Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms created the City’s first-ever Director of LGBTQ Affairs position and has appointed additional members to the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board. These appointments build on the Bottoms Administration’s equity agenda and commitment to making City Hall more open and inclusive. Atlanta is among only a handful of cities in the country to establish a full-time position that advises the Mayor and senior City Officials.
The City of Atlanta’s LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator, Malik Brown, will now serve as Director of LGBTQ Affairs. Brown will work with and advise the Mayor and City departments on policies, programs, and initiatives affecting LGBTQ residents, City employees, and visitors, including cultural humility training.
“Since taking office, our Administration has prioritized the well-being and advancement of Atlanta’s large and diverse LGBTQ community and municipal LGBTQ affairs,” Bottoms said. “By creating a director-level LGBTQ Affairs position in the Mayor’s Office and continuing the work of the Mayor’s LGBTQ advisory board, we are creating institutional support for LGBTQ Atlantans.”
Brown, a lifelong Atlanta resident, is an established LGBTQ advocate and an Executive Committee member of the Human Rights Campaign’s National Board of Governors, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the country.
Bottoms also announced the latest members of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board, composed of citywide LGBTQ civic leaders, influencers, and advocates. New members of the advisory board represent many of the diverse voices in Atlanta’s LGBTQ community, including trans and non-binary people, LGBTQ people of color, healthcare professionals, straight allies, Jewish residents, and more. The Director of LGBTQ Affairs will serve as the City’s liaison to the board.
The Bottoms administration has achieved a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index (MEI) every year since taking office. Key LGBTQ-related accomplishments include providing the first-ever City allocation of funds to combat HIV, leveraging private funding for trans- housing, and creating City of Atlanta’s first-ever LGBTQ resource website.
Most recently, Bottoms virtually hosted the first-ever Mayor’s LGBTQ Opportunity Fair which connected more than 800 people with affirming employers, offered vital LGBTQ community resources, and provided free trans-specific cultural humility training to over 20 of Atlanta’s leading employers.
Members of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board include:
- Co-Chair: Pamela Stewart (Chair of the Board of Directors, GLAAD; President, West Zone Operations – North America, The Coca-Cola Company);
- Co-Chair: Matt Keith (Senior Vice President, Business Strategy & Initiatives Executive, Bank of America)
- Lynn Barfield, Operations Manager, Atlanta Pride
- Kia Barnes, Event Producer
- Melissa Carter, Media Personality
- Gabrielle Claiborne, Co-Founder, Transformation Journeys Worldwide
- Paul Conroy, Founder, Out Front Theatre Company
- Lisa Cunningham, CEO, Atlanta Film Partners
- Travis Currie, Public Relations Manager, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Morgan Darby, Director of Equity and Inclusion, The Children’s School
- Jon Dean, Owner & Editor-In-Chief, Wussy Mag
- Bill Dickinson, Founding Partner, C3 Leadership
- Dr. T.C. Elliot, Founder & Physician, Elysium Health and Wellness
- Jason Feldman, Board of Directors, Atlanta Jewish Music Festival
- Marshall Freeman, Chief Operating Officer, Atlanta Police Foundation
- Matt Garrett, Human Capital Senior Managing Consultant
- Jeff Graham, Executive Director, Georgia Equality
- Dr. Jodie L. Guest, Professor & Vice Chair, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
- Pierce Hand, Staff Attorney, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation
- Isoul Harris, Editor-at-Large, Rolling Out Magazine
- Roshelle Darlene Hudson, Co-Founder, Rustin/Lorde Breakfast
- Dionne Kettl, Co-Founder & Deputy Director, TRANScending Barriers
- Logan Kirsch, Public Health Advocate
- Rabbi Joshua Lesser, Founder, Southern Jewish Resource Network
- Ivette Lopez, LatinoLinQ
- Chris Lugo, Executive Director, Out Georgia Business Alliance
- Tracee McDaniel, Board of Directors, Trans Housing Atlanta Program
- Jaye Meggs, CEO & Founder, Trans Gentlemen of Excellence
- Sandy Mollett, Founder & CEO, Equal Footing LLC
- Selima Morrow, Director of Outreach & Community Housing, Chris180
- The Rev. Joshua M. Noblitt, Minister, Saint Mark United Methodist Church
- Philip Rafshoon, Former Owner, Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse
- Dr. Alieizoria Redd, Executive Director, Covenant House Georgia
- Aaron Rice, Director of Business Engagement, United Way of Greater Atlanta
- Brigid Scarbrough, Board of Directors, Human Rights Campaign
- Melissa Scott, Owner, Soul Bar at Pals Lounge
- The Rev. Kimble Sorrels, United Church of Christ
- Feroza Syed, Trans Activist
- Hillary Thomas, Associate State Director Advocacy and Outreach, AARP Georgia
- Alex Wan, Former Atlanta City Council Member, District 6
- Matthew Wilson, State Representative, Georgia House District 80
- Erica Wright, Founder, Project U First
