Our Team

Alex Coccia

• Co-chair
• Senior Policy Analyst, Center for the Study of Social Policy
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Notre Dame
• PhD in Politics at University of Oxford, Rhodes Scholar
• Co-founder of the 4 to 5 Movement, an LGBTQ and ally organizing movement at the University Notre Dame

Stephen Friedman

• Senior Advisor, Entertainment & Youth Brands (MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Comedy Central, TVLand & Smithsonian Channel) at ViacomCBS
• Senior Advisor, Societal Impact at SYPartners
• Adjunct Professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs
• Former President of MTV and creator of MTV's Social Impact department

Hannah Lownsbrough

• Former Executive Director of SumOfUs
• Director of Uplift
• Founding staff team member of 38 Degrees

Catherine Staff

• Treasurer
• Head of Finance, Operations and People at the Syria Campaign
• Former Director of Operations at All Out
• Former Human Resources Regional Partner at International Rescue Committee

Sarah Munro

• Director, Information Business and New Ventures, Barclays
• Head of Digital Identity, Barclays
• Director, International Marketing, Royal Mail

Mariana Ribeiro

• Head of Office, Senior Campaign Director of Purpose Brazil
• Impact producer of the Academy-Award nominated feature documentary The Edge of Democracy
• Former Communications and Project Director of Nossas.org
• MBA graduate in Marketing from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (São Paulo) and specialist in Design for Social Change from The School of Visual Arts (NYC)

Akudo Oguaghamba

• Feminist LGBTIQ Rights Activist
• Founder and Executive Director of Women’s health and Equal Rights Initiative, Nigeria
• Former Co-Chair of PAN Africa ILGA

Weronika Paszewska

• Co-founder and former Executive Director of Akcja Demokracja, multi-issue progressive CSO in Poland
• Feminist, LGBTQ, human rights and social justice activist
• Member of Varsovian food cooperative

Nnedinma J. Ulanmo

• Legal Practitioner/ Feminist/ Human Rights Advocate
• Co-founder/Executive Director Women Initiative for Sustainable Empowerment and Equality (WISE)
• Founder/Principal Partner Nnedinma Ulanmo and Associates
• Member Community of Action (HIVOS) Free to be Me Project
• Former Chairperson Executive Board Coalition of Africa Lesbians
• Former Co-Chair Executive Board Pan Africa ILGA
• Former Member Executive Board ILGA World

Fernanda Hopenhaym

• Feminist human rights defender
• Co-Executive Director, PODER (Mexico)
• Member, United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights
• Board Member, EarthRights International (US) and SOMO (Netherlands)
• Advisor, International Business and Human Rights Award

Gloriah Mutyaba

• Programs Director at Freedom and Roam Uganda
• Queer feminist and creative, LGBTIQAP++ activist, Social Justice activist
• Board member Transgender Equality Uganda
• Former BOD member Coalition of African Lesbians
• Technical working group member, Coalition to stop maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion
• SRHR trainer, Sexual Rights Africa Network
• Curator, Uganda Lesbian Forum

Emeritus Board Members

Andre Banks

• Co-founder and former Executive Director of All Out
• Former strategy director at Purpose
• Former deputy director of ColorOfChange.org

Michael Evans (In memoriam)

• President of Moynihan Station Development Corporation
• Former chief of staff to the Lieutenant Governor of New York

Jeremy Heimans

• Co-founder of All Out, co-founder & CEO of Purpose
• Co-founder of Avaaz and co-founder of GetUp!

Jon Huggett

• Founding chair of Social Innovation Exchange
• Former partner at The Bridgespan Group and Bain & Company

Rashad Robinson

• Executive director of ColorOfChange.org
• Former senior director of media programs at GLAAD

Brett Solomon

• Executive director of Access Now
• Former campaigns director at Avaaz
• Former executive director of GetUp!

Carla Sutherland

• Research scholar at Columbia University's Center for Gender and Sexuality Law's Engaging Tradition Project
• Former program officer at Ford Foundation and Arcus Foundation