My name is Amanda Scott Daigle, and I’m a paralegal and writer based in the Washington, DC metro area, with a focus on advancing social and economic justice.
In 2019, I became a paralegal for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project in Washington, DC. Our litigation team brings voting rights, redistricting, and census cases, frequently representing historically disenfranchised communities of color, public assistance clients, and disabled voters. I have had the opportunity to be the lead paralegal on two U.S. Supreme Court cases: Allen v. Milligan (2023), striking down Alabama’s congressional maps for racial gerrymandering, and Trump v. New York (2020), challenging President Trump’s efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment. I also helped our team protect the right to vote by mail in the 2020 elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, winning 28 legal victories in 21 states and Puerto Rico.
Before joining the ACLU, I interned for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Washington, DC Mayor’s Office. From 2018 to 2021, I served on the Montgomery County Committee Against Hate Violence, which works to address hate crimes and bias incidents against minority groups through community education, advocacy, and legislation. My writing has been published in The Washington Post, AL.com, The Montgomery Advertiser, and The Humanist.
I was born and raised in a working-class community in Mobile, Alabama, and I am the first and only college graduate in my family. Homeschooled and self-taught, I obtained my GED, graduated from Coastal Alabama Community College summa cum laude with an A.A.S. in Paralegal Studies, and received a full scholarship to transfer to Georgetown University where I earned a B.A. in Government and was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
While in Alabama, I founded and led Mobile Equality, a community organization advocating for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. We lobbied for a city nondiscrimination ordinance, amending the state’s hate crime law, and protecting LGBTQ youth. I also interned for Legal Services Alabama, the South Alabama Center for Fair Housing, and U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL01). From 2014 to 2016, I served on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Alabama, where I had the distinction of being the youngest member of the board.
I plan to attend law school and pursue a career as a public interest attorney, and one day I hope to run for public office. I live in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, with my husband Peter, who works on climate policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, and our cat Jack. In my free time, I enjoy reading, film photography, and exploring the Washington, DC metro area, especially Montgomery County, MD.
Publications
“We have a right to counsel in criminal cases. Why not in evictions?”, The Washington Post, November 6, 2018
Education
- Georgetown University, Class of 2019
- Bachelor of Arts (BA), Government and History
- Independent Study: “Criminal Disenfranchisement and Systemic Racism in the United States”
- Honors: Harry S. Truman Scholarship, Senior Convocation Speaker, New Student Convocation Speaker, George Wescott Carey Scholarship, 1789 Scholarship, Dean’s List
- Coastal Alabama Community College, Class of 2016
Additional honors: Certificate of Recognition, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (2018); Certificate of Recognition, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (2017); David Norr Youth Activist Award, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (2017); Catherine Fahringer Memorial Student Activist Award, Freedom From Religion Foundation (2014); Activist of the Year Award, American Atheists (2014)
Experience
- Paralegal, American Civil Liberties Union, Voting Rights Project, Washington, DC, July 2019 – Present
- Legal Assistant Trainee, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Voting Section, Washington, DC, August 2017 – August 2018
- L.E.A.D. Intern, Executive Office of the Mayor, Government of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, June 2017 – August 2017
- Legal & Public Policy Intern, American Atheists, Washington, DC, May 2017 – August 2017
- Undergraduate Intern, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Voting Rights Project, Washington, DC, January 2017 – May 2017
- PAC & Legislative Intern, American Humanist Association, Washington, DC, May 2016 – August 2016
- Constituent Services Intern, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL01), U.S. House of Representatives, Mobile, AL, May 2015 – July 2015
- Paralegal Intern, South Alabama Center for Fair Housing, Mobile, AL, May 2015 – August 2015
- Paralegal Intern, Legal Services Alabama, Mobile, AL, January 2015 – May 2015
- Founder & Executive Director, Mobile Equality, Mobile, AL, August 2014 – May 2016
Boards & Committees
- Committee Member, Montgomery County Committee Against Hate Violence, Rockville, MD, 2018 – 2021
- Youth Advisory Council Member, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Washington, DC, 2015 – 2018
- Equity Officer & Board Member, American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, Montgomery, AL, 2014 – 2016
Volunteer Activities
- Truman Scholar Alumni Adviser, Georgetown University, 2019 – Present
- Clinic Escort & Community Volunteer, Planned Parenthood Southeast, Mobile, AL, 2015 – 2016
- Mobile Community Leader & State Volunteer, Human Rights Campaign Alabama, Montgomery, AL, 2014 – 2016
*Political campaign experience excluded
Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.