K.O. Strategies - Experience

Kate O'Malley, President

Kate O'Malley launched K.O. Strategies LLC to make non-profits and companies stronger and more effective, building on 25 years of experience in government, advocacy, business, and law.

Previously, she served as Managing Director of Wilhelm & Conlon Public Strategies, a public affairs firm, where she worked with several large corporate clients as well as an impressive group of not-for-profit organizations on strategy, issues management, advocacy, and communications. O'Malley advocated for clients at the state and local levels, working with them to create and implement issue campaigns, build relationships with key legislative and executive-branch decision-makers, strengthen their boards of directors, and achieve key goals.

She practiced in the government department at the law firm of Altheimer & Gray, where she represented clients on zoning and land-use matters in Chicago's City Hall and before other municipalities. She was asked to serve on former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's Transition Team.

As Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in Washington, D.C., O'Malley was the lead staff person for several issue areas, including health, education, women's, children's and seniors' issues, the arts, and related appropriations. She wrote and edited speeches, testimony, and press releases for the Senator. Proficient in Spanish, O'Malley served as Director of the Latin America Advocacy Initiative for Mental Disability Rights International, where she promoted the rights of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

As one of 25 Skadden Arps Public Interest Law Fellows selected annually in the U.S., O'Malley represented Latinas in domestic violence and family law issues. Prior to law school, she worked at Aetna Life & Casualty in Hartford, Connecticut and Chicago in marketing, communications, and strategy.

O'Malley has been speaker, facilitator, and panelist at several conferences and events in the U.S., Latin America, and Canada, including presenting to the Directors of Mental Health of several Latin American countries. She has appeared as a guest on the TV and radio talk show "Beyond the Beltway." She was selected as a member of the inaugural class of the Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership (IWIL) and was elected to its board of directors.

O'Malley received a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and law degree from the University of Illinois, where she served on the Law Review. She studied at Harvard Law School for her third year, where she was active in the Public Interest Law Program.

She has served on the boards of various organizations and currently sits on the steering committee of a board development project for the University of Notre Dame, as well as the Academic Affairs Committee of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. She is Founder and Past President of Connections, a group at Old St. Pat's Church that runs monthly programs and service projects. She created the "150 Fabulous Women" networking group and participates in a variety of organizations and alumni clubs. A native of Beverly on Chicago's mighty South Side, O'Malley lives in the Lakeview neighborhood.

April Thomas, Associate

April Thomas joined the K.O. Strategies team in July 2007. She conducts research and develops materials to advance client priorities. Previously she worked as a technical analyst for Prime Analytics, an options valuation and electronic-trading software firm in Chicago. Her clients there included international clearing firms and futures and options traders at the former Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Thomas received a B.A. with honors in English literature from Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, and her M.A. in literary writing from DePaul University. She's an active volunteer with PAWS Chicago animal shelter.