Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Soon our board of directors will vote on three new at-large members: Michael Lewis, Julia Rosen, and Curtis Thornhill (the exceptional candidates we introduced to you just a few weeks ago). These incredible leaders will help to expand the board’s reach in order to better equip the Equality Federation and the Equality Federation Institute to be the strategic partner to the state-based movement.
In states across the country, Federation members are working hard to advocate for statewide and local nondiscrimination laws that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workers.
Back by popular demand! FEDtalks were a breakaway favorite plenary session from last year’s Summer Meeting. So we're excited to announce they're back this year!
This is what leadership looks like. In a series of announcements over the past several weeks, the Obama administration has taken critical steps to protect LGBT Americans. These groundbreaking changes in U.S. policy are making it easier for LGBT Americans to earn a living, provide for themselves and their families, and pursue health and happiness.
All of us at Equality Federation are proud to welcome Jenn Curtin to our team as Program Associate.Jenn has been with the Federation as an intern for the past year working with our Communications Director Jace Woodrum.
When I first got involved in the movement to advance the rights of LGBT people, I joined a cohort of those who worked hard to create the extraordinary moment we are living in now. It feels great to have reached this milestone alongside many of my colleagues from back then and with the many young activists who have joined our ranks in the last 30 years.
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.
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.
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.
Good news for Federation members from the Arcus Foundation! They have announced that applications are now being accepted for the 2015 Arcus Leadership Fellowship.
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.