Looking Back and Moving Forward: A Special Briefing for Equal Justice Council and Legacy Society Members

Thursday, January 16, 2025
12:00pm – 1:00pm EST
Virtual Event

GLAD Law experts will share highlights from our remarkable victories in 2024 and discuss the exciting strategies we are implementing in 2025 and beyond—all made possible by your generous support. This will be a unique opportunity to engage directly with our leadership and have your questions answered.

REGISTER

Featured Speakers

Ricardo Martinez (he/him)

Executive Director

Ricardo joined GLAD as Executive Director in the summer of 2024 after serving on the front lines of state and national LGBTQ+ advocacy in Texas and Arizona. A first-generation immigrant from Mexico who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, Ricardo has amassed twenty years of nonprofit fundraising, advocacy, and leadership experience.

Most recently, as CEO of Equality Texas, Ricardo ensured the organization maximized its impact during intense and sustained anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Ricardo has an undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University and a master’s degree in nonprofit management from The New School in New York City. He was honored by the Obama Administration as an emerging LGBTQ Leader in 2012 and awarded Stony Brook University’s 40 Under 40 award for his impact in Civil Service and Activism.

Polly Crozier (she/her)

Director of Family Advocacy

Patience “Polly” Crozier (she/her/hers) has engaged in cutting-edge trial court and appellate litigation involving assisted reproduction and parentage including Hunter v. Rose (2012), Adoption of a Minor (2015), Partanen v. Gallagher (2016), Adoption of Daphne (2020), and J.M. v. C.G. (2023). Polly’s work focuses on youth and family issues, including parentage protections, adoption, access to fertility healthcare, transgender family law, juvenile justice, and child welfare, and work at the intersection of LGBTQ justice and reproductive justice.  Most recently, she has successfully worked to help pass statutory family law reforms in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as health care provider shield laws in Massachusetts and Vermont.

Polly is a graduate of Yale University and Boston College Law School, and she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Irma S. Raker of the Maryland Court of Appeals and to the Justices of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court.

Chris Erchull (any pronouns)

Senior Staff Attorney

Chris Erchull (any pronouns) joined GLAD Law in 2019. He is actively engaged with policy work across New England, with a particular focus on advocating for transgender rights in New Hampshire, having helped to defeat numerous bills targeting trans youth in particular. Chris also works with New England families and schools to ensure that LGBTQ+ students are afforded equal educational opportunities. His litigation includes Pangborn v. Ascend, a lawsuit on behalf of a hospice care nurse who was denied healthcare by his employer because he is transgender, Bernier v. Turbocam, a lawsuit challenging a healthcare exclusion by a company that claims to have religious freedom to discriminate, and Doe v. Ladapo, a challenge to Florida’s ban on medical care for transgender adolescents which was tried in December 2023. Chris has co-authored numerous amicus briefs, including in Commonwealth v. Carter, which resulted in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that people may not be excluded from jury service based on sexual orientation.

Chris has been honored as one of the “40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association. Chris graduated cum laude from New York University and magna cum laude from the Western New England University School of Law. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ariane D. Vuono of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and to the justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Chris is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Tickets & Registration

Virtual event linked shared upon registration. Automatic closed captioning provided.

Registration questions? Contact Mads Ouellette at mouellette@glad.org.

FAQ: Fees & Tipping

Covering the fees associated with your transactions is always optional! To opt out of covering the fees in the final step of your transaction, click the blue “Edit” text and uncheck the box labeled “Yes, cover the fees.”

Tipping our platform partner, Givebutter, is also optional! To opt out of tipping, go to the final payment screen of your transaction and click the percentage box in the “Add a tip to support Givebutter” section. Select “Other” and either leave the box blank or type in 0.

Why tip? Tips allow Givebutter to offer their service with no platform fees for the organizations who use it! This reduces the barriers for an organization to start fundraising.

As of January 1, 2025