Nadine Strossen

Nadine Strossen is a legal scholar and civil liberties advocate, recognized for her tenure as the first woman to lead the American Civil Liberties Union. Strossen holds the title of John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School and is a past president of the ACLU. She serves as a senior fellow with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education (FIRE).

Strossen graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School before practicing law in Minneapolis and New York City. She joined the national board of directors of the ACLU, later serving on its national executive committee and as the organization's general counsel.

Strossen became the first female president of the ACLU and was also the youngest individual elected to that position. During her presidency, the ACLU maintained its role as a defender of constitutional freedoms. While presiding over an 83-member board, Strossen continued her academic career at New York Law School and participated in numerous speaking engagements nationwide. She is widely known for her First Amendment work, advocating for freedoms of religion, conscience, and speech, and has opposed regulation of controversial expression such as hate speech, pornography, media violence, commercial speech, and campaign expenditures. When Strossen stepped down as ACLU president, Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and David Souter attended her farewell luncheon.

Strossen has contributed to the field through her written work on free speech and constitutional law. Her book "Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights" was named a New York Times notable book and was republished as part of the New York University Press Classic series. Her other books include "HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship" and "Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know." Strossen is the host and project consultant for "Free To Speak," a documentary film series on free speech released on public television. Her book "HATE" was selected as the Common Read by Washington University and Washburn University.

A frequent speaker and media commentator on constitutional law and civil liberties, Strossen has testified before Congress on multiple occasions. She serves on the advisory boards of the ACLU, Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the University of Austin. The National Law Journal named Strossen one of America's 100 Most Influential Lawyers, and she has received numerous honors, including the American Bar Association's Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award and the National Coalition Against Censorship's Judy Blume Lifetime Achievement Award for Free Speech. Strossen continues to be a leading voice on free speech and civil liberties in the United States.