Northeast Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition  Author Biographies and Presentations

Martha Coakley
Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Keynote

Attorney General Martha Coakley has dedicated the last 20 years of her life to a career in public service. Coakley has a strong history as an advocate—not only for individuals and communities, but also for the best interests of the Commonwealth at large. Coakley brings to the Attorney General's office a diverse and extensive legal background, a proven track record of bringing people to the table to find effective solutions to the issues that face the Commonwealth, and a strong commitment to her role as a public servant.

Both during and prior to her tenure in public office, Attorney General Coakley has been involved in a number of community and professional organizations and boards. She is a former president of the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts, and has served on the Board of Directors at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. During her tenure as Middlesex District Attorney, Coakley served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Middlesex Partnerships for Youth, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to providing prevention and intervention resources and training to Middlesex school districts and communities.

Throughout her career, Attorney General Coakley has been honored for her work by organizations such as the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, and the Victim Rights Law Center. In 1998, she was named Woman of the Year by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, and in November 2000, the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts honored Coakley with its coveted Leila J. Robinson Award for her contributions to the field of law. In June 2002, the YWCA Boston selected Coakley as a member of its Academy of Women Achievers Class of 2002. In January 2004, District Attorney Coakley received the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Management in Government. And in May 2006, the Massachusetts Democratic Party with its prestigious Eleanor Roosevelt Award honored Coakley.

Attorney General Coakley regularly presents trainings and instruction at conferences and seminars, both in Massachusetts and nationwide. She has served as a guest lecturer for a number of colleges and universities, including Harvard University, Boston College Law School, and Tufts University. She has also served as a guest lecturer for organizations such as the Columbia Law Review, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and the Massachusetts Medical Society. In January 2002, 2003, and 2006, she co-taught a winter study, "Law and Social Policy," at her alma mater, Williams College. Coakley taught criminal trial advocacy courses at the Massachusetts School of Law during the Fall 2003 semester, and at Boston University School of Law during the Spring 2006 and Spring 2007 semester.

Martha Coakley received a B.A. degree, cum laude, from Williams College in 1975, and a J.D. degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1979. Coakley resides in Medford, Massachusetts, with her husband, Thomas F. O'Connor, Jr. In her spare time, Coakley is an avid reader, and enjoys downhill skiing, walking her Labrador Retrievers, Jackson and Beauregard, and kayaking with her husband on the Mystic Lakes.


2007 Keynote Address