Katherine Triantafillou papers

Katherine Triantafillou, born September 23, 1950, is an attorney and former elected official in Massachusetts who specialized in lesbian and gay issues. She earned a B.S. from the University of Michigan in 1972, a law degree from Suffolk University in 1975, and a M.A. in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1999. In 1975, Triantafillou opened a general practice out of her apartment on Beacon Hill that included real estate, prenuptial agreements, co-parenting and co-habitation agreements, adoption, guardianship, small business matters, litigation, estate planning, family law, personal injury, criminal law, civil rights, and corporate law. She was the first openly gay person to practice law privately in Massachusetts; she specialized in lesbian and gay issues, and legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence and other disadvantaged citizens. From 1976 to 1980, Triantafillou provided legal counsel to Transition House Massachusetts, a shelter for battered women, helping to incorporate the organization and to obtain its tax-exempt status. In 1977, she designed and supervised the Transition House Legal Advocacy Program, which trained volunteers to give legal assistance to battered women. From 1990 to 1995, Triantafillou was adjunct professor of law at Suffolk University Law School (family law), Northeastern University Law School (sexual orientation and the law), Boston University (paralegal training programs), and the University of Massachusetts. From 1984 to 1990, she was a member of the Governor's State-Wide Anti-Crime Council and the Battered Women's Working Group. Triantafillou served on the city council of Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1994-1999; during her tenure as Councilor, she helped establish a Domestic Violence-Free Zone for the City of Cambridge; increased coordination among city departments in responding to violence against women; assessed services provided to victims of domestic violence; led efforts to maintain rent control; advocated for affordable housing; spurred full implementation of the Domestic Partnership Ordinance; supported the needle exchange program run by Cambridge Cares About AIDS and the City Hospital; led efforts to increase minority hiring in the City and to ensure availability of equal job opportunities to minorities, women, and Cambridge residents; and advocated for increased funding for services to children and to the elderly. Triantafillou wrote the domestic violence legislation known as the Abuse Prevention Act, and is also the author of Do Your Own No-Fault Divorce, Have You Been Beaten By The Man You Live With?, Representing Non-Traditional Families, Legal Rights of Battered Women Handbook, and How To Use the Law. She edited The Massachusetts Police Institute Training Manual on the Abuse Prevention Act, and has trained hundreds of police officers on the legal issues and rights of battered women. Triantafillou's groundbreaking case, Adoption of Tammy, established the right of unmarried couples to jointly adopt in Massachusetts. She is a founder and former co-chair of the National Lesbian and Gay Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association. She lectures frequently in continuing legal education seminars through the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Foundation.