On October 15,
GLAAD announced that Yvette Burton was elected co-chair of
its national board of directors. Burton, a global business
executive with IBM, has served on GLAAD's board since
January 2005.
"We are
thrilled to have the leadership experience of someone of
Yvette's caliber at the helm of our
organization," GLAAD president Neil G. Giuliano
said in the press release. "The talent and
diverse expertise of our board has always been one of
GLAAD's key assets. Yvette and all of our
officers bring an immeasurable breadth of knowledge,
passion, and commitment to advancing equality necessary in
our advocacy efforts to tackle homophobia,
transphobia, and discrimination across the
country."
As an activist,
Burton has been involved with numerous LGBT social
service and advocacy organizations. She recently served as
conference co-chair for the Out and Equal National
Summit, which gathered 2,300 executives supporting
LGBT employee resource groups, and was a founding
director of the Audre Lorde Project in New York City, a
social service agency for LGBT people of color. Burton
was also a board member of the Empire State Pride
Agenda and a former director for lesbian health for
New York City. She holds a doctorate in human and
organizational systems from the Fielding Institute and
a master's in criminal and procedural law from John
Jay College of Criminal Justice.
"I am
honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to lead and
work with such an outstanding board and staff as the
co-chair of GLAAD," said Burton in the release.
"GLAAD's work in media advocacy, fighting
defamation, and changing hearts and minds is a vital
component of our movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender full equality." (The Advocate)
