Kirsten Anderson is a social justice lawyer who has spent her career protecting and defending the civil and human rights of individuals who otherwise would not have access to the justice system. She is currently the Deputy Legal Director – Economic Justice at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Previously, from 2016 to 2021, she served as the Litigation Director of Southern Legal Counsel (SLC), a statewide non-profit public interest law firm in Florida that is dedicated to the ideal of equal justice under the law. At SLC, Ms. Anderson provided strategic leadership to develop high-impact initiatives to achieve systemic reform on behalf of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty, LGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and children with mental health and other special needs. She joined SLC in 2007 as an attorney and Director of SLC’s Ending Homelessness Project. She has led complex litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts, resulting in precedent-setting opinions and changes in state and local policies. Two of her cases have been honored with the Steven M. Goldstein award, provided to civil legal aid grantees of The Florida Bar Foundation for excellence in legal representation of individuals experiencing poverty. Prior to joining SLC, she worked as an immigration lawyer in private practice. Ms. Anderson is a member of The Florida Bar and licensed to practice law since 2005. She received a JD, with honors, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a MA in Latin American Studies in 2005.