Courtney Kiehl, a former elite gymnast and now an attorney who advocates for survivors of child sexual abuse, joins us to discuss what makes youth athletes vulnerable, and how we can help.

Courtney Kiehl JD ’15 Law knew she wanted to work with trauma survivors in some capacity. A former elite gymnast and survivor of child sexual abuse, Kiehl chose to pursue a legal career after earning her bachelor’s degree in sociology at UCLA, where she had become involved in victims’ rights organizations.

“When I began researching law schools, it was around the time that the Sandusky case was getting a lot of publicity,” Kiehl says. “I had done work in the realm of child sexual abuse, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to go to Penn State, the center of this case that was getting so much attention.”