NGLTF Creates New Department to Focus on Federal Affairs

[Ian David]

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NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE
MEDIA RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Roberta Sklar - Director of Communications
646-358-1465

[e-mail]
http://www.TheTaskForce.org

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February 25, 2005

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creates New Department to
Focus on Federal Affairs

Powerhouse Team - Including Former U.S. Assistant Attorney
General - Hired

Larger Voice in Washington Will Work for New Money,
New Laws, and Equal Protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Americans

"In both breadth and depth, this team brings an extraordinary
and unique combination of knowledge, expertise, and political
savvy to our movement. They will lead the way in getting our
people a fair share of their tax dollars and in moving forward
on new federal antidiscrimination legislation."
-Matt Foreman, Executive Director

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
today announced the creation of a new Department of Public
Policy and Government Affairs and the hiring of three noted
leaders and advocates - including former U.S. Assistant Attorney
General Eleanor D. (Eldie) Acheson - to staff the department.

The new department, a significant strengthening of the Task
Force's voice in federal matters, will lead two new initiatives
- leveraging government resources to meet the pressing health
and human service needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) community and a drive for new, comprehensive
legislation to addresses inequities faced by gay people well
beyond workplace discrimination. The new initiatives are part of
the Task Force's mission to build the grassroots strength of the
LGBT movement. The new Public Policy and Government Affairs
staff also will expand upon the current Task Force policy work
of providing technical assistance, training and strategic advice
on legislative and policy matters to state and local LGBT
organizations.

"For the past 32 years the Task Force has worked closely with
LGBT community organizations across the nation. This new team
will not only work hand-in-hand with our local, state and
national colleagues but will also seek to magnify their voices
and expertise to access federal resources and protections.
Together, we will work to respond to the needs our community,
from hate violence to economic justice to services for seniors,"
said Rea Carey, the Task Force's Deputy Executive Director.

The new department will also assume management and coordination
of the National Policy Roundtable, comprised of the Executive
Directors of national policy-focused LGBT organizations, and the
National Religious Leadership Roundtable comprised of interfaith
leaders from pro-LGBT faith, spiritual, and religious
organizations.

While the new department is a marked ratcheting up of its voice
and involvement in Washington, DC, the Task Force has a long and
proud history of involvement in federal affairs. In 1974, it was
the driving force behind the first gay rights bill introduced in
Congress (a bill introduced by Bella Abzug and Ed Koch to amend
civil rights laws to include discrimination based on sexual
orientation). In the late 1970's the Task Force hired the first
full-time gay and lesbian rights lobbyist, and in 1982, the
first federal lobbyist on HIV/AIDS. In more recent years, it has
led efforts to insure that proposed legislation include
protections for transgender people.

The three exceptional leaders hired to staff the department are:

-Eldie Acheson, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the
Office of Policy Development, will serve as Director of Public
Policy and Government Affairs. During her eight-year tenure at
the Department of Justice, Ms. Acheson managed the agency's
judicial appointment process and had responsibility for a broad
array of criminal and civil justice policy and legislative
initiatives, including law enforcement, crime and violence
control, violence against women, and sexual assault.

-Dave Noble, who stepped down as Executive Director of National
Stonewall Democrats last week, has been appointed Political
Director.

-Amber Hollibaugh, will serve as Senior Strategist. She comes to
the Task Force from SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT
Seniors) and is one of the nation's leading experts on LGBT
senior issues and HIV in women.

(More detailed background information appears at the end of this
release.)

They will be joined by a Government Affairs Coordinator in the
coming months, as well as two attorneys already on staff - Kara
Suffredeni (Legislative Lawyer) and Lisa Mottet (Transgender
Civil Rights Project Lawyer) - who will continue to provide
legislative and policy assistance to state and local LGBT rights
organizations.

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Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Foundation (the Task Force) was the first national lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights and advocacy
organization and remains the movement's leading voice for
freedom, justice, and equality. We work to build the grassroots
political strength of our community by training state and local
activists and leaders, working to strengthen the infrastructure
of state and local allies, and organizing broad-based campaigns
to build public support for complete equality for LGBT people.
Our Policy Institute, the community's premiere think tank,
provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle
for complete equality. As part of a broader social justice
movement, we work to create a world that respects and makes
visible the diversity of human expression and identity where all
people may fully participate in society. Headquartered in
Washington, DC, we also have offices in New York City, Los
Angeles, and Cambridge. The Task Force is a 501(c)(3)
corporation incorporated in Washington, DC. Contributions to the
Task Force are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.


The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Inc. ("NGLTF, Inc."),
founded in 1974, works to build the grassroots political power
of the LGBT community to win complete equality. We do this
through direct and grassroots lobbying to defeat anti-LGBT
ballot initiatives and legislation and pass pro-LGBT legislation
and other measures. We also analyze and report on the positions
of candidates for public office on issues of importance to the
LGBT community. NGLTF, Inc. is a 501(c)(4) non-profit
corporation incorporated in New York. Contributions to NGLTF,
Inc. are not tax-deductible.

Copyright 2005 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Creating Change (TM) is a trademark of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force. All other trademarks mentioned herein belong
to their respective owners. The Task Force Foundation is a
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Tax ID #52-1624852.

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New Staff - Background

Eleanor D. (Eldie) Acheson, Director of the Department of Public
Policy and Government Affairs, served as Assistant Attorney
General from 1993 to 2001. Her responsibilities included
managing the judicial appointment process of the U.S. Department
of Justice. During her tenure an exceptionally diverse group of
378 highly qualified people were appointed to the federal bench.
Ms. Acheson also had responsibility for a broad array of
criminal and civil justice policy and legislative initiatives,
including law enforcement, crime and violence control, and civil
rights matters such as terrorism, violence against women, sexual
assault, violence against abortion providers, and defendant
rights, and Native American law enforcement and tribal courts.
In her work with the Senate Judicial Committee and Members of
congress from both sides of the aisle and staff, Ms. Acheson
developed a reputation as an effective strategist and diplomat.
Prior to her work with the Justice Department, Acheson clerked
for the late Judge Edward T. Gignoux of the federal district
court in Maine and then practiced law in Boston, MA for 19 years
with Ropes & Gray as a trial lawyer representing clients in
state and federal proceedings. During the most recent
presidential campaign, she served as an advisor to John Kerry.

Dave Noble, Political Director, is moving to the Task Force from
National Stonewall Democrats, where he served as Executive
Director. for two years. During his tenure, Stonewall Democrats
grew significantly, expanded its major donor base, and launched
the Stonewall Student Network. In the 2004 campaign, Stonewall
Democrats put staff on the ground in nine states; partnered with
the League of Hip Hop Voters, MoveOn.org Student Action, the
Young Democrats of America and the League of Pissed Off Voters
to mobilize hundreds of thousands of young voters; and organized
28 get-out-the-vote events with Stonewall's Chrissy Gephardt in
targeted states. Previously, Mr. Noble was Executive Director of
Young Democrats of America, Communications Director for the
Rhode Island State Senate, and Communications Director for the
Rhode Island AFL-CIO. He also served as state primary campaign
manager for Rhode Island Democratic gubernatorial nominee Myrth
York, and as campaign manager for several Rhode Island state
legislative candidates.

Amber Hollibaugh, Senior Strategist, comes to the Task Force
from SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) where she
served as the Director of Educations, advocacy and Community
Building. (SAGE is the first national organization dedicated to
providing services and advocacy for LGBT seniors.) For many
years, she created innovative National HIV and AIDS programs and
was the first director of the Lesbian AIDS Project at Gay Men's
Health Crisis (GMHC). A well-known activist, artist, writer, and
community organizer, Ms. Hollibaugh has been working on the
cutting edge issues of the LBGT liberation movement since its
founding in 1969. She is author of My Dangerous Desires: a Queer
Girl Dreaming Her Way Home. She also co-produced and directed
The Heart of the Matter, a documentary about women's sexuality
and HIV risk, which won the 1994 Sundance Festival Freedom of
Expression Award and ran on the PBS series, P.O.V. Hollibaugh is
on the advisory panel of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, is a
board member of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS)
and is a founding board member of Queers for Economic Justice.
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