Elizabeth Birch
Influential civil rights leader Elizabeth Birch is the Shepard Symposium on Social Justice featured speaker Thursday, April 2, at the University of Wyoming.
Based on her own experiences in activism, litigation and politics, Birch will discuss "Gay Civil Rights and its Impact on the Individual, Business and Community," at 7:30 p.m in the UW College of Education auditorium. The talk is free and open to the public.
Her presentation encourages audiences to embrace differences and better understand the lives of others. She puts a different perspective on social and political movements happening today, explaining how true leadership is required to promote equality and stressing that wise leadership never takes refuge in silence. Birch will shares her experiences as a civil rights activist, corporate executive and policy expert.
She served from 1995-2004 as the president and executive director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization.
Credited with bringing LGBT issues into America's living rooms, Birch helped open doors and change viewpoints, helping more Americans better understand gay lives and civil rights.
Before joining HRC, Birch was the worldwide director of litigation and counsel for Apple, Inc., and general counsel to Claris Corp., Apple's software subsidiary. She also oversaw operations for Rosie O'Donnell's For All Kids Foundation and led her post-hurricane Katrina initiatives in Louisiana. Birch currently is president and CEO of The Elizabeth Birch Company, a media, communications and strategic change company.
For more information about the symposium and a complete schedule of events visit www.shepardsymposium.org.
Posted on Tuesday, March 31, 2009
