Equality Maryland board chair resigns

Polyak was lead plaintiff in the Maryland marriage equality lawsuit (Deane and Polyak v. Conaway). (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Lisa Polyak, a mainstay on the board of directors of Equality Maryland for many years, has resigned from her position.

“This was a planned transition,” Polyak told the Blade. “Truthfully I am so happy and grateful for the new board members, and I am exhausted from the last few years, so this is a healthy transition for both me and the organization.”

Polyak and her partner Gita Deane, who have been together for 30 years, were the lead plaintiffs in the marriage equality lawsuit (Deane and Polyak v. Conaway) filed in 2004 by Equality Maryland and the ACLU of Maryland. A lower court ruled for the plaintiffs but the ruling was stayed pending appeal. In 2007, the Maryland Court of Appeals by a margin of 4-3 ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage did not violate the Maryland Constitution.

Polyak and Deane married in D.C. last year and live in Baltimore raising their two daughters.