Kathy Surace-Smith

Kathy Surace-Smith has over 30 years of experience advising or working in high-growth private and public companies in both the U.S. and Europe, including 23 years in the life sciences industry. She recently retired from her role as Senior Vice President for NanoString (now Bruker Spatial Biology) in Seattle, WA, a leader in spatial biology systems where she led the legal, human resources and regulatory functions. Kathy currently chairs the Trustee Committee on Student Life.

Kathy received an A.B. in politics from Princeton University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Columbia Law Review. She is a trustee (and former Chair) of the board of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, a leading cancer research and clinical care center in Seattle, WA and serves as Chair of its Campaign Committee. She also serves on the advisory boards of the Hasting Center for Bioethics and the Clooney Foundation for Justice. 

She and her husband Brad (also a Columbia Law School graduate) have supported Columbia Law School (CLS) through gifts for the renovation of the law library, the endowment of the Smith Family Human Rights Clinic, and the establishment of a scholarship fund, as well as the creation of the Richard N. Gardner Professorship in the School of International and Public Affairs.