Matt Foreman: Celebrating Our Gains

Former NGLTF executive director Matt Foreman takes to the Huffington Post today for a thoughtful essay on why we continue to see hard-fought gains in the LGBT movement. An excerpt:

While opponents of LGBT rights have at least eight national advocacy organizations with budgets of more than $10 million, the LGBT movement has just one. In fact, the annual budget of just one of the biggest opponents of LGBT rights, Focus on the Family/CitizenLink, is greater than the budgets of the 39 largest LGBT advocacy, legal and research organizations, combined. So what explains the continued traction that the LGBT movement has enjoyed in the face of such adversity? There are a lot of related factors. For example, more LGBT people are coming out and more non-LGBT people are getting to know them and are themselves becoming advocates for equal rights. There is also the influence of popular culture and celebrities, the high profile of LGBT issues in the media, and the vibrant presence of LGBT bloggers in social media. But the legal and policy advances of the last decade did not spring miraculously from the results of a public opinion poll or a single heartfelt, pro-gay acceptance speech at the Oscars. Instead, they happened because LGBT organizations made them happen.

Read the full article.

Matt Foreman To Resign From Task Force

The Bilerico Project is reporting that Matt Foreman will step down as Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force in April to lead the Gay & Lesbian Program at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

The Haas, Jr. Fund, located in San Francisco, provides more grant support to LGBT organizations than any non-gay-identified foundation in the nation.

“We cannot adequately express our gratitude to Matt for his exceptional leadership over the last five years,” said Mark Sexton, Task Force board co-chair. “During his tenure, our staff grew to 54 full-time positions and our budget more than doubled to nearly $10 million. Our programming expanded strategically, our public profile increased dramatically, we’ve granted nearly $5 million to state and local partners. And most importantly, the Task Force has played an essential role in building our community’s grassroots strength. He has truly been an inspiration to so many who believe in equality for the full breadth of our LGBT community.”

Foreman called working for the Task Force “the greatest honor of my life.”

“I will always love the Task Force, our work, our board, and our staff,” he said. “Having served for 18 years as the executive director at three LGBT organizations, I’m incredibly privileged to be able to continue to work in and for the movement in a new role at the Haas, Jr. Fund. I have no doubt that the Task Force will continue to be the uncompromising progressive voice of the LGBT movement and to thrive and help lead our community to complete equality.”

Alan Acosta, Task Force board co-chair, said a national search would begin immediately to find Foreman’s successor. Foreman will work with his senior executive staff in the interim to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership.

“We are blessed to have an extraordinarily strong and deep management team,” Acosta said. “Working with Matt, the senior leaders of the team have built a dynamic and well-run organization that is respected inside and outside the movement. We are in great shape to keep pushing our mission of building our community’s political power and continuing the outstanding successes of the Task Force over the last few years."

Matt Foreman has been a personal hero of mine since the day I watched the NYPD arrest him in the middle of Times Square during the ACT-UP protest of General Peter Pace. Every one of us is lucky to have a man like Matt Foreman fighting our fight. I look forward to watching his leadership at the Haas Fund.