LASCO Leadership Team

Leadership Team

Our Leadership Team

*Photo of Adam Hernandez's Be the Light mural courtesy of the Short North Alliance

Our Executive Director

Kate McGarvey

Kate McGarvey serves as the Executive Director of Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO), which includes the program's sister organization, the Ohio Poverty Law Center. She has been involved with LASC since 2001, starting out as a Law Clerk while she was in pursuit of her JD. In 2003, she became a staff attorney with LASC where she focused on health and education law. During her early stint with LASC she also acted as the Project Director for The Child Advocacy Project and Coordinator for The Legal Aid Neighborhood Services Program. In 2005, she moved to California where she started working as a Staff Attorney and Health Consumer Alliance Project Director with the National Health Law Program (NHeLP). In this position she had many roles, including providing technical assistance on cases, drafting report and policy briefs and leading advocacy efforts among HCA partner organizations. In 2007, she returned to LASC as the Managing Attorney for the Health and Public Benefits Unit. In that role, she has been involved in a wide variety of individual representation, administrative advocacy and litigation efforts including serving as lead counsel in the Homewood case, which reinstated Medicaid coverage for 150,000 people across the state. In January of 2015, Kate became Deputy Director for LASC, in December of 2016 she became the Director, and in February 2019 she became Executive Director.

Bar Admissions and Activities

Bar Admission—Ohio (2003)
Bar Admission—United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio (2004)
Bar Admission—California (2006, inactive)
Member, Columbus Bar Association

Education

Ohio University, Cum Laude (B.A. 2000)
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, with honors (J.D. 2003)

Kate McGarvey

Kate McGarvey serves as the Executive Director of the Ohio State Legal Services Association (OSLSA), which is the umbrella organization that includes The Legal Aid Society of Columbus.

She has been involved with LASC since 2001, starting out as a Law Clerk while she was in pursuit of her JD. In 2003, she became a staff attorney with LASC where she focused on health and education law. During her early stint with LASC she also acted as the Project Director for The Child Advocacy Project and Coordinator for The Legal Aid Neighborhood Services Program. In 2005, she moved to California where she started working as a Staff Attorney and Health Consumer Alliance Project Director with the National Health Law Program (NHeLP). In this position she had many roles, including providing technical assistance on cases, drafting report and policy briefs and leading advocacy efforts among HCA partner organizations. In 2007, she returned to LASC as the Managing Attorney for the Health and Public Benefits Unit. In that role, she has been involved in a wide variety of individual representation, administrative advocacy and litigation efforts including serving as lead counsel in the Homewood case, which reinstated Medicaid coverage for 150,000 people across the state. In January of 2015, Kate became Deputy Director for LASC, in December of 2016 she became the Director, and in February 2019 she became Executive Director.

Bar Admissions and Activities