News & Commentary written by Zoe Brennan-Krohn

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Zoe Brennan-Krohn

Director

ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµDisability Rights Program

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Role: ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµStaff

Bio

Zoe Brennan-Krohn is the Director of the ACLU’s Disability Rights Program, which works to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities and to advance their rights and liberties in all aspects of life.

A nationally recognized expert on disability rights issues, Brennan-Krohn serves as a prominent voice in creating public outrage demanding alternatives to guardianship (also known as ), which she accurately pins as a rights-stripping mechanism. She has led litigation challenging the systemic failure of prisons, parole, and probation systems to ensure effective communication for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. She has brought disability rights claims in a wide range of ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµlitigation including challenges to inaccessible aspects of the criminal legal system . She has also worked to protect the rights of parents with disabilities, holding the state accountable when it fails to provide legally required support before seeking to remove children from their care.

Brennan-Krohn received her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School and is also a graduate of Brown University. Before going to college, she worked for two years at Camphill Ballytobin, an inclusive community in Ireland for people with and without disabilities. Before law school, Zoe was a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Zoe clerked for the Honorable Judith Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and for President Theodor Meron at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.


Featured work

Mar 6, 2025

Rights of Federal Employees with Disabilities, Explained

Rights of Federal Employees with Disabilities, Explained

Feb 25, 2025

Medicaid is a Lifeline for People with Disabilities. Congress Must Act to Save It.

Medicaid is a Lifeline for People with Disabilities. Congress Must Act to Save It.

Nov 2, 2023

We All Pathologized Britney Spears

We All Pathologized Britney Spears

Dec 16, 2021

An Update on Our Biggest Stories of 2021

An Update on Our Biggest Stories of 2021

Jul 8, 2021

Why Britney Can't Get Out of Her Conservatorship

Why Britney Can't Get Out of Her Conservatorship

Jun 25, 2021

Britney Spears’ Reproductive Freedom is a Disability Rights Issue

Britney Spears’ Reproductive Freedom is a Disability Rights Issue

Dec 10, 2020

The Biden Administration’s Disability Rights To-Do List

The Biden Administration’s Disability Rights To-Do List

Dec 17, 2019

It’s Clear: In Oklahoma Cash Bail is Being Used as Ransom to Keep People Who Are Poor Behind Bars

It’s Clear: In Oklahoma Cash Bail is Being Used as Ransom to Keep People Who Are Poor Behind Bars