John Rosenberg

John M. Rosenberg of Prestonsburg is Director-Emeritus of Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Ky., Inc. (Appalred), a legal services program serving low income clients in 37 counties in eastern and south central Kentucky. He held the position of Director for thirty-one years from its founding in 1970.  From 1962 to 1970, he served as a Trial Attorney, Deputy Section Chief, and Trial Section Chief in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, where he litigated racial discrimination cases primarily in the South.

He presently serves as Vice Chair of the Kentucky Public Advocacy Commission. He is a past member of the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association. He has chaired the Donated Legal Services Committee, the Education Law Section, and the Public Interest Law Section of the Kentucky Bar Association.  He has been a member of the Board of Regents of Morehead State University, and the Visiting Committee of the University of Kentucky College of Law.

He has served on the boards of various nonprofit organizations, and he is presently on the Boards of the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation, the Appalachian Citizens Law Center, and the Friedell Committee. He was a founder and past chair of the Board of the East Kentucky Science Center. He has received a number of awards for his public service work, including the Kentucky Bar Association’s Distinguished Attorney Award..  He is a graduate of Duke University with an A.B. Degree in Chemistry. He earned his L.L.B. degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He holds honorary Doctorates from Morehead State University, the William Mitchell School of Law, and Berea College.  He is of counsel to the Prestonsburg law firm of Pillersdorf, DeRossett, and Lane.