WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Open Society Foundations announced today that Cathy Livingston, a leader in the field of tax policy and nonprofit law, will become their new general counsel. She will join Open Society on September 6, 2022.
“I’m grateful that Cathy has decided to join the Open Society Foundations. Her keen advice and ability to solve complex problems will add significant value to our leadership team and help the Open Society Foundations’ employees as well as grantees do their best work to achieve the change we seek in the world,” said Mark Malloch-Brown, president of the Open Society Foundations.
Livingston joins Open Society with more than 30 years of experience in both government and private practice. She previously served as a partner at the law firm of Jones Day. She joined the firm in 2013 and advised nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, as well as their boards, on navigating the complexities of the tax code and corporate governance.
Prior to her time at Jones Day, Livingston led all legal work on tax-exempt organizations in the Internal Revenue Service’ Office of Chief Counsel. She was also the IRS’s first health care counsel, the principal legal advisor to IRS leadership on all aspects of the enactment and implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
She is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School.
“I’m honored to join the Open Society Foundations at such a pivotal moment, particularly as the challenges to democracy and human rights around the globe become more sinister. Open Society, specifically, and philanthropy, generally, are central to building a healthy civil society where everyone can participate free of fear and with dignity. I look forward to helping advance the priorities of the Foundations and build more tolerant and inclusive societies,” Livingston said.
Livingston will be based in Washington, D.C.
She replaces Gail Scovell, who departed earlier this year after more than eight years at the Open Society Foundations.