Basic Rights Oregon Names New Executive Leadership Team Long-time LGBTQ Leader Jeana Frazzini Announces Her Resignation

PORTLAND, OR—Today, Basic Rights Oregon’s Board of Directors announced a new executive leadership team, as longtime LGBTQ leader Jeana Frazzini announced her departure after 16 years on the staff and the board of the organization.
 
Current Co-Executive Director Nancy Haque will remain in her role and be joined by Amy Herzfeld on the executive team. Herzfeld served as the organization’s movement building director for the last two years, where she staffed the organization’s Political Action Committee, Equality PAC, and played a pivotal role in fundraising and developing a new Fair Workplace Project to improve workplace experiences for transgender Oregonians.
 
“Jeana is a monumental figure within LGBTQ equality,” said Anita Rodgers, Board Co-Chair. “She is recognized in Oregon as the person who brought love back to marriage. It was also under her leadership that Basic Rights Oregon changed its mission and programs to include racial and transgender justice, long before many other LGBTQ organizations. We will miss her passion, political acumen and heart immensely.”
 
“The board considered doing a national search to fill Jeana’s role, however, we felt we had the ideal experience, skill set and values inside Basic Rights with Amy and she complements Nancy extremely well,” Rodgers said. “She has extensive fundraising, political and racial justice experience. Her experience working in a largely rural state like Idaho also is a huge plus for us in light of our statewide work. We have great confidence Nancy and Amy will maintain our cutting edge approach to LGBTQ equality.”
 
Frazzini’s Tenure
Frazzini, 44, has been affiliated with Basic Rights Oregon for 16 of the 20 years the LGBTQ advocacy group has been in existence. From 2000-2005, she served on the board of directors when Roey Thorpe was executive director. She joined the staff first as legislative director prior to the 2005 session, before moving to development director, a role she held until 2007. She was named executive director in December 2007.
 
Frazzini is recognized as a powerful public spokesperson, particularly around her visible role in leading the marriage equality movement in Oregon. She also is known as a prodigious fundraiser, raising nearly $17 million in 8 ½ years at the helm of the organization. She played a role in all of Basic Rights Oregon’s statewide policy victories: the Oregon Equality Act (2007) and the Oregon Family Fairness Act (2007), Oregon Safe Schools Act (2009), marriage equality (2014), transgender inclusion in the state’s Medicaid program (2014) and a ban on youth conversion therapy (2015). Her last day at Basic Rights Oregon will be July 20. She plans to take time off to prepare for her September wedding to her fiancé, Collin McFadyen.
 
The New Leadership Team
Herzfeld, 37, brings strong fundraising, political and executive leadership experience to her new role. Raised in Boise, ID, she served as the executive director of Idaho Human Rights Education Center from 2005-2011, where she was responsible for all aspects of fundraising and the programmatic direction of the social justice non-profit. From 2011-13, she served as the Oregon state director for Working America, overseeing the field, political and member programs for the AFL-CIO affiliated program. Herzfeld is a 2001 graduate of Boise State University and has extensive experience working in rural communities.
 
Haque, 42, joined Basic Rights Oregon as co-executive director in April of 2015 after more than 18 years of professional experience, including seven years as the Building Political Power Director at Western States Center, where she led a voter organizing training and empowerment project and managed leadership development programs.
 
Haque also spent eight years working on economic justice issues, including stints with the Portland and national Jobs with Justice and with AFL-CIO. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Evergreen State College and a Master’s of Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 
Basic Rights Oregon is celebrating its 20th anniversary and has helped make Oregon one of the most LGBTQ friendly states in the country. However, many community members continue to struggle despite years of policy victories. Basic Rights Oregon is in the second-year of a five-year strategic plan prioritizing policy and advocacy programs that will improve the lives of transgender Oregonians, LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ people of color and LGBTQ people living in small towns and rural communities.
 
Basic Rights Oregon is the state’s largest nonprofit gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer advocacy group. Basic Rights Oregon works to ensure that all LGBTQ Oregonians experience equality by building a broad and inclusive politically powerful movement, shifting public opinion and achieving policy victories. For more information, visitbasicrights.org