Mckenna Kohlenberg is an associate attorney with Odelson, Murphey, Frazier & McGrath, Ltd. She is licensed in both Illinois and Wisconsin and has an array of legal, policy, and community advocacy experience in the areas of school law, disability justice, and juvenile justice. Mckenna is deeply committed to advancing equal educational access and opportunity for all public K12 students; to this end, she guides school districts through the unique, day-to-day challenges they face so they can best meet students’ needs.
Originally from the Milwaukee area, Mckenna is a “triple Badger,” having earned her undergraduate degree (2015), Juris Doctorate (2021), and Master of Science in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis (2021) from the University of Wisconsin. While in school, she worked as a K12 literacy specialist for Simpson Street Free Press, a non-profit youth newspaper and academic program in Madison—a formative experience that continues to drive and shape her work today.
Before joining OMFM, Mckenna served as Assistant General Counsel of School Law for Chicago Public Schools, where she specialized in special education law including litigating due process claims under the IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA, as well as school discipline. Mckenna’s previous work in the education law and policy sector includes with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Impact for Equity, and The Center for Policing Equity. As a law-student extern for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office, she also helped defend dozens of students in manifestation determinations and expulsion hearings.
Mckenna recently authored the article, Booked but Can’t Read: “Functional Literacy,” National Citizenship, and the New Face of Dred Scott in the Age of Mass Incarceration (N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change, Vol. 44, Issue 2). She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and Decalogue Society of Lawyers.
Aside from practicing law, Mckenna enjoys traveling, comedy, and cooking. Perhaps most importantly—and despite her colleagues’ best efforts—Mckenna is a proud fan and co-owner of the Green Bay Packers. GPG!