Kathy Sinback
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee announced Friday that Kathy Sinback is stepping down as executive director after serving two years in the role.
Relatedly, the ACLU-TN board of directors has named Phyllida Burlingame interim executive director. She most recently served as co-director of the ACLU of Northern California, directing the organization's policy work.
Before succeeding longtime ACLU-TN leader Hedy Weinberg in 2022, Sinback had since 2014 served as the administrator of the Davidson County Juvenile Court. A lawyer by trade, Sinback led the nonprofit organization through the bringing of preliminary injunctions against the state legislature’s banning of signage and driver's license and health care laws that targeted people who are transgender, as well as successfully bringing legal action to prevent a ban on Pride flags in schools.
Conservative-majority court is expected to rule in the late spring
“It was an honor for me to build on the work of the legendary Hedy Weinberg and to help position ACLU-TN for future success," Sinback says in a press release. "It is evident now more than ever that we need nonpartisan organizations like ACLU-TN to unite people around common values such as freedom, democratic participation, due process and respect for our neighbors.”
The news comes as ACLU-TN is involved in a Supreme Court of the United States case seeking to overturn Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
