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Ms. Elizabeth Birch

Gay and Civil Rights Activist, Former HRC Leader

Elizabeth Birch is among the most visible gay leaders in the country.  She has been the keynote speaker in a great variety of settings, from corporate America (IBM, Disney, General Mills, Fleet Bank, Apple, and Citigroup to name a few), to associations (Working Women, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Emily’s List, Religious Action Center), and on many U.S. campuses and universities. One of the highest-profile women in corporate America, she is also one of the most recognized gay leaders of our time.  She has been trusted by many organizations to help guide them through various challenges, or to simply inspire them to take the next step.

Birch began serving as president and executive director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)--the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization--in January 1995. Under her leadership, the institution grew dramatically, from 100,000 members in 1995 to a combined total of 1.1 million supporters (600,000 members and 500,000 on-line supporters) by January 2004. She has been credited with bringing gay and lesbian issues into the living rooms of America in a new, fresh, and creative way.  While other advocacy organizations talk to their own, Birch talks to America.  She has allowed millions more Americans to better understand gay lives.

During her tenure, the HRC budget grew from $6.5 million in 1995 to almost $30 million in 2004. In 2003, Birch led the effort to open the first GLBT national headquarters in Washington, D.C, The Human Rights Campaign Building. A $30 million-dollar project, it won a major design award in 2003 and boasts twenty-first-century capabilities that will allow HRC to keep pace with its substantial opposition.

Under her leadership, HRC grew into one of the largest, most effective, and most respected mainstream advocacy organizations. It has become a model in the nonprofit world, and is often studied by other advocacy organizations for its professionalism and cutting-edge communications and advocacy techniques. Birch built an outstanding senior management team and a 100-person staff. She launched the HRC Web site, widely acknowledged as one of the best in the country; a quarterly magazine, Equality; a Youth College, and a variety of other innovative programs.  The HRC Foundation, HRC’s educational arm, is trusted to bring the best counsel on issues facing GLBT people to the media, corporate America, families, and individuals.

Since Birch joined the organization in 1995, HRC has built a reputation on Capitol Hill and across the nation as one of the top political organizations. The HRC political action committee is one of the largest bipartisan PACs in the country, and is augmented by strong and effective lobby and field teams. HRC also has become a highly visible symbol of equality. Through its ground-breaking use of media, HRC has brought the challenges facing GLBT people into mainstream America. Under Birch’s leadership, HRC has developed a reputation for innovative communications strategies and products, including public service announcements that garner substantial air time.

Birch also has represented HRC and the GLBT community across the country and in the media on Good Morning America, the Today show, 20/20, This Week, Face the Nation, Nightline, Crossfire, Larry King Live, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and other programs. By positioning GLBT issues in paid and free media and by making public appearances in front of national audiences, HRC is transforming the way America views GLBT people.

During Birch’s tenure, the HRC Foundation pioneered a dynamic array of educational programs, including HRC WorkNet, a comprehensive resource center for GLBT workplace advocacy, and HRC FamilyNet, a virtual online village for GLBT families. The National Coming Out Project, also an HRC Foundation program, is helping thousands come out each year. Under Birch’s direction in the spring of 2000, the HRC Foundation produced "Equality Rocks"--the largest GLBT concert ever created. Held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., it brought together more than 45,000 people in honor of equality, including artists as diverse as Garth Brooks, Chaka Khan, Melissa Etheridge, George Michael, The Pet Shop Boys, Ellen DeGeneres, Nathan Lane, and many more.

HRC has also developed strong relationships with the creators, producers, and artists of other cultural outlets, including Ellen, Will & Grace, and The West Wing. Additionally, Birch was responsible for the launch of HRC’s Action Center & Store retail outlets. Two HRC stores have already opened, one in Provincetown, MA, and the other in Washington, D.C., and more are planned for the future.

In 2002, for her work in the civil rights community, Birch was honored to receive one of the highest civil rights honors in the country from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).  LCCR is a coalition of 186 progressive organizations, including the NAACP, Catholic Charities, and many more.  She has received numerous other awards and honors in the legal and nonprofit fields, including the 9th Circuit’s Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award.

Birch previously served as worldwide director of litigation for Apple Computer, Inc., and as general counsel to Claris Corp., Apple's software subsidiary. During her tenure at Apple, Birch also managed human resources counsel and risk management. She worked extensively for Apple USA in handling all aspects of sales and marketing issues, and at Claris, she was part of the senior management team.  She has also helped various Fortune 500 companies develop and implement non-discrimination and domestic partner benefits policies. In 2000, she became the first leader of an LGBT organization to address a national political convention when she gave a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention.

She graduated from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in California with honors and earned a degree from the University of Hawaii in political science and oceanography in 1980. In 2002, the University of Hawaii conferred on Birch an honorary doctorate of humanities degree, and she gave the graduate school commencement address that year. While in law school, she clerked at the California Supreme Court for Justice Stanley Mosk. Before joining Apple in 1989, Birch was a commercial litigator at the firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen in San Francisco. She has a long history of advocacy in the gay and lesbian and HIV/AIDS communities.

Birch has been profiled in the New York Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and a variety of other print media. (A list of news articles and TV appearances is available upon request.)

Birch lives in Washington, DC, with her two children Anna and Jacob.

Last Update 9/7/07