What Next?: LGBTQ Rights Following the 2020 Supreme Court Decision
Location
Online
Event Description
Join alumni for this panel of experienced trailblazers in the law, media & communication, and health fields who will discuss the recent decision of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. This Supreme Court decision guaranteed protection for LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in the workplace, securing another victory for the gay rights movement.
While this decision further cements equal rights for the community, the struggle for true equality is far from over. The “What Next?” panel will discuss the implications of Bostock and provide insights into the direction of the gay rights movement and its next steps in the fight for equality.Panelists
Rich Ferraro, CCAS ‘06 (He/Him/His) is the Chief Communications Officer of GLAAD, the world’s most visible LGBTQ advocacy organization. He is also the Executive Producer of the GLAAD Media Awards. Ferraro leads GLAAD's social media team, which was recognized as an Official Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards in the category for “Social: Public Service & Activism.” Since he started at GLAAD in 2008, Ferraro has worked on hundreds of LGBTQ-inclusive media projects and in 2015 he received a Daytime Emmy Award as part of the team behind the MTV and Logo documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.
Ferraro recently returned to GLAAD after serving as a Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Viacom. During his time at Viacom he worked on MTV’s 2016 election campaign which drew attention to issues including immigration, LGBTQ equality, and racial justice. He launched Logo’s LGBTQ public affairs department and led press strategy for MTV and Logo documentaries, campaigns and shows. His work on MTV's Transgender Awareness Week campaign was recognized with a Golden Beacon Award from the Association of Cable Communicators and his work on Logo's #all50 marriage equality campaign was a finalist for a Cynopsis Social Good Award.
He received a Global Influencer Fellowship from the United Nations Foundation, was named as part of the 'Next Generation of Stonewall' by NYC Pride, and was chosen among the Next Generation of LGBT Leaders by the Obama White House. He is a graduate of The George Washington University.
Shawn Thomas Meerkamper, CCAS '10 (They/Them/Theirs) is the senior staff attorney at Transgender Law Center and identifies as a nonbinary, anti-racist, social justice lawyer. They re-joined TLC after a short stint at the ACLU of Nevada, where they worked on issues ranging from LGBT prisoners’ rights to civil asset forfeiture. Previously, Shawn spent two years as a legal fellow at TLC where they were part of the team in Norsworthy v. Beard. They are the author of Contesting Sex Classification: The Need for Genderqueers as a Cognizable Class, which was published in the 2012 edition of the Dukeminier Awards Journal. Shawn enjoys skateboards and guitars and lives in Oakland with their partner and cats Little One and Small Fry.
Beck Zucker, GW LAW '18 (He/Him/His) is currently a Staff Attorney at The Legal Aid Society of NYC’s Bronx Neighborhood Office where he represents clients facing eviction. He is also the current Chair of the Lambda Law Alumni Association, which engages GW Law’s LGBTQ+ alumni in facilitating an environment of inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community and gathers a voice for LGBT alumni. Prior to joining The Legal Aid Society of NYC, Beck served as the McCleary Law Fellow at the Human Rights Campaign in early 2017 and later at the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation’s Capital (ACLU-DC).
Moderator
Paul Lisbon, CCAS '17 (He/Him/His) is a 3L at the Howard University School of Law where he is the Bryant Moore Problem Chair on the Charles Hamilton Houston Moot Court Team. He served as a Legal Associate at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia working on issues of child abuse and neglect and as a Student Attorney in the Howard Law School’s Clinical Law Center. Prior to attending Howard University School of Law, Paul served as a Research Associate for both Hillary for America and the Human Rights Campaign. At the Human Rights Campaign, he authored a piece about the White House Bible Study led by Ralph Drollinger, who is known for saying LGBTQ people are illegitimate.