Cheryl Jacques

Cheryl Jacques
Gay Rights Activist
www.cheryljacques.org

Cheryl Jacques is a leader in the gay civil rights movement. She frequently writes, speaks, and lectures nationally on issues of diversity, civil rights, and politics. She is of counsel to the Boston-based law firm Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Kesten, and is a consultant on diversity issues to corporations and non-profit organizations. In fall 2005, Cheryl was selected as a fellow at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where she worked to cultivate opportunities to advance the GLBT civil rights movement. She formerly served as president and executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest GLBT political organization. During her tenure as president of HRC, she led the organization through the successful defeat of the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment and increased both fundraising and membership for the organization. In 2005, Cheryl stepped down as head of HRC, after a whirlwind year that saw the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and the passage of anti-GLBT rights legislation in many states during the November 2004 election cycle. 

Prior to her work with the Human Rights Campaign, Cheryl served nearly a dozen years in the Massachusetts State Senate. As a state senator, she championed civil rights and equality for the state of Massachusetts. She successfully pushed for the inclusion of sexual orientation in the Massachusetts Hate Crimes Statute, passed legislation establishing standby guardianship provisions to protect the children of AIDS patients and other chronically ill individuals, and remained an outspoken advocate for gay and lesbian youth. Elected to the State Senate at the young age of 29, Cheryl proved her ability to speak to constituents across a wide spectrum of ideologies. She graduated from Boston University in 1984 and received her law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1987.

For more on Cheryl Jacques:
Name Dominates Dispute
By Andrew Edwards, San Bernardino Sun
March 13, 2008

Is This Our "Marriage Moment"?
By Chris Crain, San Francisco Bay Times
June 21, 2007

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