Professor Tanya Washington earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law and her LL.M. from Harvard Law School. She teaches family law at Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. Her research and scholarship derives from a heterosexual perspective on the impact of same-sex marriage and adoption bans on children. Washington and professors Catherine Smith and Susannah Pollvogt from the University of Denver School of Law, filed an amicus brief in U.S. v. Windsor. Their brief, which challenged the characterization of the Defense of Marriage Act as a child protective measure, was cited by Windsor in her Supreme Court brief.