At OUTMemphis, we are honoring LGBTQ Seniors Celebration Month with an acknowledgement of the LGBTQ elders who have pushed to make America a place where LGBTQ people have equal rights and are safe, respected, and celebrated.
Every week we will be highlighting an LGBTQ person over 50 whose work has impacted the lives of LGBTQ people nationwide.
Urvashi Vaid (1958)
Urvashi Vaid fights for a society where LGBTQ people, people of color, women, children, the elderly, and the economically poor can all access equality and the American Dream. She has worked towards this goal through a combination of civil legal action, political advocacy, and work with charitable foundations and targeting giving. She is the CEO of Vaid Group, which works with social innovators, organizations, corporations, and political movements to address and find solutions for structural and institutional inequity.
Vaid’s work on LGBTQ rights happens at multiple levels. She founded LPAC, the first U.S. lesbian superpac, which endorses political candidates committed to LGBTQ rights, lesbian rights, and women’s rights. She has served in leadership roles at several national LGBTQ organizations, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Ford Foundation, the Arcus Foundation, and the Gill Foundation. She was named one of the 50 most influential LGBT people in the U.S. by OUT magazine.
Learn more about Urvashi Vaid: Wikipedia, Urvashi’s Website, Vaid Group, GLSEN, March on Washington
