New York, New York — June 21, 2016 — Stan J. Sloan has been named the new Executive Director of Family Equality Council, the national advocacy group that connects, supports, and represents the United States’ three million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer parents and their six million children of all ages.
Sloan has been a leader in the homeless, LGBTQ and AIDS service communities for over two decades. Since 2000, he has served as the CEO of Chicago House, a social service agency that provides housing and employment programs for those disenfranchised by HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ poverty, and/or gender nonconformity. In 2013, he pioneered the opening of the TransLife Center, which provides the nation’s most comprehensive services for the transgender community.
Family Equality Council Board Chair Nancy Lyons said Sloan’s extensive experience makes him uniquely qualified to address the complex tasks ahead in a world where — although we won marriage equality in 2015 — the LGBTQ community is still far from realizing full legal and lived equality.
“Stan is a unifier who will encourage our families to help themselves and each other in these challenging times,” said Lyons. “Since winning nationwide marriage equality, anti-LGBTQ legislators, organizations and individuals have found new and insidious ways to hurt our families — from bakers refusing to make cakes for same-sex weddings and clerks who refuse to issue marriage licenses to elected officials passing discriminatory ‘religious liberty’ laws and so-called ‘bathroom bills.’ And the June 12 Orlando massacre serves as a tragic reminder that fires of hatred and intolerance still burn strong toward our community.”
Sloan said he’s long-admired Family Equality Council. “I have always appreciated the organization’s service and action, and can’t wait to start working for our parents and children,” said Sloan. “My real passion is bridging the worlds of people who are in need and those who are able to help them. What better way to pursue that goal than by working within our family systems, since families by nature are about nurturing and care?”
Added Sloan, “We will continue our ground-breaking policy work in pushing the country to expand access to services for LGBTQ parents and their children, while simultaneously challenging the traditional definitions and frameworks of family, adoption and foster care to help those most marginalized. Family Equality will also remain as committed as ever to programming multi-faceted events, including Family Weekends, Pride celebrations, Maybe Baby discussions and myriad other gatherings in communities across the country. We will grow together as a community by finding and meeting untapped needs. I could not be more optimistic as I begin working with and for Family Equality.”
Ordained in 1991, Sloan is an Episcopal priest, which makes him particularly well-suited to help in today’s rise of ‘religious liberty’ bills. Said Sloan, “The idea of using religion to promote hate and exclusion — rather than love and inclusion — is reprehensible. We will continue to stand up against ridiculous bathroom bills and other laws that create further hurdles for the LGBTQ community and our families. And we will combat ideologies that stigmatize us and strive to deny us our places at the table.”
Sloan will officially join Family Equality Council on Saturday July 23, as we step into the organization’s 21st annual Family Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts.