About

The Animal Legal Defense Legislative Fund works in legislatures across the country to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals by passing animal protection laws, supporting animal-friendly candidates, and empowering grassroots advocates.

Leadership

Kim Kelly, Executive Director

As the Animal Legal Defense Legislative Fund’s executive director, Kim works to develop and advance key legislative initiatives to improve and create stronger animal protection laws.  She received her Bachelors in English and Political Science from U.C. Berkeley, where she was an Academic All-American and NCAA Division I Champion in Women’s crew. Kim was a merit scholar at Charleston School of Law, where she received her JD.

Before coming to the Animal Legal Defense Legislative Fund, Kim was instrumental in helping pass several laws to protect animals in South Carolina. She was appointed to a statehouse committee tasked with reviewing statewide animal welfare laws where she worked with legislators, state agencies, and other stakeholders to examine existing policy and make recommendations to the General Assembly on animal welfare concerns. As inaugural chair of the South Carolina Bar’s Animal Law Committee, she successfully lobbied the South Carolina Bar Association to oppose specific provisions of a contentious “vet care” bill that likely would have violated federal antitrust laws.

Kim chooses to run the Animal Legal Defense Legislative Fund because she sees it is a dynamic organization that plays a critical role in advancing animal protection through a legal lens yet tackles issues broadly and effectively. She has always felt a strong connectivity with animals, and professionally, she is drawn to the public policy realm. While in Law School, Kim was president of the school’s Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter. Over the years, Kim has presented numerous CLEs including “Trends in Animal Legislation and “Legal Issues Affecting Owners of ‘Dangerous’ Dogs.”

An East Coast native, Kim currently resides in San Diego, where she enjoys traveling and being active alongside her family.  She and her husband, Kyle, have three children, a cat named Andy and two rescue dogs: Kira and Rowdy, Kim’s sidekick.

Chris Green, Board President

Chris Green is the Executive Director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund where he earlier established the organization’s Legislative Affairs Program. From 2015-2023 Chris served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law Policy Program at Harvard Law School, and he currently is a Fellow with the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. Green also is the former Chair of the American Bar Association’s TIPS Animal Law Committee. Chris also served on a National Academies of Sciences committee assessing the Dept. of Veterans Affairs’ use of dogs in biomedical research. Green is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Illinois. In 2022, Chris received the American Bar Association’s Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Animal Law.

Alicia Rodriguez

Alicia teaches Animal Law at Delaware Law School, as an adjunct professor of law. Alicia also serves as chair of the board of The Humane League and as a board member of Legal Impact for Chickens. Alicia graduated from Harvard Law School in 2015, where she served as the President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and worked as a corporate litigator at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom after law school.

Kelley McGill

Kelley is an attorney with the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School. She previously worked for the Good Food Institute and consulted for organizations active in the alternative protein policy space. Kelley also worked for the Vermont General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Counsel, where she researched and drafted legislation related to food, agriculture, and the environment. While in law school, she served as a legal fellow for the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry and as a judicial intern for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Kelley holds a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School and a BA and a BS magna cum laude from Trinity University.