Lara Kaufmann

Lara S. Kaufmann is an attorney in the Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Justice Department.

Before joining the administration, Kaufmann was Director of Public Policy for Girls Inc., where she leads the organization’s work to advance girls’ rights and opportunities and empower girls to advocate for social change. Lara directs #GirlsToo, the Girls Inc. national public awareness and advocacy campaign to prevent and address sexual harassment and sexual violence among youth.

Prior to joining Girls Inc., Ms. Kaufmann was Senior Counsel and Director of Education Policy for At-Risk Students at the National Women’s Law Center, where she engaged in litigation, advocacy, and outreach to improve educational outcomes for at-risk girls and young women. Lara co-authored NWLC’s 2014 report with NAACP LDF entitled Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls: A Call to Action for Education Equity, its 2012 report entitled A Pregnancy Test for Schools: The Impact of Education Laws on Pregnant and Parenting Students, and its 2009 report with MALDEF entitled Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation. Ms. Kaufmann also worked as a Staff Attorney with the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago, an associate at the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery, and law clerk to then-Chief Judge Marvin Aspen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Ms. Kaufmann received her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, where she served as Articles Editor for the Northwestern Law Review and worked on wrongful convictions cases in the Northwestern Legal Clinic. She graduated with Highest Distinction from the University of Michigan with a degree in Middle Eastern & North African Studies.

Follow Ms. Kaufmann on Twitter @LaraSKauf.

Expertise includes: Gender-based and sex discrimination, sexual harassment and violence, Title IX, education policy, disadvantaged youth.