Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Appoints Andy Marra as Executive Director
What follows is a press release from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.
Andrea Hong Marra
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Andrea “Andy” Hong Marra as its new executive director. Marra is a nationally revered social justice advocate with a strong track record of service to the LGBTQ movement. Marra succeeds Dolph Ward Goldenburg who has served as Interim Executive Director since February.
“Andy is a powerful force in our movement with a distinguished career in advancing LGBTQ equality. She brings a depth of experience and enthusiasm to this role that is sure to infuse a vibrant new energy into TLDEF’s crucial transgender advocacy work,” said Joseph A. Hall, co-chair, TLDEF Board of Directors.
“Andy joins us at a critical time when transgender people face ongoing and relentless attacks from the highest levels of our government. At this urgent moment in our history, Andy brings the solid leadership we need to counter the threats confronting us, sustain the achievements we’ve already made, and position TLDEF for substantial victories for transgender people in the years ahead,” said Alaina Kupec, co-chair, TLDEF Board of Directors.
Marra is a transgender Korean American woman who has spent the past 15 years working with LGBTQ and social justice organizations worldwide. Prior to her appointment she spent almost five years managing external communications at the Arcus Foundation where she was a leading partner in launching the Global Trans Initiative, a historic multi-million dollar philanthropic commitment in support of transgender communities worldwide. She was also a leading member of Grantmakers United for Trans Communities, an initiative designed to increase the amount, and improve the quality, of funding supporting transgender and gender nonconforming organizations and issues.
“While all of us at Arcus are incredibly sad to lose Andy as a foundation colleague, we couldn’t be happier or more hopeful for the kind of impact that she can have as TLDEF’s executive director,” said Arcus’ co-executive director Jason McGill, who also leads the foundation’s Social Justice Program. “Andy’s leadership and many contributions to the LGBTQ movement are well-known, and we are delighted to see her return to the frontline with one of our grantee partners at such a critical time for the LGBTQ and wider social and racial justice movements.”
Before Arcus, Marra oversaw public relations at GLSEN, a national organization focused on LGBTQ issues in K-12 education; was co-director at Nodutdol for Korean Community Development; and served as a senior media strategist at GLAAD. Marra currently serves on the boards of Freedom for All Americans, an organization working to advance comprehensive nondiscrimination protections nationwide and Just Detention International, an organization dedicated to ending sexual violence in prisons.
“It’s a tremendous honor to join TLDEF, especially at a time when so much is at stake for transgender and gender nonconforming people,” said Andy Marra, incoming TLDEF executive director. “We live in a reality where our community faces increasing hostility and our very lives are being defined out of existence. On day one, I will take the helm at TLDEF fully resolved to ensure our community can live safely, freely, and with access to opportunity. We can’t do this work alone and I look forward to collaborating with our legal partners and movement allies to protect hard-fought gains and advance equality, especially for those who have faced the brunt of violence and discrimination. It’s particularly rewarding for me to share the news of my appointment during Transgender Awareness Week.”
TLDEF partnered with Kevin Chase Executive Search Group to conduct an exhaustive, nationwide search for a transformational new executive director. Over the course of five months, the firm reached out to upwards of 250 prospects and sources, ultimately vetting more than two dozen potential candidates with TLDEF’s search committee. After multiple rounds of interviews and presentations, the search committee narrowed the pool to a group of six final candidates from whom Marra was unanimously selected as Executive Director.
“We were committed to finding a truly unique combination of lived and professional experience – and to really centering trans and nonbinary perspectives and voices – for this critical leadership position,” said Kevin Chase, Managing Partner. “After an intensive search and a thorough assessment, Andy emerged as the perfect choice for TLDEF. Andy is widely respected throughout the broader LGBTQ movement and enjoys a strong reputation as a smart, strategic, bold and experienced leader. She will bring all of that credibility, along with the talent, experience, character, and determination necessary to move the needle, to TLDEF and to trans advocacy in this country. It couldn’t come at more critical time. Watch for great things to happen at TLDEF under her leadership.”
Over the last decade Marra has received numerous accolades. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential Asian Americans in 2017; chosen as one of The White House’s Next Generation of LGBT Leaders; and selected for The Advocate’s Forty Under 40 list. She also received an NCTE Julie Johnson Founder’s Award, a Colin Higgins Foundation Courage Award, a National LGBTQ Task Force Creating Change Award, a GLSEN Pathfinder Award, and a NQAPIA Community Catalyst Award. She additionally made the inaugural Trans 100 List.
Marra begins her position at TLDEF on December 3. To support her leadership, TLDEF has launched an online crowdfunding campaign where a small group of anonymous donors excited by Marra’s appointment have issued a matching challenge. Every dollar raised online will be matched up to a total amount of $13,000. In total, TLDEF aims to raise $26,000 before Marra’s first day.
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