Remembering Kaylee
The eDiscovery and legal technology community continues to mourn the sudden loss of Kaylee Walstad, Chief Strategy Officer of EDRM, who passed away on August 19, 2025. Kaylee was a radiant force of encouragement, a tireless advocate for people, and a trusted friend and mentor to many. Her presence lifted spirits, her wisdom guided colleagues, and her generosity of heart left an indelible mark on all who knew her. Kaylee’s passing, while unexpected and untimely, was peaceful.
This page gathers the tributes, memories, and images shared by friends, colleagues, and loved ones as a collective celebration of Kaylee’s extraordinary life and legacy. Each contribution reflects the profound impact she had on individuals and the community as a whole—an impact that continues to shine through the words and remembrances collected here.
As Thomas Campbell wrote, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
Through these tributes, Kaylee’s light endures in the many lives she touched.
These loving tributes will be shared on this site, and other places in honor of Kaylee. For more personal, private tributes, please send them directly to info@edrm.net, which will be received and held confidential by Holley Robinson and Mary Mack, and forwarded only to Kaylee’s beloved family.
Kaylee Walstad’s Virtual Celebration of Light was held on September 10, 2025 and her family and friends gathered in Minnesota for her Celebration of Life on September 13.
Throughout the year, EDRM will be remembering and honoring Kaylee in ways that make a difference.
Instead of flowers, to support Kaylee’s family with final expenses, her beloved sister, Kari, stewards the Venmo, @kari-frangos and the PayPal +karifrangos.paypal.
Community Tributes
-
Craig (Very Special Master) Ball
I cried when Kaylee died. Selfish tears, thinking of the friend I’d never hear from again. She was my morning star—the first person to send a kind and happy word every single day until the morning we lost her.
At first I felt a little ashamed of my tears, as if they were for me alone. But tears are not shameful; they’re part of how we love.
All my life, I’ve turned to my favorite writer, Charles Dickens, when I needed to better understand love and loss. Dickens put it beautifully in Great Expectations:
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried than before—more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.”
That was Kaylee’s gift to us: to make us more gentle, more aware, to shine a light warmly on our strengths and kindly on our weaknesses. We are—all of us—better for having walked this life with her, though it was far too brief.
I think I am past tears for Kaylee, but she will always live in my heart.
I shared more about Kaylee here, and hope what I said on that terrible morning I heard the news of her death will resonate with you.
-
Kari Frangos
Thank you to everyone who attended the celebration in memory of my sister Kaylee and to those who have extended their condolences to Ashlee, Alex, Kate, Maddie and myself. We are all humbled by the numerous lives she touched and by the many people who have fondly referred to her as a “bright light.” Our family has been deeply moved by the outpouring of love and support we have received. ❤️
-
Doug Austin
I have so many fond memories of Kaylee, I almost don’t know where to begin.
Her LinkedIn byline said she is a “Connector of People. Community Evangelist. People. Partners. Makes Things Happen. Community Builder.” Her LinkedIn About section said (among other things) that her “Glass is ALWAYS Full”. Somehow, those powerful words still don’t fully do her justice.
EDRM has conducted support calls every week since the pandemic started back in 2020 – at the beginning, they used to conduct them twice a week. Like many, I came to the calls when I lost my job (in my case, right after the pandemic started). Kaylee, Mary and Craig not only reached out to me, but helped me get a new blog – eDiscovery Today – started. Out of over 280 calls that EDRM conducted while Kaylee was alive, I think she missed one that entire time.
But Kaylee did more than attend – she listened to everyone. If someone was experiencing struggles, she would tell them that she would set a call up with them for Mary and her to help them out. At the end of each call, she would call out each person by name and provide words of praise or encouragement or something to let them know they were being heard. She was always thinking of others and what they needed on those calls.
I just went back through my emails from Kaylee and two recent ones stand out: 1) She remembered that my wife Paige and I were taking a trip to Italy and sent me a “Have a fabulous trip!” email the day we were leaving back in July. She always sent congrats emails when eDiscovery Today landed a new partner or otherwise had good news to share to express how truly happy she was for our success. I will never forget that. 2) Because we joked that our Monday case law webinars were “another manic Monday”, the topic of whether we need to “walk like an Egyptian” came up, which led her to share a link of an old video of Steve Martin doing the King Tut dance on Saturday Night Live. 🙂
I will miss Kaylee’s kind heart and her wonderful sense of humor.
-
Tom Gelbmann Remembers Kaylee
I will always remember Kaylee for her seemingly endless energy, generosity, and warmth. She had an incredible ability to connect with people on a personal level. When Mary and Kaylee acquired EDRM, it was an honor to provide whatever assistance was needed to contribute to their success. I look back on those times with great fondness.
Over several years and countless interactions with Kaylee it was truly inspiring to work with her and see her light shine on everything and everybody she touched. This was always evident in our many weekly EDRM Support Meetings. She made sure everyone felt valued and supported. It was amazing to see her connect with each participant on the call.
On a personal level, when my wife went through breast cancer treatment and recovery, the support and love shown to us by Kaylee and Mary helped us through difficult times.
My favorite memory is when I delivered pumpkin pies to Kaylee for Thanksgiving. She raved about the pies and her delight in sharing them with her family. For me it was a simple way of thanking her for the light she provided to my family and the world.
Kaylee will be greatly missed in my life.
With love and appreciation, Tom.
-
Amy McWilliams
Kaylee is one of those special people who you could not talk to for a year, then fall back in step like you never missed a day! She was always the first call I made whenever I got a new job or anything exciting happened in my work world. And she would be genuinely excited, and we could talk and talk about anything. I cannot believe she’s gone, but her passion and zest and natural enthusiasm will never be forgotten. What a treasure. xoxo Amy
-
Brian Schmitz
I am truly saddened by our eDiscovery community’s tremendous loss with Kaylee’s passing. I remember not long after I had entered the realm of eDiscovery and found ACEDS, Kaylee was such a warm and inviting presence on a number of calls I attended. Then I was able to meet her and Mary in person at an ILTACON one year (2012?) and came to find out they were both doing all of this in my backyard so to speak – we all hailed from St. Paul, MN. I should have seen it all along in the way they had such “MN Nice” presence and helped build community in each interaction. My two kids still talk to this day about the Virtual EDRM Conference that was hosted online in that 3D space, taking virtual speedboats around the island and kicking soccer balls while dancing with emotes to other virtual attendees. Those are memories that will be cherished beyond even Kaylee’s immediate circle of influence. Rest in Peace, Kaylee, you are sorely missed.
-
Ralph Artigliere
What can you say about someone who made every conversation feel like a ray of sunshine, no matter how heavy the topic or how complex the challenge? In today’s fast-paced world, it’s rare to meet someone with the social grace of an angel. And it is rarer still to see those gifts applied so generously across business and personal spheres. That was Kaylee.
In the legal world of technology and eDiscovery, which can be cold, complex, and impersonal, Kaylee was a beacon of warmth. She made it her mission to squeeze every drop of positivity from even the driest of situations, and she succeeded with style, humor, and heart.
We mourn her sudden loss, but we celebrate the legacy she leaves behind. Let’s carry forward the joy she infused into our work and lives, and honor her by continuing to make our world a little brighter, just as Kaylee always did.
-
Paul Grimm
On behalf of the team at the Bolch Judical Institute at Duke Law School, I would like to express our shock and sorrow at Kaylee’s passing. We worked extensively with Kaylee and Mary when they acquired EDRM from Bolch, and we learned first hand how extraordinary she was. When Craig Ball published his wonderful tribute to Kaylee in his blog Ball in Your Court, he captured perfectly how extraordinary Kaylee was, and her lasting impact on the E-Discovery community. If we hold her in our thoughts and memories as we strive to follow her example, her memory and impact will live on. We mourn her loss. Paul Grimm (Director, Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School)
-
Brandon Matthews
This is tough to share. Kaylee first welcomed me into the world of e-discovery nearly ten years ago, and I can’t thank her enough for that! Her and Mary’s support helped me dive into understanding the EDRM and ACEDS, and I truly don’t know where I’d be in the legal services field without her. She will be missed so much!
-
Paul, Robin, Aviva, Adrian and the JD Supra Team
Kaylee (and Mary) have been longtime clients of ours but, in their case especially, the line blurred quickly into a friendship of the sort we will cherish always.
We admire her intelligence and leadership in the ediscovery and legal tech space, but will remember her for the way she transgressed all of that.
It’s easy to say that we conduct our lives in a “relationship-based business” but only now and then do people come along who truly live that idea. Kaylee was one of the best at it. We will miss her gifts of kindness, warmth, and support showered upon us over the years. We could always count on an email exchange or conversation with Kaylee ending in a smile.
We feel blessed to have known and worked with her over the years and won’t forget her soon.
Adrian (on behalf of Paul, Aviva, Robin, and the entire JD Supra team)
-
Mary Mack
For days short of a decade, I was privileged to work and play alongside Kaylee Walstad—in the physical world, in our legal tech and EDRM community, and in the many virtual spaces we co-created. Her absence is palpable, but her spirit remains vibrantly present, guiding us in what I intuitively feel is the dawning of a quantum era of connection and innovation.
Kaylee poured her infinite love into her family—Ashlee & Kate, Al & Maddie, Kari, Milo, and Queen Bean—and also into me, our shared stewardship of EDRM, and the broader community and professional family she nurtured. She shone her bright light on others, helping them find clarity and courage on their paths. One lesson she leaves me with is the importance of receiving love as openly as we give it—something she modeled with every call, gift, and heartfelt note.
Kaylee often spoke of life’s signals as “green lights” or “red lights.” We navigated decisions by watching for those signs—trimming our sails, pausing, or moving full speed ahead. When we stepped away from our prior organization, unsure of what was next, we distributed business cards as the International Women of Mystery to our conference friends. Within a couple of short weeks, the opportunity to acquire EDRM came in a cascade of green lights. Kaylee called it our “Cinderella Story.”
Though she never sought the spotlight, Kaylee was the heart and bright light of EDRM. I carried the CEO and on-camera role, but she was always the strategist, the steady voice, and the spark. She loved being underestimated—it gave her an edge—and together we built the pulse of a community, building that momentum conference by conference, project by project, conversation by conversation at ever higher octaves. Often it felt like a mind-meld. Even now, I hear her voice guiding my conversations.
During COVID, Kaylee reminded me that people would remember how we made them feel, not just what we did. That became our brand and our legacy as we gathered: the EDRM Global Advisory Council, the EDRM Project Trustees, the EDRM Community Support Call, the Illumination Zone on the EDRM Global Podcast Network, our EDRM Global Webinar Channel, our EDRM JD Supra Channel, our EDRM Global Newswire, our virtual island conference, Sheila Grela’s Virtual Lunch with Leaders, collaborations with ComplexDiscovery and eDiscovery Today for surveys and webinars, and our EDRM Trusted Partner Network who provided support to make it happen—all grounded in Kaylee’s belief that clients, colleagues, and humans deserve empathy and respect.
Brett Burney mentioned Kaylee’s love of over-the-top superlatives. Before Kaylee joined ZyLAB where we first met, I had tried to convince Jan Scholtes and Annelore van der Lint not to use the culturally Dutch exclamation points—“US attorneys don’t like them,” I said. I was so wrong. Kaylee taught me that living in exclamation points is far more joyful than living with legal deadpan periods. The nicknames she gave—Very Special Master Ball, Tommy G, Shanny-Shan, Sir Greets and my own, Queen of E —let you feel her love.
There is still so much of Kaylee’s essence to ground here on earth—so others may recognize their own light and love, especially in these times.
To that end, Holley Robinson working with her dad and my rock, Rob Robinson of ComplexDiscovery OÜ spent their weekend creating a structure to capture and memorialize tributes to Kaylee on the EDRM site, the site you are reading now.
Erika Kilborn and Stephanie Clerkin are designing a survey to help us understand and honor the magic Kaylee brought—not only memorable moments, but life-changing impact. For those she touched, we invite you to share: What problem did she help with? What did she offer or do? What was the impact?
We need Kaylee’s essence and light as we step into 2026, and we need the community she so intentionally built—our #AllAreWelcome EDRM family. She chose legal. She chose eDiscovery. She chose us. Now it is our turn to choose each other, to carry her legacy forward.
Gates are open!
Please save the date for Kaylee’s Virtual Celebration of Life on September 10, 2025 at 6PM Eastern. If you are not subscribed to our EDRM Newsletter list, send us a note at info@edrm.net to be included.
-
Sheila Grela, Paralegal
I pray I never lose the echo of her voice—the steady, shining refrain: “Of course, you can do that.”
She was a chorus of encouragement, a champion who lifted countless hearts, a cheerleader whose faith in others became their courage.