About Denise

Denise Brogan-Kator is a writer, attorney, civil rights advocate, and U.S. Navy veteran.

She served aboard the submarine USS Grayback before beginning a business career that eventually took her into senior financial and executive roles. Later in life, she entered law school and became an attorney, focusing much of her work on the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ people and their families.

Her advocacy career included leadership at Equality Michigan and Family Equality, where she worked on state and national policy affecting LGBTQ+ parents and children. Her legal and policy work included participation in major cases involving transgender rights and family equality.

Her experience with those issues was also deeply personal. Years before becoming a lawyer, Denise faced a challenge to her own relationship with her children during her transition.

That intersection—between private family life and public institutions—forms part of the foundation of her memoir, Do You Like Me?

Denise lives in North Carolina with her wife, Mary.