Organizing the Equality Movement in the Obama Era
Building on the Netroots Nation 2009 panel on LGBT organizing, this panel will expand the conversation to discuss the state of the equality movement in 2010 and what progress can be made before the 2012 elections and beyond. Panelists will discuss the Obama Administration's record on LGBT rights, the federal Prop 8 trial being led by Ted Olson and David Boies, state-by-state efforts to win marriage equality, the potential repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the federal court ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional, and the lack of movement in Congress on a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
Rick Jacobs is Founder and Chair of the Courage Campaign, an online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots activists to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. Rick chaired Howard Dean's presidential campaign in California and served as Senior Advisor to Democracy for America. He also co-founded Brave New Films and served two terms as a director of the Liberty Hill Foundation. Rick is also a featured contributor to HuffingtonPost.com. Rick has a long background as an investor and senior executive.
Pam Spaulding is the Durham, NC-based founder of the award-winning political blog PamsHouseBlend.com. She has also guest blogged on Firedoglake and for Glenn Greenwald at Salon. Pam was named one of Huffington Post's Ultimate Game Changers in Politics, received the Women's Media Center Award for Online Journalism, and was named one of the OUT 100 for 2009. This year Pam also landed on Politics Daily's Top 25 Progressive Twitterers list.
Evan Wolfson is Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Before founding Freedom to Marry, Evan served as marriage project director for Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, was co-counsel in the historic Hawaii marriage case, and participated in numerous gay rights and HIV/AIDS cases.
Evan previously served as Associate Counsel to Lawrence Walsh in the Iran/Contra investigation, and as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York. Between Yale College and Harvard Law School, Evan spent two years with the Peace Corps in West Africa.
Citing his national leadership on marriage equality and his appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court in Boy Scouts of America v. James Dale, the National Law Journal in 2000 named Evan one of "the 100 most influential lawyers in America."
In 2004, Evan was named one of the "Time 100," Time magazine's list of "the 100 most influential people in the world."
Evan Wolfson’s first book, Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People’s Right to Marry, was published by Simon & Schuster in July 2004.
Thomas A. Saenz returns to MALDEF as President and General Counsel. Previously, as Counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Saenz honed his leadership skills by serving on the four-person executive team to the mayor, where he provided legal and policy advice on major initiatives. During his four-year tenure with the City of Los Angeles, Saenz helped to lead the legislative effort to change the governance of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the effect of which has been to take the City a step closer to securing a quality education for all students in Los Angeles. Saenz also served as the lead liaison on labor negotiations, with a goal of addressing serious financial challenges in partnership with the City’s workers.
Saenz had previously practiced civil rights litigation at MALDEF for 12 years. During that time, he was a leader in the successful challenge to California’s unconstitutional Proposition 187, and he led numerous civil rights cases in the areas of immigrants’ rights, education, employment, and voting rights. Saenz achieved several victories against ordinances unlawfully restricting the rights of day laborers, served as lead counsel in the 2001 challenge to California’s congressional redistricting, and initiated the employment discrimination lawsuit resulting in a $50 million settlement with Abercrombie and Fitch.
Saenz has been recognized on numerous occasions for his work. He was selected as one of Hispanic Business Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics” in October 2009. In June 2009, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California presented Saenz with the Social Justice Award and the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior (IME) Ohtli Award in 2008. In 2007, Saenz received the Peace and Justice Award from Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California; the Latino Law Students Association of Yale Law School Public Service Award in 2007; and the Mexican American Bar Foundation Professional Achievement Award in 2006.
