Executive Director Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (“GLAD”), a nonprofit organization committed to advancing social justice and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT”) people and people living with HIV through impact litigation, advocacy and public education, is seeking an Executive Director. Based in Boston and working throughout the New England region on issues of national impact, GLAD is transforming the legal and policy landscape in its pursuit of equality and empowerment for minorities facing discrimination because of their HIV status, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation.

As a values-based, mission-driven organization with a serious commitment to excellence and sustainable results, GLAD has earned a reputation unrivaled in the LGBT community as a courageous, credible, collaborative and content-savvy champion for social justice for LGBT and HIV-infected people. With a staff of 30 and an annual budget of about $3.5 million, GLAD consistently and modestly “punches above its weight,” and its achievements are the envy of better-resourced organizations. The next Executive Director should reflect these same GLAD values, mission, and commitment to excellence and demonstrate the same characteristics of courage, collaboration, credibility, and content that set GLAD apart.

GLAD is looking for a leader for the future. The organization has achieved enviable success in litigating, educating and advocating for marriage in the six New England states, in challenging the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), in securing health coverage and employment protections for people with HIV and for transgender individuals, and for securing civil rights for youth and elders facing discrimination. However, GLAD is not looking for an Executive Director to revel in past successes, but to work with the GLAD Board, staff and other stakeholders to develop a vision and strategies for the next phase in the on-going struggle to achieve equality and empowerment for all. The successful candidate will have experience leading an enterprise through strategic change and attracting the financial and human resources necessary to implement those strategies. The Executive Director of GLAD will have an unparalleled opportunity to raise the visibility and broaden the support for GLAD beyond its current core of loyalists. A successful Executive Director will leverage GLAD’s reputation, past successes, human resources, and institutional knowledge to advance an agenda of justice for all in the courts, in the legislatures, in the media and in the hearts and minds of the public. GLAD seeks an Executive Director with an appetite and passion for pursuing a human rights agenda that is expansive and inclusive.

Applications, inquiries, and nominations can be submitted to Isaacson, Miller via links on this page.

Tim McFeeley is leading the search with Karla Saunders.

GLAD is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. GLAD is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic staff committed to working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications from transgender persons, people of color, and individuals with disabilities, including HIV.

Apply here