Amanda Simmons Appointed Commissioner to the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (2025–2026 Term)

Ambika Law is honored to announce that Amanda Simmons has been appointed to the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) for the 2025–2026 bar year. The appointment, formally confirmed by SOGI Chair Hon. Kristin Rosi, places Amanda among a national group of distinguished leaders working to advance LGBTQ+ equality within the legal profession and the justice system. 

Amanda joins a diverse roster of commissioners from across the country, including influential attorneys, academics, judges, policy leaders, and advocates. The 2025–2026 Commission is chaired by Hon. Kristin Rosi of the California Department of Insurance and includes commissioners such as Louis Benitez-Burgos of the Communications Workers of America, Nathan Bruemmer, Janice Beth Grubin of Barclay Damon, Kara Nicole Ingelhart of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Professor Phyllis Williams Kotey of Florida International University College of Law, Antonio Lee, Jason Owen, Justin Jones Rodriguez of Manatt Phelps & Phillips, S. Collins Saint of Brooks Pierce, D. Jean Veta of Covington & Burling, and others. Amanda is listed among these leaders as one of the Commission’s newly appointed members for the coming bar year. 

The SOGI Commission, established in 2007, is the ABA’s primary entity dedicated to securing full and equal access to the legal profession for LGBTQ+ attorneys, law students, and community members. Through education, policy development, relationship-building, and strategic public programming, SOGI works to dismantle barriers within the profession and promote equal treatment regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. In her welcome letter, Chair Rosi highlighted SOGI’s long-standing commitment to advancing the ABA’s diversity goals and strengthening civil and human rights protections nationwide. 

Amanda’s appointment comes at a time of significant activity within the Commission. Recent projects include the ABA’s Annual Stonewall Awards, major contributions to the Association’s Goal III Diversity Report, continued development of ABA policies supporting transgender health-care providers and reaffirming support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and special programming—such as national webinars—addressing abuse within the troubled-teen industry. SOGI also oversees the ABA LGBTQ+ Public Interest Scholarship, conducts public education, develops best-practice trainings for judges and law firms, coordinates national outreach, and leads new research efforts examining the status of LGBTQ+ attorneys within the legal profession. 

As a commissioner, Amanda will participate in the Commission’s four annual business meetings and will contribute to committee work focused on education, policy development, public outreach, and resource creation. Her appointment reflects the ABA’s recognition of her scholarship on institutional child abuse, trafficking, and youth rights; her national advocacy across multiple ABA entities; and her commitment to trauma-informed, inclusive legal practice.

Amanda’s work with the SOGI Commission aligns closely with Ambika Law’s mission to protect vulnerable children, advance civil rights, and support survivors navigating complex institutional systems. Her service as a commissioner will allow her to continue shaping national conversations around LGBTQ+ equality, youth protection, and systemic reform—work that remains at the heart of her advocacy.

About Ambika Law: 

At Ambika Law, PC, we deliver comprehensive legal services for families with special needs children, focusing on educational law, children’s rights and institutional child abuse. Guided by our core values of trauma-informed, compassionate, responsive, and resourceful lawyering, we create a supportive and proactive legal environment, ensuring our clients feel heard, understood, and effectively represented.

About Amanda: 

Amanda Simmons is a lived experience advocate and founder of Ambika Law, an educational law firm focused on special education and school injury claims.  She is also a 2024-2025 American Bar Association Fellow focusing on institutional child abuse and has presented at conference including the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the National Association of Women Judges, National Association of Counsel for Children and frequently publishes on legal topics related to the troubled teen industry.  She is passionate about protecting youth and devotes her practice to ensuring the safety of our most vulnerable children.