Subject: Veteran Grassroots Activists Expand MMOW Leadership Team
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 17:22:05 EST

Millennium March on Washington for Equality
April 30, 2000  .  Washington, DC

N E W S   R E L E A S E
For Immediate Release: Nov. 12, 1999

Millennium March on Washington Expands Leadership;
Announces New Co-Executive Directors
Texas Lobbyist and Organizer Dianne Hardy-Garcia Joins Leadership Team;
Move Addresses Unprecedented Grassroots Interest, Response

Washington, DC -- Organizers for the Millennium March on Washington (MMOW) 
have announced an organizational expansion which provides for two full-time 
Co-Executive Directors to oversee the final six months of planning and 
organizing for the March.

"We are pleased to announce that LGBT activist and grassroots organizer 
Dianne Hardy-Garcia, Executive Director of Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of 
Texas, will join Malcolm Lazin as Co-Executive Director of the March," said 
Ann DeGroot, Co-Chair of the March. 

"It is now evident that the Millennium March on Washington will be the 
largest gathering of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered persons and our 
families, friends and allies," added DeGroot. "These two capable organizers 
will help us expand our organization to address all of the needs and 
requirements of this historic March."

Lazin was earlier appointed Interim Executive Director of MMOW during 
organizational meetings in New Orleans. 

Under the expanded MMOW structure, Hardy-Garcia will manage the Washington, 
DC offices of the March and assume responsibility for communications, 
outreach and community organizing on the local, state and national levels.  
Lazin will focus on day-to-day management, fundraising, and financial 
reporting. Hardy-Garcia and Lazin will jointly handle production and 
programming for the March and Rally.

"I am pleased to have Dianne and Malcolm at the helm of MMOW. Both of them 
are committed and talented activists," said Donna Red Wing, one of four 
Co-Chairs on the MMOW Board of Directors. "Grassroots response has exceeded 
all earlier expectations and the growing list of thousands of local 
volunteers has prompted the board to speed up our timetable for expanding the 
staff. The division of key responsibilities between two Co-Executive 
Directors allows us to keep the March on a solid financial footing while also 
moving forward with grassroots organizing," added Red Wing.

Hardy-Garcia has served as Executive Director of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby 
of Texas (LGRL) since 1993. LGRL is one of the nation's largest GLBT 
statewide organizations and lobbies and organizes for lesbian, gay, bisexual 
and transgender equal rights in Texas. Hardy-Garcia also has served as a 
co-chair of the Federation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender State 
Organizations, a national coalition of state GLBT organizations.

For her courageous leadership and extensive organizing efforts, Hardy-Garcia 
has been honored by organizations including the League of United Latin 
American Citizens, Metropolitan Community Churches, the Austin Chronicle, the 
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Human Rights Campaign.  Her work 
has also been covered extensively in the national media, including Prime Time 
Live, Texas Monthly, Out Magazine, the Justice Files, the Advocate, New York 
Times and Vanity Fair.

Lazin is the founder and Executive Director of PrideFest America, the 
nation's largest annual gay and lesbian symposium and festival headquartered 
in Philadelphia. In 1999, 64 regional and national organizations presented 
substantive programs along with 10 community-wide social events.  PrideFest 
America 2000 features more than 100 programs and social events making it the 
largest event of its type ever staged.

Lazin is also an attorney, having served in the US Department of Justice, 
where he earned the Department's highest honor. In addition to having served 
as Chair of the Philadelphia Waterfront Developers Council, he also served as 
a local partner for the Blockbuster Sony Entertainment Center on Camden, New 
Jersey's waterfront, which includes a 25,000 seat state of the art 
amphitheater. Among other accomplishments, Lazin chaired the Pennsylvania 
Crime Commission, supervising more than 60 law enforcement personnel 
investigating organized crime, is a progressive political activist and has 
long been active in the LGBT communities. 

Organizers indicated that an announcement would be forthcoming on the opening 
of national March offices in Washington, DC.

The Millennium March on Washington, scheduled for April 30, 2000, is the 4th 
national GLBT civil rights march and he first human rights march of the new 
millennium. A free e-mail newsletter is available upon request by writing 
[email-masked].

For more information on the March on Washington for Equality, visit the 
official website at www.mmow.org or write to [email-masked].

(END)

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR PRESS INTERVIEWS, CONTACT:

Dianne Hardy-Garcia, MMOW Co-Executive Director
Tel:  512-474-5475
Fax:  512-474-4511
E-Mail: [email-masked]

Malcolm Lazin, MMOW Co-Executive Director
Tel: 215-732-FEST
Fax: 215-732-7376
E-Mail: [email-masked]

Ann DeGroot, MMOW Board Co-Chair
Tel:  612-822-0127, Ext. 107 
Fax: 612-822-8786
E-Mail: [email-masked]