Our team

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PHILLIP WESTRY (HE/HIM]

Executive Director

Phillip Westry is the Executive Director at FreeState Justice, a human services organization that works statewide to improve the lives of LGBTQIA+ Marylanders and their families through legal services, policy advocacy, outreach, education, and coalition building.

Phillip was previously FreeState Justice's Legal Director. He managed the legal program that includes in-house attorneys and a panel of pro bono attorneys who provide civil rights litigation, including direct services and impact litigation to indigent members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Before joining FreeState, Phillip spent more than ten years in nonprofit program management and as a public interest attorney, providing legal assistance to Marylanders seeking help with consumer debt defense, foreclosure prevention, and tenants' rights cases.

Phillip earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is a member of the Monumental City Bar Association, the LGBTQ Bar Association, and the Maryland State Bar Association.

In his spare time, Phillip serves on the boards of the Pratt Contemporaries, Belair Edison Neighborhoods Inc., and the Greenmount West Community Association. He is also an avid tennis player. He lives in Baltimore's Greenmount West neighborhood with his husband Mike and their dog Hannibal.

LAUREN PRUITT [SHE/HER]

Legal Director

Lauren Pruitt is a Staff Attorney who provides advice and legal representation for the clients of FreeState Justice on a broad range of legal matters including rendering written and verbal advice on legal subjects; recommending legal strategic and tactical initiatives; evaluating the merits of legal cases, and working with the legal team to define strategies to increase organizational knowledge in our many practice areas.

Before working at FreeState, Lauren spent 10 years as a professor at a small college in Virginia teaching courses for the Business Administration and Criminal Justice bachelor’s degree programs. Her work in curriculum development for the Business Law program has informed her passion for advocacy in employment law and her work towards the protection of LGBTQ Marylanders from workplace discrimination. She also previously worked in several capacities for Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services within correctional facilities in Baltimore City and Jessup, Maryland. Her firsthand experience has helped her develop ideas and strategies to assist clientele in conditions of confinement cases and other detainees’ rights cases. She believes that informing citizens of their rights is their first line of protection against discriminatory acts and practices.

Lauren earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Howard University where she graduated magna cum laude. She is an active member of the Maryland State Bar Association, LGBTQ Bar Association of Maryland and the Alliance of Black Women Attorneys of Maryland, Inc.

In her spare time, Lauren enjoys traveling with her partner. She is an avid concert-goer and participates in a wide variety of sports including golf, football, lacrosse, soccer and basketball. She hopes to add surfing to her resume soon. She is an active member of her church and loves to spend time with her friends and family.

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