Title
Visiting Professor of Law and Director
Department
Loyola Law School and Provost Office
Institution
Loyola Marymount University
Education
Research Interests
Biography
Katherine Pérez is the inaugural Director of the Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation. She graduated from the UCLA School of Law (2013) and is a current doctoral candidate in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she is writing a dissertation on the Burger Supreme Court (1969-1986) cases on the criminal legal system and mental disability. Katherine writes about and presents on Disability and Immigration law and policy. Her article, "A Critical Race and Disability Legal Studies Approach to Immigration Law and Policy" advocates for a an intersectional approach to understanding immigration that considers disability as well as a multidisciplinary approach that combines grassroots activism with legal work. Katherine teaches a Disability Rights Law course at Loyola Law School as a Visiting Professor of Law.
Katherine's sense of disability justice formed at a young age as she grew up with psychiatric disabilities and is a sister to an autistic woman with intellectual disability. Katherine has dedicated her life toward advocating for people with disabilities on local, national, and international levels. She worked for Congresswoman Linda Sanchez as a Legislative Fellow from 2006-2007 as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow. From 2008-2010, Katherine lived in La Libertad, Peru working with a local disability rights organization as a Peace Corps volunteer. From 2015-2019, she helped launch and led The National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities (CNLD), an intersectional organization that advocates on important issues and provides a positive space for the disabled Latinx community. As a queer, disabled woman of color, and granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, Katherine's lived experienced informs her approach to intersectional justice.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) honored Katherine in 2017 with the prestigious Paul G. Hearne Award for her work as a CNLD co-founder.
Katherine currently serves on a number of boards, advisory boards, committees and councils, including:
Disability Rights California (DRC) Board of Directors
Menal Health Advocacy Services (MHAS) Board of Directors
Triage Legal Advisory Council
The Arc Legal Advocacy Committee
LMU's Intercultural Advisory Committee
Council for Diversity in Educational Pipeline of the American Bar Association (as a Disability Rights Liaison)
Homepages
Contact Information
Katherine Perez
The Coelho Center
Loyola Law School
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
562.383.1174
