Harnessing the Power of Executive Action
Thursday, March 31st · 4:00pm — 5:10pm
In recent years, the Federal Agencies Project (FAP) – an initiative funded by the Gill Foundation in partnership with the Ford Foundation, an anonymous donor, and other institutional and individual donors – has strategically funded LGBT movement organizations to advocate for President Obama and his Administration to take executive action on a broad range of LGBT issues. With an intransigent Congress that refuses to consider, let alone pass, any pro-LGBT legislation, this work has been critically important and has helped pave the way for significant progress in health care, data collection, transgender rights, and workplace equality. This work continues into the final year of the Obama Administration, and is now complemented by a newly-launched State Agencies Project (SAP). Modeled on the federal project, SAP similarly focuses on educating and persuading executives (governors, attorneys general, insurance commissioners, and so on) in target states to use their authorities to advance equality for their LGBT constituents. Executive Orders are just the tip of the iceberg; this work has revealed that much more is possible through legal opinion, policy guidance, appointments, and other administrative and executive tools. This is wonky, behind-the-scenes, and usually unglamorous work – but it directly impacts the lived equality of LGBT people across the country. In this session, you will hear firsthand about best practices, lessons learned, and opportunities for the future.
Sponsors:
The Gill Foundation