Shira Wakschlag is Senior Executive Officer of Legal Advocacy and General Counsel at The Arc of the United States. She leads The Arc’s state and national legal advocacy and disability rights litigation strategy, and oversees the organization’s amicus practice, including regularly spearheading briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court and courts across the country. Her work helps shape how courts understand the real-world impact of discrimination and exclusion on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Shira’s legal advocacy spans major civil rights issues, including education rights, voting access, and related disability protections affecting daily life in schools and communities. Before joining The Arc, she litigated civil and disability rights cases in the San Francisco Bay Area, including as a Skadden Fellow at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and as an attorney at a civil rights law firm. She is frequently quoted in national media, received the American Constitution Society David Carliner Public Interest Award, earned her JD from UC Berkeley School of Law and her BA from Brown University, and is licensed in DC and California.