Skye Perryman

Skye Perryman
Perryman in 2026
Born1982 (age 43–44)
Waco, Texas, United States
Education
Occupations
  • Lawyer
  • non-profit executive
Organization(s)President and CEO of Democracy Forward

Skye Lynn Perryman (born 1982) is an American lawyer and nonprofit executive who has served as the president and CEO of Democracy Forward since 2021. She previously served as the chief legal officer of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists from 2019 to 2021. She was named as one of the Time 100 in 2025.

Career

Perryman was born and raised in Waco to a former Baylor University professor. Perryman attended Baylor, where she earned a Bachelors of Arts in economics and philosophy, magna cum laude, and participated in the Model UN and Project Democracy, before earning her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. She worked as a litigator at Covington & Burling and WilmerHale.

In 2018, she left WilmerHale to become a founding team member at Democracy Forward. A year later, she became chief legal officer at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In this role, she fought for allowing Mifepristone to be sent by mail during COVID and for Medicaid funds for postpartum women.

She took on the position of president and CEO of Democracy Forward in 2021. The organization rose to national prominence in 2025, during the Second presidency of Donald Trump, for leading hundreds of cases against the administration. They organized Democracy 2025, a group that includes the Brennan Center for Justice, Public Citizen, and the National Immigration Law Center, among hundreds of other litigation organizations working together. She has become one of the most prominent litigators against the administration.

She wrote her first book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times, in 2026. The book is focused on collective action and encouraging people to start taking steps. In a September 2026 opinion piece for The New York Times, she reiterated her call for collective action.

She was named to the Time 100 in 2025, where her honoring article was written by Kelley Robinson, and was named the 2026 Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia. She keynoted the 2025 Public Health Law Conference in Seattle. She was listed as a The Washington Post 50 in 2026.

Personal life

Perryman grew up in Waco, Texas, and married her high school sweetheart James Bucy.

References

  1. ↑ "How Skye Perryman Rose from Baylor to Become a Defender of Democracy". The Baylor Line. September 23, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Skye Perryman: Salzburg Global". www.salzburgglobal.org. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "'No One's Going to Get Out of This Moment Intact by Keeping Their Head Down'". POLITICO. November 24, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Fifteen Minutes of Feminism: The Next President Will Shape the Supreme Court (with Skye Perryman)". Ms. Magazine. October 31, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Skye Perryman is Taking On the Trump Administration". Texas Monthly. February 6, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  6. ↑ "The cost of inaction is perilous to Skye Perryman". The Washington Post. February 9, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Jake. "Attorney Skye Perryman left a legal "dream job" to fight for American democracy with renewed purpose. She's now leading legal strategies to raise the minimum wage, stop censorship, and more". Business Insider. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  8. ↑ "We The People v Trump with Democracy Forward's Skye Perryman". interfaithalliance.org. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  9. ↑ Roche, Daniel Jonas (May 5, 2026). "Trump-backed nonprofit shares plans to overhaul East Potomac Golf Course". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Abortion pill makers ask U.S. Supreme Court to restore mail-order access". CNBC. May 2, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  11. ↑ "From Truth Social to judicial decisions: Groups challenging Trump's actions get help from his posts - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. May 5, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  12. ↑ Brumley, Jeff (April 30, 2026). "Supreme Court further dilutes Voting Rights Act". Baptist News Global. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  13. ↑ Rohde, Stephen (August 14, 2026). "Skye Perryman on How We Turn 'Anger and Sorrow' Into 'Action'". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  14. ↑ ""What Can I Do?" Skye Perryman's New Book Answers the Question". interfaithalliance.org. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
  15. ↑ Perryman, Skye (August 31, 2026). "Opinion | Our Democracy Is at Stake. Stop Waiting for a Savior". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
  16. ↑ "100 Most Influential People of 2025: Skye Perryman". Time. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  17. ↑ Montoya, Carol. "2026 Woman Lawyer of the Year: Skye Perryman". Women's Bar Association. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ "TIME100 Honoree Skye Perryman to Keynote 2025 Public Health Law Conference in Seattle". Network for Public Health Law. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  19. ↑ "ICYMI: Skye Perryman Featured Among 50 People Shaping Society in 2026". Democracy Forward. February 10, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  20. ↑ Simpson, Grace (February 28, 2026). "Skye Lynn Perryman ('03): Defender of Democracy". The Baylor Line. Retrieved May 9, 2026.