Kim Gandy, Former NOW President, Joins Feminist Majority Leadership

Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation and the Feminist Majority, announced today that Kim Gandy has become Vice President and General Counsel of both organizations. Gandy brings to her new positions a wealth of experience in leadership, organizing, public policy advocacy, litigation, media relations, and coalition building at the national, state, and local levels.

“We are very proud that Kim, who had many offers after having been recently term limited in her position as National Organization for Women (NOW) president, chose to accept our offer to join the Feminist Majority team,” continued Smeal. “She will strengthen the Feminist Majority immeasurably.”

“I have worked closely with Ellie and the Feminist Majority for years. I know exactly what I am signing up for so the transition will be seamless,” asserted Gandy. “There are so many challenges facing the feminist movement that I don’t want to waste a moment in taking action.”

“This is a no brainer. Kim is literally a one woman powerhouse for feminist action,” added Peg Yorkin, chair of the Feminist Majority.

“Given Kim’s deep experience and commitment, she is an extraordinary asset to the Feminist Majority Foundation’s campaigns for women’s equality, especially our efforts to stop violence against abortion providers. We all have a track record of working very well together and I am really looking forward to working with Kim on a daily basis” concluded Kathy Spillar, Executive Vice President of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Gandy began her feminist career in 1973 at the age of 19 in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the local and state level, Kim was a founding director of the New Orleans Metropolitan Battered Women’s Program, a state president of Louisiana NOW, and founded the Louisiana Women’s Lobby Network. She authored the Domestic Abuse Assistance Act, Louisiana’s first Domestic Violence Act. She was also an Assistant District Attorney in Orleans Parish and later was in private law practice serving domestic violence victims, as well as advancing sex and race discrimination litigation.

In her 22 years of National Organization for Women national leadership, first as National Secretary, then Executive Vice President and finally NOW President, Gandy has been a guiding force in many landmark cases, and legislative gains for women, including the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. She is a well known media commentator on women’s rights and is known to both feminists and policy makers nationwide. Immediately after her NOW presidency, Gandy accepted a Resident Fellowship at the Harvard University Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government.