We are thrilled to have Ricardo M. as our Executive Director! With his passion for LGBTQ+ justice and deep commitment to intersectional equality, Ricardo will be a transformational leader in our work.
I’m thrilled to announce that last month, I stepped into my new role as executive director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). I am deeply aware that we are at a critical moment for LGBTQ+ rights and equality, which is why I am honored to take the helm of GLAD. For nearly 50 years, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders has been one of the foremost legal rights organizations in New England and nationwide. I was drawn to GLAD because it pursues multiple avenues of change – litigation, public policy, education, and power building in communities – to create the conditions necessary for sustainable change. As fierce advocates for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, GLAD works in courtrooms, legislatures, and communities to create a just and inclusive society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, or sexual orientation. But despite the ongoing attacks, I am hopeful and energized – by the power of people to engage, mobilize, and transform communities, the need to reclaim the courts as an essential component of our civil rights and democracy, and, most importantly, this powerful team’s drive to create a world where we can love without fear and dream without limits. I am thrilled to lead GLAD’s bold litigators and advocates in our relentless pursuit of dignity, inclusivity, and justice for all. And, as we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, I feel particularly honored to be one of the first Latinos leading an LGBTQ+ legal organization. I know first-hand how struggles for equality and equity are interconnected across communities, and the disproportionate impact anti-LGBTQ+ laws have on queer people of color. Building a world where everyone has the opportunity and the ability to thrive on their own terms has always been at the heart of why I do this work and is core to GLAD’s mission. If you’d like to read more about the work happening at GLAD, check us out at www.glad.org.
