Wendy Kaminer

Wendy Kaminer, a lawyer and social critic, writes about law, liberty, feminism, religion, criminal justice and popular culture. A former Guggenheim fellow, Visiting Scholar and Public Policy Fellow at Radcliffe College, and recipient of the Smith College Medal, she is the author of eight books, including WORST INSTINCTS: Cowardice, Conformity and the ACLU; FREE FOR ALL: Defending Liberty in America Today; and I’M DYSFUNCTIONAL, YOU’RE DYSFUNCTIONAL: The Recovery Movement & Other Self-Help Fashions. Her articles and reviews have appeared in numerous publications including The Atlantic, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, The American Prospect, Free Inquiry, and Spiked. Her commentaries have aired on National Public Radio.

Before embarking on her writing career, Wendy briefly practiced law, for the New York Legal Aid Society and the New York City Mayor’s Office. She has served on the national board of the American Civil Liberties Union as well as the board of the Massachusetts ACLU, and is a former chair of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. She is currently a member of the Massachusetts State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America.