Kathleen Strottman comes to her role as the Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) after serving for nearly eight years as a trusted advisor to Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and then as an associate at Patton Boggs, LLC. As the Senator’s Legislative Director, Kathleen worked to pass legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act, The Medicare Modernization Act, The Inter-Country Adoption Act, The Child Citizenship Act of 2000, The Adoption Tax Credit and the Family Court Act. Throughout her career, Kathleen has worked to increase the opportunity for positive dialogue and the exchange of best practices between the United States and countries such as China, Romania, Russia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Ethiopia and India.  Kathleen regularly presents at national and international child welfare conferences and has appeared on CNN, FOX News, CBS, NBC, C-SPAN, PBS and numerous other media outlets.  She is also a regular contributor to Adoption Today magazine. In 2010, Kathleen spearheaded The Way Forward Project, a project to stimulate dialogue among child welfare experts, government leaders, and investors on the need for family-based care, chairing the project’s Working Group on Legal, Government and Social Infrastructure. Kathleen attended Whittier Law School's Center for Children's Rights where she graduated with honors and received a state certified specialty in juvenile advocacy. A member of the Whittier Law Review, Kathleen published an article entitled "Creating a Downward Spiral: Transfer Statutes as Answers to Juvenile Delinquency.”  Kathleen received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross and went on to serve as a Jesuit Volunteer.  She and her husband, Matt, are the proud parents of three children, Grace, Noah and Liam.

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