Kylie O'Donnell

Kylie was born and raised in Davidson, North Carolina. She graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations and minors in Business, Inequality Studies, and Law and Society.

At Cornell, Kylie’s coursework in collective action sparked her passion for advocacy. While supporting legal research at the intersection of labor and emerging technologies, she investigated the impact of artificial intelligence and employer surveillance on the modern worker. She also aided civil rights litigation on behalf of a prisoner who died in a D.C. jail.

After graduation, Kylie continued her advocacy journey as a litigation paralegal at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where she dedicated over 2000 hours to pro bono matters. There, she supported litigation for a proposed class of Alabama prisoners facing egregious conditions of confinement in violation of the Eighth Amendment. She was actively involved in the firm’s Incarcerated Survivors Initiative (ISI), which provides pro bono legal counsel to incarcerated survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Through her work with the ISI, she built meaningful relationships with survivors while assisting with criminal resentencing matters that implemented crucial policy reform in New York State. She gleaned the importance of affording survivors the opportunity to be heard in both courtrooms and policy discussions.

At Georgetown, Kylie hopes to explore expanded policy solutions to support survivors of gender-based violence. Encouraged by her diverse experiences, Kylie is passionate about bridging the private-public sector divide and intends to build a career at the intersection of gender rights, advocacy, and policy.