she worked to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ families, realize President Obama’s vision of expanded healthcare for all and to protect the civil rights of all people. She has taken on politicians who have sought to roll back critical protections for the very same communities Public Justice has advocated for, and she has been a staunch and effective advocate for workers, whistleblowers and others fighting illegal discrimination during her time at our firm. Public Justice members will find a kindred spirit and inspiring partner in Sharon. Our clients and staff will miss her greatly, but take heart in knowing that her skills and passion will continue to be put to good use in service of all those who seek justice in our courts, and throughout our country.”
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Public Justice takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time – abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. We connect high-impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice. For more information, visit www.PublicJustice.net.
