Lisa Bornstein is the Center’s Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. Bornstein brings decades of experience in litigation, policy advocacy, and nonprofit leadership in the social justice sector with a focus on civil rights and racial and economic justice.

Most recently, Bornstein served as the Vice President, Strategy & Policy at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the nation’s preeminent racial justice legal nonprofit organizations. In this role, Bornstein provided organizational leadership, management, and strategic direction, collaborating with the executive director to position the organization for growth and success. She led organizational development and change management processes, oversaw all internal and operational components of the organization, and managed organizational compliance and risk.

Bornstein previously served as the Legal Director and Senior Legal Advisor at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund. In that capacity, she coordinated the civil rights coalition’s efforts on issues including economic security, voting rights, LGBTQ+ protections, disability rights, and hate crimes. She represented the civil rights coalition with federal agencies, served as liaison to the Department of Justice, and led the civil rights coalition’s participation in amicus curiae briefs at the Supreme Court and in appellate courts across the country. Additionally, Bornstein provided strategic advice and compliance guidance to the senior leadership team.

Prior to joining the Leadership Conference, Bornstein was a senior associate at Mehri and Skalet, where she handled class action employment discrimination cases. Bornstein was also a trial attorney at the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She previously served as labor counsel for Senator Edward Kennedy on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and was a law clerk for the Honorable Stanley Marcus on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Bornstein holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.Phil. in Political Science as well as a law degree from Columbia University. She has earned a certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University and is a Senior Certified Professional in Human Resources. Prior to entering law school, Bornstein was a founding member of Teach For America.

Bornstein served as an appointed Commissioner on the D.C. Commission on Human Rights and has been the Restaurant Chair for Taste of the Nation, a culinary event to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign since 2011.

Bornstein is a member in good standing of the New York State and District of Columbia bars as well as the Supreme Court bar.