Maggie Jo Buchanan

Senior Director and Senior Legal Fellow, Women’s Initiative

she/her

Maggie Jo Buchanan is the senior director and senior legal fellow for the Women’s Initiative at American Progress, where she leads interdisciplinary work on women’s economic security, health, and leadership.

Before her current role, Buchanan was the director of Courts and Legal Policy at American Progress, publishing widely cited reports on topics such as professional diversity on the federal bench and U.S. Supreme Court term limits. In addition, she previously served as an associate director for the Women’s Initiative, focused on women’s health and reproductive rights.

In addition to her work at American Progress, Buchanan has led policy initiatives at organizations such as Young Invincibles and NARAL Pro-Choice America. She also served as a senior legislative assistant to Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). In that role, she managed significant portions of the congressman’s Ways and Means portfolio, including his work on health care, worker and family supports, and Social Security matters. Buchanan also has significant experience in the states, working in Texas on issues that include maternal health, reproductive rights, and the unique challenges facing student-parents.

Buchanan’s work has received extensive news coverage in NPR, PBS NewsHour, Bloomberg, The Guardian, the Houston ChronicleThe Texas TribuneThe Washington PostPolitico, and more. She earned her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Latest

2022 State Abortion Bans Are a Patchwork of Increasingly Extreme Laws Article
Protestor holding sign that says all Texans deserve access to affordable, respectful abortion care

2022 State Abortion Bans Are a Patchwork of Increasingly Extreme Laws

As the country awaits the Supreme Court’s final decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, this column highlights the myriad ways in which opponents of abortion are pursuing unprecedented incursions on that fundamental constitutional right.

Elyssa Spitzer, Maggie Jo Buchanan

5 Key Facts About Medication Abortion Article
The U.S. Supreme Court building

5 Key Facts About Medication Abortion

Expanding access to safe abortion in whatever ways possible is more critical than ever—and a central way of doing so is to make medication abortion more easily accessible.

Elyssa Spitzer, Maggie Jo Buchanan

The Climate Needs a Balanced Judiciary Article
A smoky sunset is seen behind the Alameda County Superior Courthouse in Oakland, California, on September 14, 2020. (Getty/East Bay Times/Digital First Media/Jane Tyska)

The Climate Needs a Balanced Judiciary

As litigation continues over efforts to address climate change, it is critical that America’s federal courts include judges with professional expertise advancing climate protection policies.

Maggie Jo Buchanan

Load More

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.