Peter Kirsanow

Peter N. Kirsanow (born October 30, 1953) is a lawyer and civil-rights commissioner serving as the chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 2006 to 2008.

Education Kirsanow received his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University in 1976 and then in 1979 received his Juris Doctor cum laude from the Cleveland State University College of Law, where he served as articles editor of the Cleveland State Law Review.

Career Kirsanow served as labor counsel for the City of Cleveland and as senior labor counsel of Leaseway Transportation Corp.

Kirsanow was appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights by President George W. Bush in December 2001, but Chairwoman Mary Frances Berry told the White House that it would take federal marshals to seat Kirsanow, fighting his appointment all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In May 2002, the United States Department of Justice prevailed in its lawsuit to seat Kirsanow as a member of the commission. He was re-appointed by President Bush to serve a second six-year term on the commission, and then re-appointed once more by U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan.

President Bush appointed Kirsanow to the five-member NLRB in 2006 for two years, where he was involved with significant decisions including Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., Dana/Metaldyne and Oil Capital Sheet Metal, Inc. In 2008, Kirsanow returned to the Cleveland law firm of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP, where he is a partner with the firm's Labor & Employment Practice Group and a member of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. He represents management in employment-related litigation, contract negotiations, NLRB proceedings and EEO matters. Kirsanow testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, and at the confirmation hearing for Jeff Sessions nomination for United States Attorney General.

Bar admissions and associations Ohio, 1979 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, 1984 U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

Memberships Past Chair of the Board of Directors, The Center for New Black Leadership Member of the advisory board of the National Center for Public Policy Research Adjunct Professor, Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1992-1993 Member, National Labor Relations Board, 2006-2008 Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2002-

Books "Target Omega" (2017) "Second Strike" (2018)