The National LGBTQ Task Force on Wednesday announced long-time executive director Rea Carey will step down in early 2021.
A press release notes the Task Force's board of directors has unanimously chosen Deputy Executive Director Kierra Johnson to succeed Carey, who has been with the organization since 2003.
"From overturning discriminatory policies and passing LGBTQ inclusive laws to celebrating marriage at the Supreme Court, to being arrested alongside immigration activists, to the energy of our Creating Change Conferences, it has been a remarkable ride," said Carey. "Just to be alive during a time of such progress over the last many years has been astounding, and to serve the LGBTQ community in my 17 years at the National LGBTQ Task Force has been the joy and honor of a lifetime."
"We have faced down many obstacles together and made tangible progress for LGBTQ people and our families," she added. "I have worked to ensure that we can be all of who we are in our multiple identities as immigrants, as people of color, as parents, as people experiencing homelessness, as voters, as people of faith, as trans and bi, as workers. Together, we have fought to love who we want to love, for sexual freedom, to be free of violence and oppression in all its forms, to be seen, valued, and celebrated as fully human."
The Washington Blade will update this article.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Blade and is made available in partnership with the National LGBT Media Association.
