Kevin Díaz is the chief legal advocacy officer & general counsel for Compassion & Choices. His work focuses on improving healthcare and expanding choice for the end of life throughout the United States. During his over 20-year career in public interest law he has worked to protect the liberty and enhance the dignity of people through the use of integrated advocacy. Most recently he launched the Patient Protection Initiative by filing suit in the United States District Court of Idaho on behalf of four women of childbearing age challenging the constitutionality of a state statute that voids their advance directives during pregnancy.
Previously Díaz served as the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon and as an advocate for immigrants, with a particular focus on issues affecting migrant and seasonal farm workers.
He has appeared in numerous state and federal jurisdictions including the United States Supreme Court.
Díaz was named a 2013-2014 Wasserstein Fellow by Harvard Law School for his exemplary public interest career. In 2014 he received the Fighting Spirit award from Basic Rights Oregon and was recognized by the ACLU of Oregon for his legal work on a landmark U.S. District Court case overturning Oregon’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. In 2016 the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association presented Díaz with the Paul J. De Muniz professionalism award.
The Latina/o Bar Association of Washington had previously acknowledged Díaz as an Abogado Excepcional (Exceptional Attorney) in 2006. In addition to serving various professional and community organizations in the past, Díaz was a member of the inaugural class of the 2005 Washington Leadership Institute.
Díaz has been quoted or published in local, regional and national news outlets including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, The Seattle Times, The Oregonian, El Comercio, The Hill, People, Associated Press, Reuters and National Public Radio affiliates, among others. Born in Perú and raised in Oregon, Díaz earned degrees at the University of Oregon and at the University of Washington School of Law. He is a proud husband and father to three children.
