URVASHI VAID

Urvashi Vaid, a nationally recognized author and attorney, is the Director of the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), a think tank which has worked to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against GLBT people at the local, state and national level since its inception in 1973. As part of a broader social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society.

A 20-year veteran of the fight for civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people, Ms. Vaid has worked as an attorney for the ACLU and is the author of an award-winning book on the politics of the modern gay rights movement. Her book titled Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation (Anchor Books, 1996) won the American Library Association's 1996 Gay Nonfiction Book Award.

Ms. Vaid writes and lectures widely on civil rights issues. She is co-editor of a forthcoming anthology from St. Martin's Press titled Creating Change: Sexuality, Public Policy and Civil Rights, and is a contributor to a number of anthologies on the GLBT movement. Ms. Vaid is a regular columnist for The Advocate, the national gay and lesbian news magazine. She has been a featured speaker at many universities and colleges coast to coast, from Harvard University to the University of Michigan to Stanford, she has conducted workshops at professional conferences like the American Political Science Association and the American Historical Association, and has keynoted conferences for groups as diverse as the American Bar Association, the Log Cabin Republican Clubs, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).

Ms. Vaid has appeared on numerous television, radio and Internet programs, including ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, The Charlie Rose Show, Good Morning America, The McNeil-Lehrer News Hour, and National Public Radio. She has been quoted in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, and Slate magazine.

Ms. Vaid is a graduate of Vassar College and Northeastern University School of Law.

Ms. Vaid is extremely knowledgeable about the history, politics and status of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights. She is also knowledgeable about civil rights movements generally, feminist issues, prisoners’ rights, and issues affecting immigrants and people of color. She has received numerous honors for her contributions and in 1994, was selected by Time magazine as one of the 50 most influential leaders under 40 years old in the United States, and one of the 100 most promising young leaders worldwide. Currently, her work focuses on law and public policy at the federal and state level, electoral politics, racial and economic justice, public opinion, as they relate to the struggle for greater equality and justice for GLBT citizens in our society.

1700 Kalorama Road NW
Washington, DC 20009-2624
Tel: 202.332.6483
Fax: 202.332.0207
uvaid@ngltf.org