AS A MATTER OF EQUALITY

“I am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest.”

Neil Patrick Harris is an award-winning television, film and stage actor. Starting at age 16, he has forged an enduring career as a performer in Hollywood and on Broadway.

Harris grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico, the son of two lawyers who ran a restaurant. He took up acting in the fourth grade, playing the role of Toto in “The Wizard of Oz.” When Harris was 15, the family moved to Albuquerque. That same year, he made his feature film debut in “Clara’s Heart,” for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

When he was 16, Harris landed the leading role in the television series “Doogie Howser, M.D.” The series ran for four years and earned him a second Golden Globe nomination as well as a People’s Choice Award.

In 1997, Harris accepted the role of Mark in the Los Angeles production of “Rent” and received a Drama League Award for his performance. He made his Broadway debut in 2002 opposite Anne Heche in “Proof.” Thereafter, he appeared as the Emcee in “Cabaret” and as Lee Harvey Oswald in Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Assassins.”

Harris’s films include “Undercover Brother,” “The Next Best Thing,” “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” and “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.”

In 2005, Harris joined the television series “How I Met Your Mother” as womanizer Barney Stinson. He received four consecutive Emmy Award nominations for this role.

Harris came out publicly in 2006, telling People magazine, “Rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions.”

Harris has guest starred on dozens of television series, and received an Emmy Award in 2010 for his performance on “Glee.” He has hosted the Academy Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Tony Awards.

In 2010, he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time magazine. Later that year, Harris and his long-term partner, David Burtka, had twins, Gideon Scott and Harper Grace. Harris and his family live in Los Angeles.

“I’m just trying to change the world, one sequin at a time.”

Lady Gaga is a world-famous performance artist and singer. She is best known for her chart-topping singles and outrageous costumes. She has had three consecutive best-selling albums and one of the highest-grossing tours.

Born Stefani Germanotta, she is the first of two daughters born to working class parents in Yonkers, New York. She describes her younger self as an “artsy, musical-theatre, nerdy girl who got good grades, who learned the tricks of self-reinvention, and [had] a look that veered between a bit too sexy and a bit strange.” Raised Roman Catholic, she graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart School before attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She left the school after two years to work on her musical career. In 2005, she was signed by Def Jam Recording and worked as a songwriter for Britney Spears and The Pussycat Dolls.

Lady Gaga’s persona is derived from her unique, androgynous, vintage-themed fashion sense and constructing her own costumes. In 2008, Gaga produced her first album, “The Fame.” The album has two international hits, “Just Dance” and “Poker Face.” The Fame Ball Tour premiered Lady Gaga’s innovative use of performance art and glam rock to form a multimedia party.

Her second album, “The Fame Monster,” received critical acclaim. The hit song “Bad Romance” earned Lady Gaga two Grammy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video. Her third album, “Born This Way,” topped the charts within days of its release. She has sold 15 million albums and 51 million singles.

Lady Gaga has won five Grammy Awards and holds two Guinness World Records. She was named 2010 Artist of the Year and the top-selling artist of 2010 by Billboard. In 2010, Time magazine named her Most Influential Artist, and in 2011, Forbes listed her among its World’s Most Powerful.

Openly bisexual, Lady Gaga is an outspoken LGBT equality advocate. She spoke at the 2009 National Equality March in Washington, D.C., calling it “the single most important event” of her career. She was a leading activist for the repeal of  “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Through her music, concerts and demonstrations, she continues to fight for LGBT rights.

“I believe God made me just as I am. That is all I need to know, that I am exactly who God created me to be!”

One of the first openly gay rabbis, Denise Eger served as rabbi for the world’s first gay and lesbian synagogue. She is the first female and the first openly gay president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California.

Eger was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. Active in her synagogue, she taught religious school from the time she was 12. She studied opera as a teen, intending to be a voice major in college.

Eger received a bachelor’s degree in religion from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree from Hebrew Union College (HUC) – Jewish Institute of Religion. In 1988, she was ordained a Reform rabbi.

Following ordination, she served as the first full-time rabbi at Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim, the first gay and lesbian synagogue. In 1991, Rabbi Eger cofounded West Hollywood’s LGBT-welcoming Congregation Kol Ami, which means “all my people.”

Rabbi Eger was the founding president of the Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Interfaith Clergy Association. She worked with the Central Conference of American Rabbis to pass the resolution that allowed Reform rabbis to officiate at same-sex commitment ceremonies.

A noted speaker on Judaism, spirituality and LGBT and family issues, Rabbi Eger is a frequent commentator on radio and television.  She has written extensively for periodicals, including the Los Angeles Times, The Advocate, the Huffington Post and The Jewish Journal. She has also contributed to a number of books, among them “Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian, Gay and Jewish,” “Positively Gay,” and “Lesbian Rabbis: THE FIRST GENERATION.”

In 2008, Rabbi Eger officiated at the first legal wedding of a lesbian couple in California. The National Women’s Political Caucus named her one of its 12 Remarkable Women in 2010. The Human Rights Campaign presented her with the Community Equality Award in 2011.

“Action and sacrifice speak much more loudly than the best crafted, eloquent speech.”

Lt. Dan Choi is a West Point graduate, Iraq War veteran and Arabic linguist. He was the nation’s leading activist for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).

Choi was born in Orange County, California, and raised in an evangelical Korean-American household. His father is a Baptist minister; his mother is a nurse. Inspired by the film “Saving Private Ryan,” Choi decided to attend West Point.

After graduating from West Point with degrees in Arabic linguistics and environmental engineering, Choi served as an Army infantry officer in Iraq. In 2008, he transferred from active duty to the Army National Guard. That same year, Choi and a group of West Point alumni founded Knights Out, an organization supporting the rights of LGBT soldiers.

In 2009, Choi appeared on the “The Rachel Maddow Show” and said something that would change his life forever: “I am gay.”  Within a month, the U.S. Army notified him that he was being discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
When he received his discharge papers, Choi knew he had to fight back. He wrote an open letter asking President Obama to repeal the policy and reinstate him, calling his discharge “a slap in the face.”

Choi sent his West Point graduation ring to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It was a reminder to the senator of a promise he made to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians in the military.

Choi became the leading activist and national spokesman for the repeal of DADT. His media savvy drew attention to the issue. In 2010, he was arrested three times for handcuffing himself to the White House fence during protests.

Later in 2010, Choi was invited to the White House to witness President Obama signing the bill repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into law. Afterward, Senator Reid invited Choi to his office, where he returned Choi’s West Point ring. “The next time I get a ring from a man,” Choi responded, “I expect it to be for full, equal American marriage.”

Choi continues to advocate for LGBT civil rights and for veterans’ health benefits. He is a graduate student at Harvard University. He resides in New York City

“Don’t ask to live in tranquil times. Literature doesn’t grow there.”

An author and screenwriter, Rita Mae Brown is best known for her semi-autobiographical lesbian-themed novel, “Rubyfruit Jungle.” She is a groundbreaking activist for lesbian and civil rights.

An only child, Brown was adopted and raised in York, Pennsylvania. At age 11, her family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Brown’s interest in political activism began with the black civil rights movement. In 1964, after losing her scholarship at the University of Florida due to her involvement in a rally, Brown was forced to drop out of school. She hitchhiked to New York where she lived in an abandoned car before enrolling at New York University (NYU).

At NYU, Brown cofounded the Student Homophile League. In 1968, she joined the National Organization of Women (NOW). She worked there until a schism over whether or not to support lesbian issues caused her to resign. She says she was “kicked out” for raising the gay issue.

Betty Friedan is largely blamed for Brown’s expulsion from NOW. Years later, Friedan publicly apologized and admitted her actions were wrong.

After severing ties with NOW, Brown joined the Redstockings, a liberal feminist group. She helped form the lesbian feminist  newspaper Furies Collective. Thereafter, she earned a Ph.D. in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C.

Brown’s coming-of-age lesbian novel, “Rubyfruit Jungle,” sold over 70,000 copies and made her a champion of lesbian rights. The book’s success encouraged her to author other lesbian novels.

In addition to more than 50 books, Brown has written numerous television screenplays. She received Emmy nominations for the variety show “I Love Liberty” and the miniseries “The Long Hot Summer.”

Brown lives on a farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. She is a Master of Fox Hounds and advocates for animal rescue.

“I’m not on a show with a pink triangle or rainbow flag—which means that being gay is just a part of who I am.”

Keith Boykin is a political commentator, a New York Times best-selling author and a veteran of two presidential campaigns. He is the editor of The Daily Voice and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and BET.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Boykin became politically focused working on local campaigns while in high school. At Dartmouth he was the editor of the daily newspaper and graduated with a B.A. in government.

After college, Boykin worked on the Dukakis presidential campaign. Thereafter, he attended Harvard Law School and continued working on campaigns, including the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Boykin worked as special assistant to the president and served as President Clinton’s liaison to the LGBT community.

In 1994, Boykin became the executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and completed his first book, “One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America.” In 1997, he served with Coretta Scott King and the Rev. Jesse Jackson on the U.S. presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe.

Boykin wrote two other books, “Respecting the Soul” (1999) and “Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America” (2005). His work shed light on AIDS, internalized homophobia and black men on the “down low.”

Boykin is a commentator on major political talk shows. In 2004, he starred on Showtime’s “American Candidate” and hosted BET’s “My Two Cents.”

Keith Boykin is working on a fourth book, “For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough.”

“I heard the story of Harvey Milk and it gave me hope that I could live my life openly as who I am.”

Dustin Lance Black is a screenwriter, director and producer. In 2009, he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Milk,” about openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. 

Black grew up in a devout Mormon household in San Antonio, Texas. After his mother remarried, he moved to Salinas, California. As a young boy, Black knew he was gay. He believed he would be “hurt and brought down” because of it and that he was going to hell. He says his “acute awareness” of his sexual orientation made him gloomy and sometimes suicidal.

In high school he fostered a love of the dramatic arts and began working on theatrical productions. He enrolled at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and graduated with honors. In 2000, he wrote and directed two gay-themed films, “The Journey of Jared Price” and “Something Close to Heaven.” Black was the only Mormon writer for the HBO series about polygamy, “Big Love,” for which he received two Writers Guild of America Awards.

Captivated by the story of Harvey Milk, Black researched Milk’s life for three years, culminating in a screenplay. Academy Award-nominated director Gus Van Sant signed on with the project. In 2009, “Milk” received eight Academy Award nominations and won two. Black received an Oscar for his screenplay and Sean Penn won for best actor.

Black’s recent works include the screenplay for “Pedro,” profiling AIDS activist and MTV personality Pedro Zamora. He is the screenwriter for “J. Edgar,” a film about FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2009, Black topped The Advocate’s list of the “Forty under 40” most influential openly gay people. He is an outspoken LGBT activist, serving on the boards of The Trevor Project and the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Black frequently speaks about gay rights to college students across the country.

He resides in Los Angeles

“Each time we act against discrimination, we add a ring of life to the American tree of liberty.”

John Berry is the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He is the highest-ranking openly gay federal employee in U.S. history.

Born in Rockville, Maryland, Berry is the son of two federal government employees. His father served in the U.S. Marine Corps and his mother worked for the U.S. Census Bureau.

Berry earned his Bachelor of Arts in government from the University of Maryland and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University. His first federal government job was as legislative director for U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer. Thereafter, he served as deputy assistant secretary for law enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department.

After two years as director of government relations at the Smithsonian Institution, Berry was appointed assistant secretary for policy, management and budget at the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Clinton administration.

Prior to joining the Obama administration, Berry pursued his interest in environmental conservation as the director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and subsequently as director of the National Zoo.

In 2009, President Obama appointed Berry to his current position, where he is responsible for recruiting, hiring and benefits policies for 1.9 million federal employees.

With Berry’s appointment came accolades from the LGBT and mainstream communities. “The selection of John Berry is a meaningful step forward for the LGBT community,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Humans Rights Campaign. John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, described Berry as the “perfect choice for the OPM. He’s smart, courageous, and has all the right experience in policy and in politics.”

In 2009, Berry served as the keynote speaker for the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference in San Francisco.

One of the few Americans to stand on both the North and South Poles, Berry’s government career has taken him around the globe and literally to the ends of the earth. There is a mountain in Antarctica named after him: the Berry Bastion.