THIS ORG. WILL NOT LEAVE THE TRANSGENDERED OUT OF THEIR MISSION ! They are THE global lgbt org to support..DON”T give the HRC another dime if you truly get it – unless Gender Expression is included in ENDA – no one is protected..see the links to them at the bottom of the page..They have been around for decades and have only grown more inclusive and more savvey. Soo if you are looking for that lobbying group to best represent our interests on multi levels – forget the HRC and give to the NGLTF !
Rea Carey named executive director of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Longtime activist, strategist and leader to head up one of nation’s
leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations
Rea Carey, longtime leader and activist in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement, has been appointed executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The Task Force was the first national LGBT rights organization and remains the community’s uncompromising, progressive voice committed to building grassroots political power through advocacy, training, organizing and cutting-edge research and analysis.
“We were searching for someone who is both visionary and practical, has an understanding of our movement’s history and can take advantage of new opportunities that lie ahead,” said Alan Acosta, board co-chair. “There are very few people who have the right combination of voice, skills, passion, fearlessness and relationships in and outside the movement to take the Task Force to the next level. We’ve found that person in Rea Carey.”
Mark Sexton, board co-chair, said, “For 35 years, the Task Force has been the organization that says the hard things, does the hard work and pushes the envelope in strategic ways. We are confident that Rea is the right leader for the Task Force as we work toward our vision of a society that welcomes, respects and honors each and every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person.”
Carey said she was honored and energized by the opportunity to lead the Task Force at a crucial time in the struggle for LGBT equality.
“I believe our movement is on the cusp of taking the gains of the last 40 years and translating them into permanent and society-changing advances,” Carey said. “The last two years alone have shown astonishing progress in nondiscrimination laws and relationship recognition in the states. And yet, we have a long way to go in tackling other challenges such as economic and healthcare hardships faced by LGBT people, appropriate care for the growing number of LGBT seniors and helping progressive people of faith assert their belief in the humanity of LGBT people. And certainly, we as a movement will fail in the long run if we do not attend to the systemic barriers to our becoming a more racially diverse and dynamic force for change.”
The appointment was announced by the Task Force board following a four-month national search to replace Matt Foreman, who left the organization in April for a senior position at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.
Carey, who had served as deputy executive director to Foreman for four years, was appointed acting executive director following Foreman’s departure. Initially, she asked not to be considered for the permanent position, preferring to remain as deputy executive director. The board, however, asked her to reconsider in light of her exceptional performance as acting executive director.
“Rea proved to be an extremely strong and charismatic leader in the interim position,” said Paula Redd Zeman, board member and co-chair of the search committee. “We have been impressed by her steady hand, her strategic mindset and her ability to make and carry out the tough decisions required in leading a national organization. Ultimately, the search committee decided that there’s no place like home — Rea was the superstar that we had been seeking. The search committee approached Rea a second time and asked her to serve the organization and the LGBT community at this critical juncture. This time, she said yes.”
With Foreman and Carey at the helm, the Task Force became an organization with more than 50 staff and a $10 million budget. Under their leadership, the Task Force focused the work of the Policy Institute think tank to produce analysis that is even more useful to activists on the ground; served as the movement’s progressive voice on Capitol Hill; helped a record number of states pass LGBT-positive legislation; and established the Academy for Leadership and Action to provide more cohesive and strategic leadership and skills development to activists nationwide.
Carey has worked extensively in HIV/AIDS prevention and in the LGBT community and has a longstanding relationship with the Task Force. In addition to her four years as deputy executive director, she has also served as a senior strategist overseeing the strategic planning process. In the 1990s, she was active in community organizing through ACT UP and OUT direct action groups, Lesbian Services of Whitman-Walker Clinic and as a co-founder of Gay Men and Lesbians Opposing Violence. Carey was the founding executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, an LGBT youth leadership organization. She holds a master’s degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and her expertise includes management, fundraising, strategic planning, staff and board development, capacity building, coalition work, leadership training and program development. (A complete bio appears at the end of this update.) For the last five months, Carey has overseen the leadership transition as Matt Foreman moved on to the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and she has served as the acting executive director since mid-April.
Carey’s appointment won immediate praise from a broad spectrum of leaders:
“Rea is an extraordinary leader, a brilliant thinker and passionately committed to complete equality for our people. Her appointment as the new executive director is not only wonderful for the Task Force and its future, but for the entire movement.” — Matt Foreman, Program Director, Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
“Rea’s appointment is a smart choice for the Task Force. I’ve worked with Rea over many years and she has the vision, the management and fundraising skills and the ability to play well with others necessary for such an important role in our movement.” — Lorri L. Jean, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center and Former Task Force Executive Director
“Rea’s values are solid and her commitment to ensuring that our whole community moves forward together — including people who are transgender, young, old, and people of color — is unwavering. Rea gets it.” — Mara Keisling, Executive Director, National Center for Transgender Equality
“The Task Force is spot-on with Rea’s appointment. Her career has shown her to be a committed collaborator and coalition builder. Her leadership in establishing the Academy for Leadership and Action is a critical step in ensuring our future success as we work together to build a more diverse, more dynamic movement.” — Clarence Patton, Pipeline Project, an initiative to increase diversity within LGBT organizations
“Rea Carey’s strong commitment to building an inclusive movement for LGBT equality in every state will make her a great leader of the Task Force, and we congratulate her on her new role as executive director. At Equality Federation, we look forward to our continued partnership with Rea and the Task Force as we work together to make equality a reality in every state in this country.” — Toni Broaddus, Executive Director, Equality Federation
“Rea Carey is an outstanding strategic leader in the movement for full equality and an unwavering voice for progress and change. Rea understands how all the parts fit together — the bully pulpit, public education, on-the-ground organizing, public policy, politics and cutting-edge analysis. I have no doubt she will make good choices for the Task Force and will contribute greatly to our movement’s quest for equality.” — Patrick Guerriero, Executive Director, Gill Action Fund
Rea Carey Biography
Rea Carey is the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Carey has had a longstanding relationship with the Task Force as a colleague, consultant and supporter. She was one of the lead trainers in the Task Force’s successful Youth Leadership Institutes in the late-1990s. From 2002 through 2003, she worked as a consultant to help the organization develop its strategic plan, which involved in-depth discussions with staff, board and stakeholders. From September 2003 through January 2004, she served as the Task Force’s senior strategist, charged with shaping its response to the nationwide marriage equality struggle. She joined the staff full time in February 2004 as the deputy executive director and served as its acting executive director from April 2008 through June 2008.
In her role as deputy executive director, she was the driving force behind the creation of the Public Policy & Government Affairs department and the Movement Building department. She also orchestrated the focusing of the organization’s resources behind a few key goals, including the creation of the Academy for Leadership and Action; re-envisioning of the annual National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change; winning marriage in Massachusetts and California; fighting for a gender identity-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act; and increasing the amount of government funds for the LGBT community.
She has 19 years of experience in nonprofit start-up, development, program oversight and management including through her own consulting firm. Her expertise includes major donor and foundation fundraising, strategic planning, staff and board development, capacity building, coalition work, leadership training and program development. She has worked extensively in HIV/AIDS prevention and in the LGBT community as one of the co-founders of Gay Men and Lesbians Opposing Violence and the founding executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. In 1999, the Advocate named Carey one of its “Best and Brightest” for individual contributions to the LGBT rights movement.
Carey served on the board of directors for Sapientis, which advances the social and economic development of Puerto Rico by developing leaders who improve public education. She has also served as an advisor to major donors and foundations and has served on the advisory boards for such wide-ranging publications as Teen People magazine and the Georgetown University Journal of Gender and the Law. She earned her master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
NGLTF always has been more concerned with queer rights than insider politics. The HRC is a shell game that raises money for the sake of self-aggrandizement and raising more money.
i havent found NGLTF to be very effective and they havent been making much ground. i wish HRC was more inclusive but they are getting some stuff done while i dont know if i can say the same about the taskforce.
NGLTF is an admirable organization, but you aren’t being fair to HRC. They are not bad people; HRC simply believes that there aren’t enough votes in Congress to pass a fully inclusive ENDA. This belief is not without merit (it is shared by CSPAN commentators, at least), and if ENDA were to fail in Congress, it would take years to resurrect it. Besides, the version of ENDA that was passed by the House has no real chance of becoming law; Bush will veto it, and his veto will be upheld. Therefore, isn’t it reasonable for us to conclude that the best thing to do is to create a version of ENDA that will pass both Houses of Congress (as the current version seems likely to do). That way, we can easily revive ENDA when we get a favorable president. Who knows- if enough Democrats are elected in November, maybe we will be able to pass a fully inclusive ENDA in a few years. I know I’ve been rambling a bit, but my point is that the HRC did not oppose full inclusion out of malice- it did so out of pragmatism and utility.
The history of the HRC with the Transgendered is LONG and it is with malice. The history of lying to board members and community at large is the public record. No argument there. Incremental legislation will codify the T out of protections and the TG’d need it most – lgb can hide, its historically easier now then it ever was. NO body goes back for anybody in this country..in my opinion and for the record. The HRC has 30 million bucks the NGLTF has 10 – they are far more inclusive..much less washington insider capitulation and far more concerned with issues of lesbian/womens health issues and ethnic minorities with the lgbt
Mike the HRC should have counseled not to even bring up the damn ENDA bill in this congress – it created so much hurt , They are the insiders who happen to be priviledged wealthy white gay males..and thats who the HRC courts again , just the facts here..and i am not suggesting throwing the baby out with the bath water..but they have actually LIED three times LIED to the board members who are trans on their boards and to their membership as well – thats just the facts. I think the TG need to keep working with them but know they are in a lions den – and will be thrown under the bus
JOE SOLOMESE SHOULD RESIGN ! instead he continues to LIE and be a very poor advocate for the entire community – he plays the money game in washington – he sold us out period. Why even bring the bill up knowing what was ahead. And there is an alturnative for our global gay dollars if we want one and desire an organization with more integrity for the most people. Just my two cents.
“Why can’t we all get along?” Rodney King
If the HRC was contemptible toward transgendered individuals, why did the organization lobby so fiercely for the Matthew Shepard Act, which would have protected gender identity as well as sexual orientation? You can legitimately criticize HRC for flip-flopping on the issue of transgender inclusion in ENDA- as late as 2007, Joe Solmonese was promising to oppose any form of ENDA that omitted full inclusion. As for your assertion that HRC lied to the public and to board members… I have tried to research that on Google, but to no avail. Nevertheless, I still find your allegations of malice to be a stretch- I suspect you may be making that accusation out of frustration toward the HRC’s policy on ENDA rather than out of the raw facts. On a side note… I am curious why al-Jazeera is on your blogroll. Per
Mike hon my accusations of malice come from fact finding on many trans blogs written by the very people who were right there and have been for decades. I suggest we all just get a bong…fact is i am not a one issue person and was very sad that the Mathew Sheppard Act was attached to war funding and doomed to be veteoed any how ?? Go figure but that is not law yet and the JUNTA in office got their war funding.
THERE is malice – being lied to , played is malice. I just prefer another organization – you do what you need to do – there we go – win win…
Al jazeera is there because i am an information seeker and our media in this country sucks. What are you implying ? I don’t feel like playing games with you its Pride Month.
I also suspect that your life may be a lot easier then those of the transgendered so that is the lense you may be seeing things through – thats fine. fine and dandy. Send you money where you want to. Its your karma dude.
don;t like it here switch the channel..and you hit it ..joe solomese promises a lot and does the opposite whether you believe this or not is of NO concern to me. NONE. put your money where ever you want to – its a personal choice. And for what its worth i feel the same way about barney Frank.
so google away – some people will see what they want to see and there is not a damn thing anyone can do about it – not here to convince you of a damn thing. All i know is that I will never be played by the HRC AGAIN as will hundreds if not thousands of other lgbTQ people i know. Do what you want mike..its your money and your life.
queerunity: Thus far, the HRC has yet to accomplish anything of any significance. The Champaign Fund certainly can not be defended in terms of practical politics.
mike: Al Jazeera is a credible news agency with far more factual coverage of the Middle East than the US corporate media. Anyone who is serious about keeping informed on the Middle East will use a Jazeera as one important news source.
The HRC has it’s nose up Hillary Clinton’s craw.
When the threw the Trans community under the ENDA bus, that was the final straw for me. I have no use for the HRC.
The Task Force has been around at least 30 yrs. Mat Foreman just recently stepped down as director for a less pressured job – they have a fantastic record of embracing all ALL the issues , of the lgbt – and are a fixture in our civil rights struggle on all fronts. They simply spend less time and money tooting their own horns and playing insider games.
They don’t have a fancy logo, but they are very very solid. My point is if we gave them our global gay dollars they would do more for the MOST people on the most fronts.
HAPPY PRIDE DAY EVERYBODY !
It is entirely fine with me if you choose to give your patronage to organizations other than the HRC. But please, save the majority of your bitterness for those social conservatives who would thwart your efforts at equality. I did not mean to imply anything by my comment on al-Jazeera. I was just curious, as it seems to me that al-Jazeera, being a news outlet run from a Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. I would not have thought that al-Jazeera would be friendly to the idea of gay rights, even if they do have a reputation for being independent-minded.