She was a program manager for the United States Department of Education and later worked as a visiting professor at Pacific Lutheran University.

Outside of academics, Kohl-Welles has provided expert testimony in Title IX lawsuits.

The award recognized Kohl-Welles work on predatory lending reforms, updates to strengthen and simplify Washington State's Consumer Protection Act, and good government reforms to prevent trade associations from diverting workers compensation funds into political campaigns.

[7] Using data and projections compiled by the Washington State Office of Financial Management, Freedom Foundation aggregated bills introduced in the 2008 legislative session in order to determine the total increased taxes and fees proposed by each individual legislator, as primary or co-sponsor, would bring to taxpayers over a ten-year period.

Her bills have been predicted to bring total of $214,327,749,698 of increases in taxes and fees to Washington taxpayers.