Elizabeth Cavendish (lawyer)

Elizabeth (Betsy) Cavendish
Born
Elizabeth Cavendish

March 1960 (age 66)
Upper Arlington, Ohio
CitizenshipAmerican
Education
OccupationLawyer
Employers
Known forPresident of the Appleseed Foundation; former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America
TitlePresident, Appleseed Foundation
Term2007–

Elizabeth (Betsy) Cavendish (born March 1960) is an American lawyer and general counsel for the Executive Office of the Mayor in Washington, D.C.[1]

Early life and education

Born in March 1960, Cavendish was raised in Upper Arlington, Ohio.[2] She received her upper education from Yale University and Yale Law School.[1]

Career

Cavendish served as a law clerk to Judge Gerhard Gesell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, where she worked on cases including United States v. Oliver North. She later worked as an assistant professor of law at the University of Illinois College of Law.[1]

Cavendish subsequently held roles in public service, including serving in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel under Attorney General Janet Reno. She later served as general counsel to the Executive Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia, advising city agencies and serving as ethics counsel.[1]

She then served as legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America. In May 2004, she succeeded Kate Michelman as interim president of the organization. Cavendish previously worked as legal director and staff member of the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department under Attorney General Janet Reno.[3][4]

In March 2007, Cavendish was named president of the Appleseed Foundation, a nonprofit network focused on public-interest legal reform.[5]

Nonprofit efforts

During her tenure as president of the Appleseed Foundation, Cavendish led a network of nonprofit centers focused on advancing social and economic justice through legal and policy reform, including work on issues such as financial access and systemic inequality.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Betsy Cavendish | The American Law Institute". www.ali.org. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  2. ↑ "Betsy Cavendish - District of Columbia Office of the Mayor (Dec. 2014-), General Counsel - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  3. ↑ Rauber, Marilyn (2003-03-16). "Abortion foes hope vote signals shift". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. A6. Retrieved 2025-04-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "State Curbs On Abortion Increasing, Report Says". The Washington Post. Reuters. 2001-02-13. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  5. ↑ Lindenmayer, Isabelle (2005-12-16). "Nonprofit Seeks Reform in Money Transfers". American Banker. Archived from the original on 2019-02-28 – via Questia.