On Thursday, November 21, Kathy Flaherty will receive the Constance Baker Motley Award for Excellence in Law at the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities 2019 Leaders and Legends Awards event.
The namesake of the award, Constance Baker Motley was an African American civil rights activist, lawyer, judge, and state senator. She was the first female African American federal judge. Kathy Flaherty has been nominated for this award for her work in promoting equality and fairness for people with disabilities. Kathy is the executive director of the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc. (CLRP). After graduating from Harvard Law School, she worked for 15 years as a staff attorney for Statewide Legal Services of CT, Inc. and two years for CT Legal Services. In 2014, she joined CLRP as its assistant executive director, and in 2015 she became CLRP’s executive director. She has demonstrated a deep dedication throughout her professional life to remove barriers and eliminate obstacles to promote justice for people with mental disabilities.