Kathy Boockvar

Experience

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  North Penn Legal Services

  Jan 1994 - Jan 1997

  Staff Attorney

  Advised and represented low-income, disabled, and senior clients in matters involving Social Security Disability, Family law, Protection from Abuse, Elder law, Housing, and Unemployment Compensation. Litigated successfully in state trial and appellate courts.

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  Boockvar Law Office/Boockvar & Yeager

  Jan 1997 - Jan 2012

  Managing Partner

  Advised and represented individuals on matters involving Employment, Estate Planning and Administration, Disability, Social Security, Pensions, Insurance, Election Law, and Civil Rights. In 2011, was recommended by the PA Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission for a judicial seat on the PA Commonwealth Court. Litigated successfully before the U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. District Courts, Pennsylvania courts, and administrative agencies. Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyer - Rising Star three years in a row. Show less

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  Advancement Project

  Jan 2008 - Jan 2011

  Senior Attorney

  Pennsylvania voting rights counsel for national non-profit civil rights organization. Statewide and national leadership, advocacy, and collaboration with a broad and diverse range of individuals, organizations, government officials, administrative agencies, and legislators, to ensure that voting rights and election administration laws are administered and enforced fairly, effectively, and accurately. Extensive strategic planning, coalition-building, public policy advocacy, public speaking, trainings and panels. Show less

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  Boockvar for Congress

  Jan 2012 - Jan 2013

  Nominee for U.S. House of Representatives

  Congressional candidate endorsed by both newspapers that made endorsements in the race: The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Bucks County Intelligencer.

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  Auditor General of Pennsylvania

  Jan 2013 - Jan 2014

  Chief Counsel

  Worked with Auditor General to improve government accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness for Pennsylvanians. Oversaw, managed, and effectuated legal work and compliance for statewide agency. Served as the Auditor General’s designee on the Delaware River Port Authority Board of Commissioners and Audit Committee Chairperson.

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  Lifecycle WomanCare

  Feb 2014 - Mar 2018

  Executive Director

  • Led and oversaw operations, management, and policies of non-profit women’s healthcare organization, including personnel, finance and budget, strategic planning, legal & regulatory matters, communications, development, & Board of Directors.• Established key partnerships with physicians, hospitals, and other organizations, and expanded provision of services and programs.• Led and facilitated renaming and rebranding of organization, including trademarking, communications, and development of a modern, user-friendly website. • Developed and moderated LWC’s State of Women’s Health symposia, advocating and collaborating for health policy and practices that advance care for all women and families.Founded in 1978, Lifecycle WomanCare's Birth Center was the first licensed independent birth center in Pennsylvania, and is one of the oldest continually operating birth centers in the United States. LWC seeks to transform women’s experience with and expectations for their healthcare, and strengthen each woman’s capacity to be an active participant in her healthcare decision-making. Show less

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  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

  Mar 2018 - Feb 2021

  Led the PA Department of State, a statewide agency with $120 million budget and 500 employees, to implement secure, resilient, and accessible elections in PA; protect the health and safety of the public through professional licensure; and support economic development through corporate and charitable filings and transactions.Under my leadership, the Dept of State, among other advances:• Certified and deployed new voting systems meeting the highest standards of security and accessibility statewide, co-chaired and developed PA’s Inter-Agency Election Security and Preparedness Workgroup, a cross-sector collaboration to strengthen election security and preparedness, and strengthened the many layers of security across the state;• Effectuated extensive LEAN and other process improvements to advance license processing and customer service for professional licensees and other stakeholders across the Commonwealth, and created Navigator Guide webpages for professional licensure boards to provide transparency, inform licensees of expected timelines, and outline steps to minimize processing times;• Implemented the most sweeping election law reforms in over 80 years in PA, which, for the first time, allowed all eligible voters to vote by mail and vote early, extended voter registration periods, and many other changes; • Carried out free, fair, and secure elections amidst a global pandemic, marked by exceptional transparency and record voter registration and turnout. In the 2020 general election, over 9 million Pennsylvanians registered to vote, and 6.9 million voters voted, 800,000 more than in any previous election;• Implemented rapid development and deployment of over 85 licensure and other waivers pursuant to Governor Wolf’s COVID-19 disaster declaration, allowing health care and other professionals and facilities to better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Show less

  • Secretary of State

    Jan 2019 - Feb 2021

  • Senior Advisor to the Governor on Election Modernization

    Mar 2018 - Jan 2019
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  Center for Internet Security

  Sept 2021 - Dec 2022

  Vice President of Election Operations & Support

  Led the election security portfolio at the Center for Internet Security (CIS). CIS is a national cybersecurity nonprofit organization working closely with federal, state, and local government to provide the highest standards of cybersecurity and election security practices and systems.Home to the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC) and the Multi State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), CIS supports thousands of state and local government and election officials. Show less

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  University of Delaware

  Oct 2022 - May 2023

  Fellow, SNF Ithaca Initiative

  The SNF Ithaca Initiative at the University of Delaware Biden School of Public Policy seeks to increase the quality and quantity of civil discourse and civic engagement, and convene policy makers, journalists, business and nonprofit leaders, and government officials from a diverse range of disciplines and ideologies to address the most pressing issues facing America today.

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  Institute for Responsive Government

  Dec 2022 - now

  Senior Advisor
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  Brennan Center for Justice

  Dec 2022 - now

  Senior Election Security Advisor
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  AthenaStrategies LLC

  Dec 2022 - now

  President

  Rooted in principles of the world’s first democracy and the wisdom and outreach of the Greek god Athena, Athena Strategies works with a broad base of organizations, government officials, and academic institutions to strengthen our democracy, fortify election security, and amplify understanding and civil discourse about elections in the United States.

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  Pitt Cyber

  Mar 2023 - Aug 2023

  Distinguished Visiting Scholar
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  The Future US

  Feb 2024 - Nov 2024

  Senior Advisor