The Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills

Causes/Issue Area(s): human trafficking prevention

Honors/Achievements: Established New Jersey’s first legislation workshop on human trafficking

Born, raised, and educated in England, Kate Lee has become a reformer whose impact is felt all across her adopted state of New Jersey despite the fact that she’s never worked in politics.

Her evolution as a civic leader gained momentum upon joining the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills after she and her family moved there following her successful careers as a producer for BBC Radio News and Current Affairs, and as a newsreader and sub-editor for NHK, Japan’s PBS.

Kate has been a pivotal player in JLOSH, which is one of eight very active and influential Junior Leagues in New Jersey that work together as the Junior Leagues of New Jersey State Public Affairs Committee (NJSPAC). Together, the Leagues have successfully effected change at the state level on critical issues such as human trafficking, foster care, ovarian cancer, domestic violence, and childhood obesity.

As both a member and Chair of NJSPAC, Kate has pressed the Leagues’ issues with legislators, lobbyists, community activists, police agencies, and business groups. In doing this, she has demonstrated the vitality of the SPAC concept as a vehicle for sending a message to the state capital.