Lawyers For Children Welcomes Katrina James as Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel

Lawyers For Children is proud to announce that Katrina James has joined its Leadership Team as our new Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel.

Katrina has nearly 30 years of leadership experience spanning the nonprofit, education, and legal sectors. Trained as a social worker, attorney, and nonprofit leader, she began her career as a caseworker at a foster care provider agency, where she developed a deep understanding of the challenges facing children in care. 

Most recently, Katrina served as Managing Director of Dallas County Promise at The Commit Partnership, leading large-scale initiatives to increase college access and completion. Earlier, as a Senior Director at the Harlem Children’s Zone, Katrina developed innovative programs to strengthen college readiness and career success for young people. Earlier in her career, she practiced law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, focusing on government enforcement and white-collar investigations.

Katrina’s connection to Lawyers For Children runs deep — she first worked with the organization in 2009, assisting with an amicus brief, and later served on LFC’s Leadership Council and Board of Directors. 

In her new role as Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel, Katrina will oversee internal operations, provide legal and compliance leadership, strengthen organizational systems and staff development, and support LFC’s long-term strategic vision. 

“Lawyers for Children has held a special place in my heart for more than 15 years. Over the past 40+ years, LFC has used its interdisciplinary model to ensure that more than 100,000 children have had a voice in their Family Court proceedings. I am proud and excited to join LFC’s leadership in advancing its mission of supporting our most vulnerable children,” says Katrina. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Katrina to LFC's Leadership Team.  Our clients and our staff will benefit immeasurably from Katrina's compassion, commitment, and her many years of leadership experience and hands-on work with non-profits and the complex systems that impact a young person's life,” says Glenn Metsch-Ampel, Executive Director, and Karen Freedman, Founder & President of LFC. 

Katrina holds a J.D. and M.S.W. from New York University, an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems, and a B.S. in Human Service Studies from Cornell University, where she is an Emerita Member and former vice chair of the Board of Trustees. Katrina has served in numerous alumni leadership roles for both Cornell and NYU Law, including president of the NYU Law Alumni Association, chair of the Cornell University Council, and chair of Cornell Mosaic.

Download PDF of this announcement