Kathleen A. Birrane, former Maryland Insurance Commissioner, died on May 6, 2026, in Baltimore at age 66 from a rare gastrointestinal infection.

Widely known for her sharp legal mind, public service, and personal faith, Kathleen most recently led the development of the national framework for how insurers may use artificial intelligence — navigating one of the industry's most consequential transformations.

Born in Baltimore in 1959 to Edward J. Birrane Jr. and Dorothy E. Birrane (née Piersanti), Kathleen was the eldest of three, raised within a large, close, and boisterous extended family that instilled in her a lifelong love of family, cooking, social justice, and Christian faith. She graduated from Maryvale Preparatory School in 1977 and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 1982, and — inspired by her father's passion for the law — earned her JD from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1986.

Kathleen spent the first nineteen years of her career at Baltimore's Kramon & Graham, P.A., becoming a shareholder in 1995 with a practice in complex commercial litigation, insurance coverage, ERISA, and regulatory matters. She served as Principal Counsel to the Maryland Insurance Administration from 2002 to 2007, then moved into private industry as general counsel for insurance-linked investment companies. In 2012, she joined DLA Piper as a partner in its Insurance Sector and Litigation and Regulatory Practice Group.

Her appointment as Maryland Insurance Commissioner by Gov. Hogan in May 2020 carried particular meaning as her father had also served in the role, making them the only father-daughter pair to do so in Maryland's history. She was confirmed by the Maryland Senate in 2021 and remained as Commissioner under the Moore-Miller administration until she returned to DLA Piper in June 2024 to lead its U.S. Insurance Regulatory Practice from Baltimore.

Widely recognized for guiding insurance policy through cybersecurity oversight, modernization, and emerging consumer protection challenges, Kathleen served as inaugural chair of the NAIC's Innovation, Cybersecurity and Technology Committee, chaired the Interstate Insurance Product Regulatory Commission, and represented the United States in international forums including the EU/US Insurance Dialogue and the UN's Sustainable Insurance Forum. She was twice named to the Daily Record's Maryland Top 100 Women and was the inaugural recipient of the Interstate Insurance Compact's Champion Award. She also served on the boards of the University of Maryland Medical System, the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, and Maryvale Preparatory School, and gave her time to Catholic Charities of Baltimore and United Way of Central Maryland's Women United, among others.

In her free time, Kathleen loved to sculpt, paint, and draw. Her favorite subjects to render were her nieces and nephew. She also deeply loved keeping up the family's culinary traditions, such as whole crab pasta marinara on Christmas.

Kathleen is survived by her siblings Lisa Marie Markovitz and Edward Joseph Birrane III, their spouses Paul Markovitz and Linda Birrane, her nieces Julia and Anna Markovitz and Kaitlyn Birrane, and her nephew Edward Joseph Birrane IV. She was predeceased by her parents, Edward Joseph Birrane Jr. and Dorothy Elise Birrane.

Viewings will be held Thursday, May 21, from 3–7 p.m. and Friday, May 22, from 3–6 p.m. at the Ruck Towson Funeral Home, 1050 York Road. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Saturday, May 23, at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Nativity, 20 East Ridgely Road.

Donations in Kathleen's memory may be made to Catholic Charities of Baltimore or United Way of Central Maryland's Women United