Lee McGrath
Lee McGrath was appointed Executive Director of Opportunity for All Kids (OAK) in January 2025. He has been a member of OAK’s Board of Directors since the organization’s inception in 2013. McGrath has advocated for school choice since 1998, when he joined the board of OAK’s predecessor, the Partnership for Choice in Education.
Before stepping into his role as Executive Director, McGrath served as Managing Attorney at the Institute for Justice (IJ) Minnesota and as its Senior Legislative Counsel. There he litigated groundbreaking constitutional cases defending economic liberty, private property rights, free speech, and other individual freedoms in Minnesota and across the country.
Under his leadership, IJ Minnesota worked to restore economic liberty as a fundamental civil right under both the Minnesota and U.S. Constitutions. Notable achievements include:
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Protecting Entrepreneurs: Successfully freed natural hair braiders from Minnesota’s burdensome cosmetology licensing requirements.
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Defending Free Enterprise: Prevented Minnesota from enforcing a blanket ban on online wine sales.
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Challenging Overregulation: Forced the City of Red Wing to end its prohibition on interstate trash shipments.
McGrath also played a key role in policy reforms, including:
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Eminent Domain Reform (2006) – Strengthened property rights protections following Kelo v. New London.
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Deregulation of Household Goods Movers (2008) – Opened Minnesota’s instate moving industry to fair competition.
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Taxi Industry Reform (2011) – Ended the taxi oligopoly in Minneapolis.
McGrath earned his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, where he led the local chapter of the Federalist Society. Prior to practicing law, he spent over 20 years in corporate finance at General Motors and other firms, concluding his business career as Vice President and Treasurer of Jostens, the Bloomington, MN-based yearbook and ring company.
His academic credentials include an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. Additionally, he was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota.
McGrath can be reached at Lee@OpportunityforAllKids.org
