Occidental College is proud to welcome the third event in the OBAMA
SCHOLARS PROGRAM SPEAKER SERIES. The panel discussion will explore the
historic repeal of the U.S. military policy that banned openly gay,
bisexual and lesbian personnel that was signed into law in 2011 by
President Barack Obama '83.
Featured on the panel will be:
* Joe Solmonese, CEO of the 2020 Democratic National Convention
Committee and former president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC),
which played a key role in lobbying for the repeal.
* Brian Bond, executive director of PFLAG, the country’s first and
largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents, families and allies.
* Retired Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, decorated Iraq war veteran and
LGBQT and diversity activist.
* Army Staff Sgt. Freyja Eccles, an active duty transgender soldier
with 21 years of service.
“Repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: Lessons Learned and
Where We Are Today,” the third in Occidental College’s Obama
Scholars Program Speaker Series, will be presented on Thursday,
February 27 at 3:30 p.m. in Choi Auditorium.
This event is free and open to the Occidental Community. Registration
is required.
The PROGRAM WILL BE DESIGNED TO MAKE ROOM FOR AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
AND THERE WILL BE TIME SET ASIDE AT THE END OF THE DISCUSSION TO COVER
AUDIENCE QUESTIONS. We are sensitive to the fact that some audience
members may not want to publicly pose their questions, therefore we
are also collecting questions in advance. Please submit your questions
through this portal [https://forms.gle/uSMStreAt1erEvii8] by Tuesday,
February 25th.
Prior to his March 2019 appointment as convention CEO, Solmonese
served as a partner at the corporate consulting firm of
Gavin/Solmonese. He leads the firm's corporate and nonprofit
engagement practice located in New York and Washington, D.C. and is a
member of the Obama Scholars Advisory Council at Occidental.
Before forming Gavin/Solmonese, he served as president of the HRC and
as CEO of EMILY’s List – one of the nation’s largest political
action committees. His work at HRC included championing the
discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment defeat in 2006, passage of
marriage equality laws in eight states, the repeal of “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell,” and passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd,
Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Prior to joining PFLAG, Bond served as coalitions director for the
Climate Action Campaign in Washington D.C. and deputy CEO for the 2016
Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. During the Obama
Administration he served as deputy director for the White House Office
of Public Engagement and primary liaison for the LGBTQ community, the
first to serve in that role. He also served as associate administrator
for public engagement and environmental education at the Environmental
Protection Agency.
The first American soldier injured in the Iraq War, Alva came out as
gay after his retirement from the military. As a former spokesperson
for the Human Rights Campaign, he played an instrumental role in the
repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”
Eccles is active in American Veterans for Equal Rights and is vice
president of the San Antonio (Texas) Gender Association.
ABOUT THE BARACK OBAMA SCHOLARS PROGRAM AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
The Barack Obama Scholars Program at Occidental College empowers the
next generation of leaders in active pursuit of the public good.
Honoring the legacy of Occidental’s most famous student, this
scholarship program provides a comprehensive experience for
exceptional students of all backgrounds who seek the opportunity to
create meaningful and lasting change.
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28/02/2020 Last update