Identifying as queer, nonbinary, disabled, a Russian Jew, and a first-generation American, Anya Lynn-Alesker leads the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association & Foundation as its executive director through what they call “an increasingly hostile period of attacks on our trans, nonbinary, and immigrant community members.”
“The greatest professional obstacle I have faced is still ongoing,” says the head of the nation’s largest association of out and ally legal professionals. “After 31 years of being out, I know these battles are not new, but the level of malice and government intervention continues to escalate.”
The key to overcoming it, they say, is “showing up, protecting one another, and creating spaces where our communities can thrive through solidarity, not by splintering along lines of privilege.”
Their message to the world: “We deserve not just to survive, but to thrive — in our work, in our relationships, and in our communities. And our young people deserve the freedom to imagine and define futures of their own. I believe deeply that love, justice, and community are how we move forward.”
Their goal: “For every LGBTQ+ and ally student to see a future for themselves in the legal profession. And for every LGBTQ+ legal professional to see space for their careers to grow as well.” @lgbtqbar
