Nadine Strossen

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Nadine Strossen
Nadine Strossen

Nadine Strossen (born August 18, 1950) is the current president of the American Civil Liberties Union. She is the first woman and the youngest person to ever lead the ACLU. A professor at New York Law School, Professor Strossen also sits on the Council on Foreign Relations. She has been hailed as one of the most influential business leaders, women, or lawyers in such publications as the National Law Journal, Working Woman Magazine, Vanity Fair, and many others.

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[edit] Early life

Strossen was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1950. She has stated that the experiences of her family were her inspiration to pursue a career in civil liberties. "My father was a holocaust survivor and my mother’s father was a protester during World War I when he came to this country as an immigrant, and he was literally spat upon for not going to fight in the war," said Strossen in an interview. "His official sentence for being a conscientious objector was to be forced to stand against the courthouse in Hudson County, New Jersey so that passers-by could spit on him."[1] Strossen graduated from Harvard College in 1972, Phi Beta Kappa, and then graduated from Harvard Law School in 1975, magna cum laude. In law school, she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

[edit] Career

Strossen practiced law in Minneapolis and New York City for nine years before becoming a Professor of Law at New York Law School in 1989.

In February, 1991, Strossen became the president of the American Civil Liberties Union, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Norman Dorsen. As president, Strossen makes over 200 public presentations each year and gives frequent public commentary on civil liberties issues in the national media. She has appeared on nearly every major U.S. news program and has received numerous awards and honors.

Strossen is an active member of NORML, an organisation promoting the decriminalization of marijuana. She is also a member of the National Youth Rights Association Advisory Board and a founding member of Feminists for Free Expression.

In October of 2001, Strossen made her theater debut as the guest star in Eve Ensler's award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues.

[edit] Personal life

Strossen is married to Eli Noam, a professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business.

[edit] Select publications

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  • Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex and the Fight for Women's Rights (ISBN 0-8147-8149-7)
  • Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties (ISBN 0-8147-3090-6).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Interview with Nadine Strossen, David Shankbone, Wikinews, October 30, 2007.
Persondata
NAME Strossen, Nadine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION ACLU president
DATE OF BIRTH August 18, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Jersey City, New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH living
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages