Awardees
Please join us in congratulating these exemplary organizations and individuals and as we work in unison to equip our future leaders and ensure the legacy of strong leadership within our community.
THE R. Scott Hitt Internship
in Leadership Development
2011
API EQUALITY LA
Tommy Tseng
lAMBDA lEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND iNC.
eLYCE n. mATTHEWS
ORGANIZATION FOR REFUGE ASYLUM AND MIGRATION(ORAM)
IAN O'BRIAN
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
ANNA C. DAVIS
tHE TREVOR pROJECT
aARON COOK
2010
THE WILLIAMS INSTITUTE
CRAIG KONNOTH
The Williams Institute advances sexual orientation law and publicpolicy through rigorous, independent research and scholarship, and disseminates it to judges, legislators, policymakers, media and the public. A national think tank at UCLA Law, the Williams Institute produces high quality research with real-world relevance.
Experts at the Williams Institute have authored dozens of public policy studies and law review articles, filed amicus briefs in key court cases, provided expert testimony at legislative hearings, been widely cited in the national media, and trained thousands of lawyers, judges and members of the public. By providing new ideas and reliable information, the Williams Institute makes a difference.
Craig Konnoth is a graduate of the Yale Law School (J.D., 2010), the University of Cambridge (M.Phil., 2007) and Fordham University (B.A., 2005). At Yale, Craig was a student supervisor of the LGBT Litigation Project, where he worked and litigated on behalf of LGBT students and international human rights organizations.
He received the Parker Prize for his history on early gay rights litigation strategies, which appeared in the Yale Law Journal. While in law school, he sat on the Board of the National LGBT Bar Association and headed its Law Student Division, during which time he created the first system of regional representation for LGBT law student across the nation. He has also worked with the Lowenstein International Human Rights Law Clinic, and clerked for the ACLU LGBT Rights Project, and the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission as a Kirby Simon Fellow. He served as editor of the Yale Law Journal, the Yale Journal of Regulation and the Yale Journal of International Law, and Business Editor of Yale Journal of Law and Feminism.
Craig’s comment on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act will appear in the Yale Law Journal later thisyear. Additionally, he has published on international human rights law, and has given numerouspresentations. He will clerk for Judge Margaret McKeown of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals during the 2011-2012 term.
http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/home.html
Gay Straight Alliance
Laura Wadden
Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a youth leadership organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training.
GSA Network supports young people in starting, strengthening, and sustaining GSAs and builds the capacity of GSAs to:create safe environments in schools for students to support each other and learn about homophobia and other oppressions,educate the school community about homophobia, gender identity, and sexual orientation issues, and fight discrimination, harassment, and violence in schools.
Laura Wadden is a graduate of Stanford University in 2009, where she studied political science, feminist studies and education. At Stanford, Laura swam on the varsity swim team, achieved a top-20 finish at the 2008 Olympic Trials and co-captained the team during her senior year.
In 2008, Laura organized the No on Proposition 8 Campaign on Stanford's campus. After organizing the No on 8 campaign, Laura was inspired by the energy of the campaign and founded the Emma Goldman Society for Queer Liberation and the National Marriage Boycott, both Stanford-based youth-led queer rights organizations. She then served as Executive Director of National Marriage Boycott upon her graduation from Stanford. Laura has also worked as a community organizer at Peninsula Interfaith Action and co-founded Stanford Says No to War, a student-led anti-war effort.
For her internship, Laura is working at GSA Network as the National Program Associate and is thrilled that her passions for youth development, safe schools and queer liberation are all parts of her work.
2009
International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Campaign (IGLHRC)
Ryan Richard Thoreson
At the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Campaign (IGLHRC) in New York City, Ryan Richard Thoreson worked primarily on African research projects - specifically the IGLHRC's Senegal Report. He also composed opinion editorials for the
Metro Weekly and Bay Windows publications. In an effort to reach out to human rights activists and academics, Ryan organized and spoke on
panels at CUNY, NYU Law, and the NGO Committee at the UN. As part of his training in fundraising and development, Ryan worked on two IGLHRC gala events in New York and San Francisco.
Ryan Richard Thoreson graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelors in Government and Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality in 2007 and Oxford University with an MPhil in Social Anthropology in 2009. He is currently finishing a DPhil in Social Anthropology.
As an undergraduate, Ryan was the Co-Chair of the Harvard Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters’ Alliance, the Coordinator of the Alternative Spring Break: AIDS Action Trip, a Co-Coordinator of the Queer Resource Center, and a member of the Transgender Task Force. He began working on international LGBT issues as a Weissman Fellow at the International Lesbian and Gay Association in Brussels. His undergraduate thesis focused on the post-apartheid mobilization of LGBT groups in South Africa, and the strategies they used to win and defend controversial victories in the judicial arena.
As a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, Ryan’s work has focused on activists and non-governmental organizations engaged in transnational LGBT and sexual rights advocacy. With the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, Ryan interviewed activists and low-income LGBT people in urban areas across the Philippines, and was awarded his MPhil in Social Anthropology with distinction in 2009. Ryan is currently finishing his DPhil dissertation, which is based on his research at IGLHRC in New York andCape Town. His work on LGBT activism has been published in the Journal of Southern African Studies, Journal of Human Rights, and a number of popular publications, including Mother Jones, The American Prospect, and The Advocate. Ryan is a co-founder of the Oxford Queer Studies Circle, and was recently elected to the Board of the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus.
AIDS Project Los Angeles
Elana Stone
At AIDS Project Los Angeles, Elana Stone had the opportunity to mentor with the agency’s leadership and to develop advanced professional skills in advocacy and non-profit management. Elana rotated through multiple departments at APLA, such as Communications, Client Case Management, State-wide Advocacy with visits to elected officials in both the state and federal offices and Fundraising and Development where she focused on AIDS Walk Los Angeles and other events. Elana worked with APLA’s treatment educators, the Los Angeles Women and HIV Task Force, participated in the Regional AIDS Housing Summit, attended an Institute of Medicine Committee hearing on HIV Disability Criteria for Social Security, and worked to organize Capitol Hill visits for a contingent at the AIDSWatch advocacy event in Washington, D.C. Elana reflected on her experience, “I’ve always hada passion for social justice and have jumped at new leadership opportunities – but to be selected as a Hitt Intern felt like a vote of confidence in my desire to explore the possibilities and complexities of LGBT leadership before needing to finalize a direction for graduate studies. Receiving the permission as well as the directive to cultivate relationships with incredible mentors is both humbling and inspiring.”
Elana Stone began a career in activism at an early age participating in a by-youth, for-youth organization called Youth For Justice. Elana facilitated workshops on youth organizing, dismantling racism, and internalized homophobia and anti-Semitism. In high school, Elana founded a Gay Straight Alliance at both high schools she attended and organized student protests of an anti-gay “Safe Schools” ballot measure in Oregon. In response to death threats leveled against her and other LGBTQ identified students Elana was instrumental to organizing a human rights teach-in which has since been held annually at the high school.
Elana graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, in 2006 with a degree in Social Power in the United States. Elana and her faculty advisors designed the degree program to match her earlier experience in organizing and social justice. She received the prestigious Adam Dublin Award for Multicultural Studies for her thesis: Understanding Power and Privilege Through Intersecting Identities.
Elana has held leadership roles with student activist groups for LGBTQ and first generation college students. She created an ally training program for victims of hate and bias incidents on campus and chaired a committee of students, staff, and faculty in developing and advocating for campus policies on hate crimes. After graduating, Elana served as a staff advisor to the Coalition Against Homophobia and other student groups while continuing to run workshops on Transgender and Gender Identities, Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents, and other forms of identity-based oppression. Elana has volunteered in the Walla Walla community, operating the syringe exchange program at the local HIV/AIDS organization before moving to Portland, Oregon where she worked in a transitional housing facility for youth who are homeless.
2008
NO/AIDS Task Force / New Orleans
Eric Knudsen
At NO/AIDS Task Force in Louisiana, R. Scott Hitt Intern Eric Knudsengained valuable hands-on experience at the South Gulf’s oldest andlargest HIV/AIDS service organization. He began his internship recruiting gay and bi men for the social HIV prevention program Re:Vision. He then became certified to
test the public for HIV and traveled around the city with a mobile testing unit. Working alongside NO/AIDS social worker Mark Drake, Eric helped draft a grant request from the Louisiana Public Health Institute seeking funds for an awareness campaign to reduce smoking in the HIV and LGBT population. While carrying out the program, Eric attended monthly political action and coalition building trainings around the state and worked with other agencies in the region.
At the close of this internship, NO/AIDS offered Eric permanent employment. Reflecting on his experience with the organization, Eric is quick to say “I can’t believe how fortunate I was to have this experience, and my life is incredibly fuller because of it.”
The R. Scott Hitt Foundation
A.N.G.L.E. Summer Internships
2011
pROYECTO IGUALDAD - Lambda LEgal DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND INC -Los Angeles
Taj Tucker
bIENESTAR - sAN dIEGO
jOHANNES LUKAS GARTNER
2010
IN the Mean time men's Group Inc.
Steven emmanuel martinez
“In The Meantime Men’s Group, Inc. is purposed to enrich, empower, and extend the lives of intergenerational black men, respectful of sexual orientation, through social, educational, health and wellness programs and services.”
Over the past 10 years In The Meantime has been on the forefront of creating an environment that supports, empowers and educates black, gay, same gender-loving and bi-sexual men in Los Angeles County.
Through an integrated holistic approach to wellness, In The Meantime (ITMT) focuses on the mental/emotional, physical, spiritual, and economic well being of a community that is oftentimes isolated and excluded from mainstream society.
ITMT facilitates three home-grown HIV/AIDS empowerment prevention programs, two (weekly) social discussion support groups, peer and group counseling, a black men’s wellness conference, a three day men’s empowerment retreat, the SOLA Meth Crystal Meth Taskforce, and the South Los Angeles Black Gay Men’s Taskforce, computer training, a quarterly community publication (Message In The Meantime), an online weekly newsletter, and a host of community and cultural events that focus on community building that include a King Day Celebration and a Kwanzaa Celebration. ITMT’S most recent program addition is a community drop-in center that provides a relaxed social environment for youth programming, and HIV/AIDS testing and counseling activities.
During Steven-Emmanuel Martinez's internship at ITMT, he worked refining an evaluation protocol for an ongoing behavioral intervention. He also facilitated discussion groups and assisted with the organizing of ITMT’s annual health and wellness conference. In addition, he worked in recruiting donors and walkers for the first California AIDS Walk. Steven-Emmanuel is currently a student majoring in Political Science and Public Health in Massachusetts. He currently serves as a Teaching Assistant for “Forming HIV Narratives,” which looks at HIV/AIDS through a domestic and global context.
EQUALITY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE / Southern California
eLIZABETH bEIER
Since it was founded in 1998, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation.
EQCA works to achieve equality and secure legal protections for LGBT people. To improve the lives of LGBT Californians, EQCA sponsors legislation and coordinates efforts to ensure its passage, lobbies legislators and other policy makers, builds coalitions, develops community strength and empowers individuals and other organizations to engage in the political process.
In the past decade, EQCA has successfully passed more than 60 pieces of civil rights legislation for the LGBT community – more than any other statewide LGBT organization in the nation.
Working in partnership with California’s LGBT Legislative Caucus, EQCA is committed to building a better future for all Californians by protecting youth, strengthening families and empowering communities. Each year at the Capitol, EQCA monitors thousands of bills and leads the state’s efforts to defeat legislation that could have a negative impact on LGBT Californians and their families.
EQCA, on behalf of its members, is an organizational plaintiff in the historic lawsuit asking the California Supreme Court to strike down state law that bars same-gender couples from marriage. In court, EQCA has also successfully defended California’s domestic partnership laws and related state policies that have been implemented in response to EQCA-sponsored legislation
Elizabeth Beier from is an art student at Washington University in St. Louis (2011). Elizabeth created a confidential group at her middle school for queer or questioning students. In 2009 she worked as a fundraiser for Equality California where she reached out to supporters across Los Angeles to make monthly contributions to overturn proposition 8 and end other injustices. She used her artistic talent to create training posters and materials for Equality California.
In Missouri, her activism has included lobbying on behalf of two pro-equality bills in the spring of 2009. One bill was to make schools safer for LGBT students by strengthening protocols against all bullying; the other was to put an end to workplace discrimination in the state. Elizabeth also raised awareness about queer issues at Washington University as an Executive with their Pride association.
As an Intern with the Equality California Institute, Elizabeth split her time between the Communications and Field departments. Elizabeth created fliers, posters, and ads and improved the branding of its online channels. Elizabeth also recruited for EQCA’s statewide door-to-door campaign on behalf of marriage equality.
2009
San Diego LGBT Pride
Allan F. Acevedo
Allan Acevedo’s dream is to enter into a joint-degree program where he can attain a J.D. and MBA in non-profit business management—eventually leading a social justice non-profit organization to “make theworld a better place. Allan applied for an A.N.G.L.E. Summer Internship with San Diego Pride, where he helped execute the annual festival and parade. Allan worked with local municipalities and police to coordinate a torch relay around the city and county of San Diego. Allen also trained volunteers and lead a youth component at the festival. In his words, “If we want the civil rights battles of our generation to have the impact of a movement, then we must develop not only the issues and messages of our causes, but the knowledge base and expertise of our leaders. It is this understanding of the demand for competent leaders that attracted me to the Scott Hitt Foundation.”
Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance - San Bernardino
Paula Arnett
ANGLE Summer Intern Paula Arnett gained valuable experience at Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, mentoring youth to organize and fundraise for an event for LGBTQ youth in San Bernardino. The summit required networking and organizing workshops with local artists and entertainment and served as a model for future RYPA outreach events.
Gay Straight Alliance / Southern California
Luis Roman
Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a youth leadership organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training.
GSA Network supports young people in starting, strengthening, and sustaining GSAs and builds the capacity of GSAs to:
create safe environments in schools for students to support each other and learn about homophobia and other oppressions,
educate the school community about homophobia, gender identity, and sexual orientation issues, and
fight discrimination, harassment, and violence in schools
2008
ONE Institute - The Gay & Lesbian Archives
Johanna Michael
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archive houses the world's largest research library on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender heritage and concerns. During her A.N.G.L.E. Summer Internship, Johanna Michael curated an exhibit about L.A. Pride/Christopher Street West. Johanna solicited funds to produce the exhibit, and processed the items to display by selecting and preparing images, finding physical items such as ads, T-shirts and flags, and writing copy for each item. Johanna continued to volunteer with ONE after her internship was completed.
Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance - San Bernardino
Amanda Weil
At the Rainbow Youth Pride Alliance, A.N.G.L.E. Summer Intern Amanda Weil organized a summit for Gay Straight Alliance representatives to network, and learn valuable skills to create change at their schools. Amanda worked with local organizations to put on the event, wrote grants for funding, and mentored youth. After the summer, Amanda continued to volunteer with RYPA.