Supporting an investment for the better
Every day, Kathi Westcott ’94 sees the effects of the programs she supports at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Conservation initiatives to keep plastics out of the world’s oceans. Efforts to streamline access to state and local courts. Support for biomedical research and increased broadband connectivity.
As deputy general counsel and senior director of legal affairs at Pew, Westcott oversees legal guidance for the public charity’s wide-ranging programs at home and abroad. The goal, she says, is “to find areas of impact that are under-resourced, where money can make a difference but also where there’s an ability to bring constituents together to move the needle.”
With a staff of nine attorneys and support staff in her D.C. office, Westcott also provides legal advice for the organization’s government relations work.
“I work with a lot of really smart people,” she says, “and my job is to make sure that how they’re engaging with their constituencies, whether it’s local government or other nonprofit organizations, is done in a way that is legal.” The laws on lobbying, for example, differ from state to state and from country to country, so compliance merits close attention.
And because the programs the organization engages in are so varied, she says, there’s always something to learn. “Pew really values finding areas where its money can make an impact,” she says, “and we do evaluate the work—Pew doesn’t just write a check and walk away. The organization is not afraid to establish a program, structure it for sustainability, and then leave that space because we’ve done what we think we can successfully accomplish.” For example, she cites a program to create an online platform where researchers looking to create new antibiotics can share their results and use computer-generated modeling to speed up the development process. Pew provided the initial investment to launch the program and the platform continues to be used today.
She also co-chairs the organization’s committee on data privacy, helping to ensure the security of Pew’s information and managing compliance with data privacy laws, such as the strict regulations of European Union countries.
Westcott has always worked in the nonprofit sector, in a succession of organizations, including a large union coalition and the American Association of University Professors, where she was in-house counsel. For nine years, as a staff attorney and then legal director, she worked with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, representing members of the U.S. military in administrative personnel matters.
In that role, she also was instrumental in lobbying Congress and the Department of Defense on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the law prohibiting gay and lesbian service members from being open about their sexual orientation, at the risk of military discharge.
It was emotional work, and Westcott says the turning point in the effort to overturn the policy came after a young Army infantryman, Private First Class Barry Winchell, was murdered in 1999 by a fellow soldier because Winchell was dating a transgender woman. Westcott traveled to Fort Campbell, KY. to investigate the killing, and worked with Winchell’s mother to bring his story before lawmakers. “She became an incredible voice on Capitol Hill,” Westcott says, “and I think we were ultimately successful in ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ because she was willing to share her story as a mother and a patriot.” Westcott was with her at the ceremony where President Barack Obama signed the bill repealing the policy.
Her work is less hands-on legal services now, but with the opportunity to wield even greater influence. “Pew allows me to support a mission that is intended to directly impact people’s lives, whether that’s water conservation or suicide prevention,” Westcott says. “It’s a larger organization that is better-resourced than other smaller nonprofits, and there’s so much we can do. I don’t know that I could have scripted a better career than what I’ve had, and I feel especially grateful for that.”