Kathleen Falk
Kathleen Falk (born June 26, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and policymaker from Wisconsin who served as Dane County Executive from 1997 until 2011. In 2013, she was appointed Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region Five.
Kathleen Falk | |
|---|---|
Kathleen Falk in the 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade, Madison WI | |
| 4th Executive of Dane County | |
| In office April 21, 1997 – April 18, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Richard J. Phelps |
| Succeeded by | Joe Parisi |
| Assistant Attorney General of Wisconsin | |
| In office 1983–1997 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 26, 1951 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Peter Bock (m. 2002) |
| Children | Eric Phillips |
| Residence(s) | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D.) Stanford University (B.A.) |
| Profession | Attorney, politician, policymaker |
A Democrat, Falk unsuccessfully sought the party's nomination for Governor of Wisconsin in 2002 and in the 2012 recall election. In 2006, Falk defeated Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager to win the party's nomination for Attorney General, but was defeated by Republican J. B. Van Hollen in the general election.
Prior to running for elected office, Falk was a prosecutor and public-interest attorney. From 1983 to 1997, she was an assistant attorney general and public intervenor in the Wisconsin Department of Justice; she previously worked as a co-director and legal counsel of Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, an advocacy organization. Falk is the only woman to serve as Dane County Executive and was the first woman to seek a major party's gubernatorial nomination in Wisconsin.