AFER Founder Chad Griffin Will Succeed Joe Solmonese At Human Rights Campaign

American Foundation for Equal Rights co-founder Chad Griffin has been hired to succeed Joe Solmonese as president of the Human Rights Campaign. Via press release:

Chad H. Griffin was appointed today as the next president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, by the organization’s Board of Directors. Griffin, a national communications and policy strategist, is widely credited for being the mastermind behind the federal lawsuit to overturn California's Proposition 8, which has now been ruled unconstitutional by two federal courts. Griffin’s appointment follows an extensive six month search by the board that included the consideration of over one hundred diverse and extremely well-qualified candidates from the worlds of business, academia and activism. Griffin will assume his new responsibilities on June 11, 2012. Current HRC president Joe Solmonese will continue to lead the organization until that time.

It was Griffin who hired the unlikely legal team of Ted Olson and David Boies to spearhead AFER's successful court battle to have Proposition 8 declared unconstitutional.