Rea Carey
Rea Carey | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Carey speaking at the 2013 Decision Day Marriage Equality rally in Freedom Plaza | |
| Born | December 22, 1966 |
| Alma mater | Smith College (1980s) Harvard University |
| Title | Executive director |
| Predecessor | Matt Foreman |
| Movement | LGBT rights movement |
| Spouse | Margaret Conway |
| Children | 1 |
Rea Carey (born December 22, 1966) is an American LGBTQ rights activist who served as the executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force (previously the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) from 2008 to 2021. She previously served as the organization's deputy executive director and was the founding executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition.[1][2]
Life
Carey grew up in Denver, Colorado, and came out at the age of 16, near the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, which prompted her early activism.[3]
Carey graduated from Smith College in the 1980s and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[3][4][5]
She lives in Washington, D.C., with her wife, Margaret Conway, and daughter.[5]
Career
Carey began her career working in HIV/AIDS prevention and in the LGBTQ community as one of the co-founders of Gay Men and Lesbians Opposing Violence and the founding executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. She also has served on the advisory boards for such publications as Teen People magazine and the Georgetown University Journal of Gender and the Law.[1][6]
In 1999, The Advocate named Carey one of its "Best and Brightest" for individual contributions to the LGBT rights movement.[4]
Carey joined the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 2004 as deputy executive director, and served as executive director from 2008 to 2021.[1][2][4][7]
She was one of 105 women arrested in 2013 during an act of civil disobedience designed to pressure the United States House of Representatives to act on comprehensive immigration reform.[8]
Carey served on the advisory board of the LGBTQ Policy Journal of the Harvard Kennedy School.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Rea Carey". National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
- 1 2 "Rea Carey". HuffPost. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 Post, Libby (September 15, 2006). "Lesbian Notions: Social change calling". Seattle Gay News. p. 34. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Rea Carey named executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force". Steve Rothaus' Gay South Florida. June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 "Meet the Team". Flamboyan Foundation. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Rea Carey". Prime Movers. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
- ↑ Wu, Jay (2020-09-22). "Rea Carey Stepping Down in 2021—Kierra Johnson Selected as Next Executive Director". National LGBTQ Task Force. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Brydum, Sunnivie (September 12, 2013). "Task Force's Rea Carey Arrested With 105 Women Demanding Immigration Reform". The Advocate. Washington, D.C. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
