Dana Beyer
Executive Director, Gender Rights Maryland
Allyson Robinson, New OutServe-SLDN Executive Director, Shatters Glass Ceiling for Transgender Leadership of LGBT Organizations
Posted: 10/30/2012 1:43 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-beyer/allyson-robinson-outserve-sldn-transgender_b_2044260.htmlHistory was made last week with the appointment of Allyson Robinson to serve as the executive director of the newly united OutServe-SLDN (Servicemembers Legal Defense Network) organization. What was historic about it? That Allyson Robinson happens to be a trans woman, and this appointment makes her the first trans executive director of a national LGBT organization. I know this because I have been tasked by a network of gay donors from the eQualityGiving community to raise gay consciousness about the dearth of trans board members and staff of national LGBT organizations.
I want to make one point perfectly clear, and it is critical: Allyson was chosen because she is qualified to do the job. That she is trans is noteworthy, and that the appointment is historic is due to the fact that this military organization is the first national LGBT organization with the courage to hire a trans person to lead. But she is not an affirmative action hire. To reiterate, Allyson is qualified for this position, and she happens to be trans.
