Keith St. John ’81

Overview

General Counsel, State of New York
Albany, NY

• BA, Economics, Vassar College
• JD, Law, Cornell Law School
• Pending MA/Professional Degree, Public Policy Studies, Duke University

For eight years, Keith St. John (he/him) was an Alderman in the City of Albany, New York, representing the city’s Second Ward as a Member of the Albany Common Council. In November 1989, he made national history as the first openly gay Black elected to public office in the United States. Keith started his legal career in Albany as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Law Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York. In 1989, Keith began his private law practice before accepting a position as a clinical instructor/staff attorney in the Clinical Legal Studies program at Albany Law School. Keith was also an Albany County public defender, representing individuals involved in custody/visitation disputes, child abuse and neglect, and family offense proceedings, as well as a law guardian appointed by the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court to represent children in delinquency proceedings and custody/visitation matters. Since his years in elective public office, Keith has continued actively participating in civic, community, and political affairs. For nearly 20 years, Keith served as counsel to the New York State Senate before accepting an appointment to the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics as Deputy Counsel and Director of Ethics in 2017. He now holds the position of General Counsel to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. Keith also serves as a lay eucharistic minister in the Albany, New York Diocese of the Episcopal Church, having received, in 2015, a Certificate in Education for Ministry from the School of Theology at the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. Keith served as a member of the Profile and Search Committee for the 10th Bishop of Albany, sits on the Constitution and Canons Committee for the Diocese of Albany, and is a member and officer of the governing body for the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, New York. Keith is also a member of the founding 2021 class of inductees into the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s LGBTQ+ Political Hall of Fame. Now a resident of Schenectady County, Keith is an active member of the city of Schenectady’s Upper Union Neighborhood Association. In 2022, Keith volunteered as a member of the City of Schenectady’s American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) Advisory Committee and currently serves as the Schenectady City Council’s representative on, and vice chair of, the city’s Civilian Police Review Board. Keith also serves on the executive committee of the Board of Directors of the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College and continues to serve as a member of the Character and Fitness Committee for the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department. In his spare time, Keith competes in the American Poolplayers Association and raises Australian Shepherd show dogs with his spouse, William Garber.

Advice to Students:

Preparation, preparation, preparation.