Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Amber Royster is the Executive Director of Equality New Mexico (EQNM), New Mexico's LGBTQ advocacy organization. Following six years on active duty in the U.S. Navy, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Master of Public Administration degrees at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
After winning marriage, the next question that’s typically asked is: “What’s next?” For Equality New Mexico, this question has a multitude of answers.
In just a few days, more than 160 advocates from across the country will gather in Minneapolis to connect and forge relationships, collaborate for future success, and build momentum toward even greater wins in the communities we call home. The 2014 Summer Meeting (July 30 – August 2) will feature informative workshops, inspiring speakers and incredible social events — in the amazing city of Minneapolis, with OutFront Minnesota as our host.
Equality Federation, the strategic partner to state-based organizations advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, is celebrating the signing of two executive orders today. Executive Order 11246 will now prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against workers based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Just moments ago, I was standing in the East Room of the White House as President Obama signed two historic executive orders. For the first time in the history of our country, federal contractors can no longer discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and transgender employees in the federal civil service are explicitly protected from discrimination.
Julia Rosen is the Digital Director at ActBlue, where she brought a decade of online organizing experience on both electoral and issue campaigns. She comes from MoveOn.org, where she served as a Campaign Director, helping lead their electoral efforts, multi-issue advocacy and fundraising.
The Department of Labor has issued some great news for LGBT couples and their families: married same-sex couples will soon be eligible for benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act even if they live in a state that doesn’t recognize their marriage. From a release on the Department’s website, workers in same-sex marriages will have the same rights as those in opposite-sex marriages to federal job-protected leave under the FMLA to care for a spouse with a serious health condition.
Dangerous forms of "therapy" are performed every day in the United States and throughout the world in an attempt to "convert" lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to conform to heterosexuality and traditional gender standards. Despite the progress we've made achieving the freedom to marry in many states and the increased cultural acceptance of LGBT people, this dangerous practice continues.
Nathan Schaefer is the Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda and the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation. In this capacity, he oversees the organization’s staff across the state and is responsible for advancing equality and justice for LGBT New Yorkers via the various facets of both organizations.
Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant have been together almost 31 years, and this morning they were married in Texas! A Travis County Judge ordered the clerk to issue the license, citing a serious health condition of one of the women.
A Michigan pediatrician has refused to care for the baby of a lesbian couple, a sad illustration of why every state needs inclusive nondiscrimination laws that do not have loopholes that could put lives in danger. Currently, 206 million people live in a state that does not have nondiscrimination laws to fully protect gay and transgender people.
Good news for Federation members from the Arcus Foundation! They have announced that applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Arcus Leadership Fellowship.
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With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.
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