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Think you have what it takes to run HRC?

LGBT rights movement’s biggest player posts the job description for its top spot

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The Human Rights Campaign has posted the official job description for the next President, who will replace outgoing leader Joe Solmonese. Do you have what it takes to lead HRC?

…The President reports to the Boards of Directors of both the Human Rights Campaign and theHuman Rights Campaign Foundation and is responsible for the overall management and leadershipof HRC’s activities and programs.  The President’s job is  to develop and implement  HRC’sstrategic vision, its policies and programs to advance the interests of its membership and the LGBTcommunity as a whole.  The new President will be charged with leading this important organizationduring a time of great change and progress in the country.

The President will be working every day to improve the lives of LGBT Americans by identifyingand overcoming societal and legislative barriers to LGBT equality. At the same time, s/he will beworking to engage, educate and empower millions of fair-minded Americans to advocate for equalrights for the LGBT community.

Specific responsibilities include:

Provide vision and focus for a dynamic organization.  HRC is a large, diverse and highlymotivated organization with activities occurring simultaneously in many locations and on a varietyof issues, with a unique combination of professional staff, volunteers, allies, boards, donors, andmembers. The President must be able to inspire, motivate, coordinate and honor these multipleconstituents  in ways that advance the mission of HRC and maintain the highest standards ofservice and integrity.

Build, maintain and continually inspire a work environment to achieve the highest standardsof performance and accountability.  One of the hallmarks of HRC’s mission is to assureworkplace equality for all LGBT employees. HRC strives to attain those goals with  its ownemployees by fostering a workplace that welcomes and embraces diversity and encouragesindustry, teamwork and mutual respect. The new President must not only embrace these values, butcontinually lead in creating an atmosphere that promotes teamwork, client responsiveness,diversity, accountability, professional development and succession planning  – and helps theorganization adapt to changing and disparate needs within the community.

Manage through change.   The effectiveness of HRC as a civil rights organization will depend onhow well it manages uncertain changes in the political environment and how nimble it can be inresponding to external changes. Managing these changes in ways that keep HRC relevant andcentral to the movement will be critical for success.

Represent and lead HRC in the most positive manner, enhancing HRC’s visibility andinfluencing public opinion.  The President of HRC has the ability to reach government andbusiness decision-makers and influence public opinion on issues vital to HRC’s mission. It isessential that the new President be able to convey HRC’s activities (and those of the broader LGBTcommunity) effectively and persuasively to thought leaders and the broader public through a widevariety of communication tools.

Lead the development and promotion of legislation and public policies that positively affectLGBT families and their children, as well as, oppose legislation and public policies that wouldadversely affect LGBT families and their children.  HRC’s President also is the strategic visionaryon how to elect candidates for public office who will sponsor and support HRC’s legislative agendaand the creation of equities for LGBTs throughout society, as well as oppose those candidates whohave promoted policies and legislation adverse to LGBT families…

Attract new members, allies, strategic partners, advocates, donors and volunteers.  HRCcontinues to grow and diversify its membership, which has helped to expand its impact. The newPresident must be able to lead HRC in building on its growth by effectively finding new ways toretain and attract a broader membership base.  S/he must be skilled in coalition building, working inpartnership with other LGBT and civil rights organizations to tackle legislative and policy needs onthe state and federal level.

Engage diverse constituencies.    Diversity and inclusion are strategic imperatives for HRC andnecessary for the continued success of the organization. Diversity and inclusion have beenembedded in HRC’s mission since it was founded in 1980.  In the last several years however, HRChas provided diversity and inclusion objectives more sustained support internally by providing staffand resources to cultivate a diverse and inclusive environment at every level of the organization.

In addition, HRC has developed significant relationships externally to evidence its commitment todiversity and inclusion.   The President must work to broaden public support for LGBT equality byengaging fair-minded people and partner organizations that represent the multiple dimensions ofdiversity, including ethnicities, national origins, ages, sexual orientation, gender identity, beliefs,religions and faiths, geographies, experiences, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds and levels ofphysical ability.

Lead the development of educational programs that positively affect the societal and culturalcondition, as well as shift public opinion. HRC’s next President will continue to build upon thedynamic educational programs and tools of the organization such as the Corporate Equality Index,Healthcare Equality Index, Family Project and Religion & Faith programs. S/he also will push forinnovation and the creation of new programs consistent with HRC’s strategic plan that will educateand gain a broader understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by the LGBTcommunity.

Read the rest of the job description, including the preferred qualifications (to see if you qualify), here.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards

Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

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Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington as well as local drag artists joined hosts Mike Millan and Felicia Curry with other performers for a WorldPride dance number at the Helen Hayes Awards on Monday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.

A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.

The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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District of Columbia

Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals

Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade

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Deacon Maccubbin attends the 2024 Capital Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.

The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.

Laverne Cox (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.

Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.

Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”

“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”

“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.

The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.

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Congress

House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban

‘Big Beautiful Bill’ now heads to the Senate

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U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael. Key)

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted 215-214 for passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” reconciliation package, which includes provisions that would prohibit the use of federal funds to support gender-affirming care.

But for an 11th hour revision of the bill late Wednesday night by conservative lawmakers, Medicaid and CHIP would have been restricted only from covering treatments and interventions administered to patients younger than 18.

The legislation would also drop requirements that some health insurers must cover gender-affirming care as an “essential health benefit” and force states that currently mandate such coverage to find it independently. Plans could still offer coverage for transgender care but without the EHB classification patients will likely pay higher out of pocket costs.

To offset the cost of extending tax cuts from 2017 that disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans, the reconciliation bill contains significant cuts to spending for federal programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Human Rights Campaign criticized House Republicans in a press release and statement by the group’s president, Kelley Robinson:

“People in this country want policies and solutions that make life better and expand access to the American Dream. Instead, anti-equality lawmakers voted to give  handouts to billionaires built on the backs of hardworking people — with devastating consequences for the LGBTQ+ community.

“If the cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP or resources like Planned Parenthood clinics weren’t devastating enough, House Republicans added a last minute provision that expands its attacks on access to best practice health care to transgender adults.

“This cruel addition shows their priorities have never been about lowering costs or expanding health care access–but in targeting people simply for who they are. These lawmakers have abandoned their constituents, and as they head back to their districts, know this: they will hear from us.”

Senate Republicans are expected to pass the bill with the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to bypass the filibuster and clear the spending package with a simple majority vote.

Changes are expected as the bill will be reviewed and amended by committees, particularly the Finance Committee, and then brought to the floor for debate — though modifications are expected to focus on Medicaid reductions and debate over state and local tax deductions.

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