Veteran fundraising professional Thomas Leavitt has joined the staff of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders as Director of Development.
“We are thrilled to have Tom join the GLAD team at this critical time for our community,” said Lee Swislow, GLAD’s Executive Director. “After the phenomenal gains of the last few years, we are looking to our supporters to re-invest in the important work of fighting discrimination, and Tom’s the perfect person to lead that effort. His experience is both deep and varied, and he is passionately committed to our work.”
“GLAD has been incredibly successful, but our work is far from done,” said Leavitt. “I’m happy to be here to make the case for our critical mission, as we continue to raise the bar and not settle for marriage equality as the end point. We still need to create an equal world for everyone in our community – youth, transgender people, people living with HIV, everyone.”
With more than three decades of experience leading private and non-profit organizations devoted to social change, Leavitt is known to many in the non-profit world as the founder and force behind Arcadia Press, which specialized in serving the unmet printing needs of area non-profits. He ran Arcadia Press for twelve years, with clients including the Boston Living Center, JRI/Sidney Borum Health Center, the AIDS Housing Corporation, YWCA-Boston, Family and Children’s Services, the Pine Street Inn, and GLAD.
As a result of his professional ties to the non-profit world, Leavitt transitioned to development work in 2001 when he became the Chief Development and Communications Officer at Fenway Health. He has also held senior executive leadership and development roles with Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus, Woodruff Arts Centre’s Alliance Theater, and the Brain Tumor Society.
Leavitt has served on the boards of Boston Ballet Overseers, Freedom House, Fenway Health, Massachusetts College of Art and Design Foundation, Greater Boston Business Council, Copley Society, Horizons for Youth, and was a co-founder of the Harbor to the Bay Ride and a previous Boston Pride Grand Marshall. He currently serves on the board of trustees of his temple, Beth Avodah in Newton.
Leavitt first worked in Washington, DC for the late Honorable Gerry E. Studds. He is a magna cum laude graduate and Commonwealth Scholar of the University of Massachusetts Honors program in Amherst.
GLAD has published recent announcements and updates from various federal programs on how the marriages of same-sex couples will be treated following the Supreme Court ruling overturning Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Fact sheets with details on each program can be found at www.gladlaw.org/doma. For assistance or specific questions, contact GLAD Answers at http://www.GLADAnswers.org
Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Coalition marked the start of the annual Transgender Awareness week by calling on the legislature to pass the Equal Access Bill (H. 1589/S. 643), which would protect transgender people from discrimination in places of public accommodation.
Taking place nationwide from Nov. 12 – 20, Transgender Awareness Week aims to educate the public about the transgender community and the issues the community faces. It culminates in the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day when people around the globe gather for candlelight vigils to memorialize those transgender people who lost their lives to bias-related violence in the past year. This year’s Day of Remembrance will pay tribute to nearly 50 victims.
“Transgender Awareness Week is about increasing the visibility of the transgender community but unfortunately, many transgender people still fear being visible because it puts them at risk for violence, harassment and discrimination,” said Mason Dunn, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC). “Just last week a transgender high school student in California suffered second and third degree burns on a public bus when another student lit his clothing on fire. The assault is being treated as a hate crime.”
Added Dunn,“In Massachusetts, 58 percent of respondents in a transgender discrimination survey reported being harassed and mistreated in public places like buses, airports, government agencies and restaurants. The legislature can help make Commonwealth safer and more accepting by passing the Equal Access Bill. All residents of the Commonwealth, including transgender people, need access to public places and services without fear of harassment or being made to leave simply because of who they are.”
The Equal Access Bill is currently pending before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. In July, committee members heard testimony in support of the bill from transgender constituents, parents, civil rights leaders, child welfare advocates, and business owners.
“In July, lawmakers heard heartbreaking stories of transgender residents who were excluded from, or treated unfairly in, public places during times of crisis or while simply doing the business of their daily lives,” said Kara Coredini, executive director of MassEquality. “As we memorialize those lost to anti-transgender violence this week, we call on lawmakers to finish the job they started in 2011 and report the Equal Access Bill favorably to the House and Senate. This is a critical step toward ensuring that everyone in Massachusetts, including transgender people, can access critical services like emergency health care, nursing home care and public transportation safely and without fear of discrimination.”
For information about Transgender Awareness Week events and Transgender Day of Remembrance vigils in Massachusetts, please visit: http://www.masstpc.org/community-events/trans-awareness-week/
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About the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition
The Transgender Equal Rights Coalition is working to pass H. 1589/S. 643, “An Act relative to equal access in hospitals, public transportation, nursing homes, supermarkets, retail establishments, and all other places open to the public. Also known as the Equal Access Bill, this legislation would add protections based on gender identity to existing Massachusetts’ civil rights laws governing public accommodations, which currently prohibit discrimination on the basis of religious affiliation or belief, race, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, or any physical or mental disability. Gender identity is defined as “a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person’s physiology or assigned sex at birth.” Members of the coalition include: Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition; MassEquality; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; National Association of Social Workers, MA; Mass Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus; National Organization for Women, MA; ACLU of Massachusetts; Mass. LGBTQ Bar Association and ADL New England.
Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi shares an update on some of the critical work GLAD is doing in the area of transgender legal rights:
Family Law
GLAD continues to play a national role in ensuring transgender people receive justice in the family law context. The centerpiece of that work is our groundbreaking book, Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy, published last year. Attorneys around the country are using the book to better advocate for their clients, and transgender people are using it to better advocate for themselves.
Education in the Courts
Our next step in leveling the playing field for transgender people in family court is getting the book into the hands of more attorneys and judges and educating them about the unique needs and vulnerabilities of transgender people in this context. In September, Polly Crozier, a contributor to Transgender Family Lawand a partner at Kauffman Crozier LLP, organized and moderated a panel focused on transgender family law issues attended by family court judges who hear cases throughout Massachusetts.
All attendees received a copy of the book and heard from legal and medical experts: Elizabeth Monnin-Browder, my Transgender Family Law co-editor and an attorney Ropes & Gray; Connecticut Superior Court Judge Maureen M. Murphy, the presiding judge in Waterbury Family Court; and Dr. Norman Spack, a renowned expert in treating transgender children.
Name-changes for Transgender Children
We’re also continuing critical legal work to change the experience of transgender people in probate courts, specifically around name-changes for transgender children, an issue on which we’ve fielded a number of concerning calls from parents in the past year.
We’ve fielded a number of concerning calls in the past year from parents of transgender youth facing obstacles when trying to change their child’s name. These parents are understandably looking for an immediate solution and we intervene as we can to help them. But GLAD is also on the lookout for cases that can have a precedential impact – that is, cases that create changes in the law from which everyone can benefit.
If you think you or a family member is being discriminated against in the probate system, please contact GLAD Answers.
Transition-related Health Care
The Transgender Rights Project is doing critical work as part of a national movement to remove barriers to transition-related health care for all transgender people. This includes our administrative challenge to Medicare’s ban on transition-related care.
Challenging Medicare’s Ban on Transition-Related Care
GLAD has joined with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the ACLU, and civil rights attorney Mary Lou Boelcke to represent Denee Mallon, a Medicare recipient whose doctors have recommended surgery to treat her severe gender dysphoria. Medicare, the federal program that provides healthcare to Americans 65 or older and younger people with disabilities, prohibits all forms of gender reassignment surgery regardless of an individual patient’s diagnosis or serious medical need. The ban was instituted 30 years ago, when there was little research about the efficacy of gender reassignment surgery. Now that we know these procedures are safe and effective, we have a strong case to make for doing away with this outdated policy.
Advocating for Health Care for Transgender Prisoners
GLAD is also taking on a more active role in the Massachusetts case Kosilek v. Spencer, advocating for transgender inmates to receive medically necessary care. We are currently awaiting a decision in the case from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.
Advocating for incarcerated transgender people to receive medically necessary transition-related care is an important piece of this work both because of the horrific treatment transgender people face in prisons and also because of the broader impact such rulings have on the entire community. Right now, GLAD is awaiting a decision in Kosilek v. Spencer from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. The case involves Michelle Kosilek, a transgender woman who successfully sued the Mass. Department of Corrections for medical treatment of her gender dysphoria in federal district court, a ruling the state has appealed. Michelle’s longtime attorney, Frances S. Cohen, who expertly litigated this case for more than 10 years, recently departed her firm Bingham McCutcheon for a new job, so GLAD is taking a more active role in this case.
Eliminating Barriers in Insurance Coverage
We are making remarkable progress toward eliminating barriers to transition-related healthcare. In April, Vermont’s Division of Insurance issued a bulletin making clear that under state law health insurance companies operating in Vermont must cover treatment related to a person’s gender transition, including coverage for gender reassignment surgery.
This bulletin is a critical victory for the transgender community in Vermont and GLAD was proud to partner with local LGBT and health care advocates to educate insurance commissioners and encourage the Division of Insurance to issue the bulletin. For more information about the bulletin check out this FAQ from our partner RU12 Community Center.
We are now partnering with advocates in Maine and Massachusetts to explore options in those states to ensure fair insurance coverage. Stay tuned for updates in those states.
Ten years ago this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court kicked off a marriage equality revolution with a ground-breaking decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health. The decision made the Commonwealth the first place in the United States that same-sex couples could marry.
On Wednesday, November 20th, Mary L. Bonauto, the Civil Rights Project Director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the attorney who argued Goodridge before the SJC, will reflect on the intervening years, and the road ahead for LGBT equality, in a 6:30 pm lecture at Old South Meeting House entitled “The Goodridge Decision: 10 Years Out.” The event is free and open to the public.
Since Massachusetts opened the door, 15 states (and counting) and the District of Columbia have followed. In the past year, as well, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition to legally married same-sex couples.
The largest building in colonial Boston, Old South Meeting House was the scene of some of the most dramatic and stirring meetings leading up to the American Revolution. Today, the treasured National Historic Landmark remains an active center for civic dialogue and free expression in the heart of downtown Boston. The museum is a fitting location for the event because it was at Old South Meeting House that the LGBT community celebrated the Goodridge victory with a rally on November 18, 2004.
The talk is co-sponsored by Old South Meeting House and GLAD, and is made possible by funding from the Lowell Institute.
Event Details
What: “The Goodridge Decision: 10 Years Out”
Who: Mary L. Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director for GLAD
When: Wednesday, November 20, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street, Boston, MA
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Nov. 18, 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial (SJC) Court ruling in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) landmark Massachusetts marriage equality case.
The decision was the first of its kind in this country by a final appellate court and resulted in the first legal marriages between same-sex couples in a U.S. state.
As part of the anniversary celebration, GLAD has released a short video about the far-reaching impact of this historic decision. It debuted on Friday at our annual Spirit of Justice Award Dinner, where we honored former SJC Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, who authored the Goodridge decision.
The video features Chief Justice Marshall; Mary Bonauto, GLAD’s lead counsel in Goodridge, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand; Congressman Barney Frank; Bishop Gene Robinson; state Reps. Carl Sciortino and Byron Rushing; Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry; MA Attorney General Martha Coakley; Goodridge plaintiffs Rob Compton and David Wilson; Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
The GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project (GLBTQ-DVP) and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) have filed briefs with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination on behalf of a gay male survivor of domestic violence who was denied access to facial reconstruction surgery by The R.O.S.E. Fund. The Commission had previously found that there was probable cause in this case that discrimination had occurred.
The R.O.S.E. Fund established a partnership with leading healthcare institutions to provide free or low-cost reconstructive surgery to survivors of domestic violence. Through this program, R.O.S.E. refers survivors to institutions such as Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Tufts Dental School. But they denied a referral to the complainant because he is a man.
“Our client is precisely the person to whom R.O.S.E. provides services, but for his sex: he was injured as a result of domestic violence and he was in financial need,” said Bennett Klein, Senior Attorney at GLAD. “There is nothing R.O.S.E. needed to do differently to refer a man as opposed to a woman. Denying our client these services was straightforward discrimination.”
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and Individual Complainant v. The R.O.S.E. Fund, Inc
The GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project (GLBTQ-DVP) and GLAD pursued this complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) on behalf of a gay male survivor of domestic violence who was denied access to facial reconstruction surgery by The R.O.S.E. Fund.
On March 25, we filed our appeal brief with the Full Commission of the MCAD arguing that a hearing officer erroneously concluded that the R.O.S.E. Fund, a nonprofit social services agency, is exempt from the Massachusetts law that prohibits discrimination on account of race, sex, sexual orientation, disability and other protected classes. MCAD ultimately denied the appeal.
Background
The R.O.S.E. Fund established a partnership with leading healthcare institutions to provide free or low-cost reconstructive surgery to survivors of domestic violence. Through this program, R.O.S.E. refers survivors to institutions such as Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Tufts Dental School. But they denied a referral to the complainant because he is a man.
The Commission had previously found that there was probable cause in this case that discrimination had occurred.
The complainant was represented by attorneys Ben Klein and Jennifer Levi of GLAD and Wayne A. Thomas Jr. of the GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project.
In addition, a number of organizations, including women’s and domestic violence groups, have signed on to an amicus brief in support of the complainant. These organizations include the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), the Elizabeth Stone House, Fenway Health, Harbor COV, Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC), Mass. NOW, the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, MassEquality, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Renewal House, The Second Step, and TOD@S. The amicus brief was written by attorneys Anna M. Martignetti, Jeffrey J. Pyle, Joseph Edwards and Darren Braham of the firm Prince Lobel.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) has launched a new website to empower young LGBTQ and HIV positive people in New England with valuable information about their legal rights in school, sports, GSAs, work, foster care, the juvenile justice system and more. The URL is www.gladlaw.org/youth
The lively, easy-to-navigate, mobile-friendly design has information organized by subject, and features interactive tools such as quizzes, videos, and profiles of young people GLAD has helped. The site is not only an educational tool for LGBTQ and HIV positive youth, but is also helpful for parents, teachers, school administrators, and youth workers. In addition, www.gladlaw.org/youth provides links to local youth programs and services in each New England state.
“Legal information can be complicated and intimidating no matter what your age,” said Vickie Henry, Senior Staff Attorney at GLAD, and director of GLAD’s Youth Initiative. “Our goal is to make this information approachable and useable for both young people and the adults who can advocate with them.”
While the information on the website is not legal advice, it is meant to equip youth and their supporters with enough information about the specific laws in their state to advocate for themselves.
On each page of the website, youth and their supporters are invited to contact GLAD Answers, a legal information service, with further questions. GLAD Answers can be reached by phone (800-455-GLAD), live chat, or email (GLADAnswers@glad.org).
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is pleased to announce the addition of Staff Attorney Zack M. Paakkonen, who will focus his work on legal issues facing the transgender community as part of GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project. Paakkonen joins the legal team on September 3rd.
“With so much work still left to be done to secure legal and social equality for transgender people, Zack Paakkonen is a tremendous addition to our legal team,” said Legal Director Gary Buseck. “With his experience advocating on behalf of transgender clients inside and outside the courtroom, he’s ready to hit the ground running as GLAD continues its cutting-edge work on transgender legal issues.”
Paakkonen brings to GLAD significant experience advocating for the rights of transgender clients in a variety of contexts. In 2008, he and his law partner Alice Neal founded West End Legal, LLC, in Portland, Maine, a general practice firm focusing on the needs of the local LGBT community. Paakkonen’s work included representing transgender clients in matters of family law and other probate matters, advising clients regarding discrimination matters in school and employment, handling matters involving youth in a variety of contexts, and advocacy for transgender people within the penal system and within state government on public policy matters.
“While I’m proud of the work I’ve done for the transgender community in private practice, I’m excited about the opportunity GLAD gives me to have a broader impact on improving and expanding legal protections for the transgender community in New England and across the country,” said Paakkonen.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on health care for transgender youth is devastating. If you have questions about your rights, our legal infoline can help. Contact GLAD Law Answers today.
Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi shares an update on some of the critical work GLAD is doing in the area of transgender legal rights:
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