McCormack+Kristel Recruits Executive Director for the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association

October 28, 2024 – Executive search firm McCormack+Kristel has placed Anya Lynn-Alesker (they/she) as executive director of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. “We are confident that Lynn-Alesker will lead our organization to new heights as we continue our important mission of promoting justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBTQ+ community in all its diversity,” said Bendita Cynthia Malakia, association president.

“The National LGBTQ+ Bar conducted a robust eight-month national search in partnership with McCormack + Kristel,” said Rachel Goldberg, president of the LGBTQ+ Bar Foundation. “We were fortunate to find and hire Anya Lynn-Alesker; whose accomplishments showcase their leadership strength and vision. They have repeatedly demonstrated a commitment to amplifying the voices of marginalized people and a willingness to be in the trenches doing the hard work for the LQBTQ community. We need leaders like Anya who are dynamic and steadfast in their convictions to build a stronger bar for the future.”

“The LGBTQ+ Bar’s executive director search committee was faced with the challenging task of finding a leader who could lead the LGBTQ+ Bar into the future, particularly during these challenging times as the rights of LGBTQ+ people are under constant attack,” former Bar Foundation board president and search committee chair Jesse Ryan Loffler said. “During that process, we found in Anya the qualities, dedication, and compassion that will be necessary to not only defend and protect LGBTQ+ rights under attack, but also to uplift and support the entirety of our diverse LGBTQ+ community.”

“With attacks on the rights of LGBTQ+ people on the rise, we are excited to have Anya Lynn-Alesker as our new executive director,” said Ms. Malakia. “Their bar association, advocacy and equity experience make them uniquely suited to meet this moment: the queer community at-large is strengthened when the queer legal community is supported.”

As chief counsel and managing attorney at the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence for almost 15 years, Lynn-Alesker led a team to elevate the practice of gender-based violence attorneys around the country. She is an activist, educator, facilitator, and lawyer dedicated to elevating the needs and lived experiences of 2SLGBTQI+ communities and honoring their resilience and survivorship. For almost 20 years Lynn-Alesker has used the law as an instrument of empowerment with an anti-oppression framework and a deep belief in the vision of a beloved community.

Lynn-Alesker said: “I am thrilled to join the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association as its next Executive Director. I am honored to collaborate with the incredibly dedicated Board members and expert staff in building off the critical role that the bar has played in creating a more just and equitable world for all 2SLGBTQIA+ legal professionals and our broader communities. This is your bar, and we are here to support and serve your professional dreams, to directly address the intersectional harms of homo/bi/transphobia, racism, sexism, ableism, and other forms of oppression that have been used to exclude us. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and invite you to join us as members, collaborators, and thought partners to work together to achieve our mission.”

Related: McCormack+Kristel Recruits CFO for the Los Angeles LGBT Center

The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association is a leading organization for LGBTQ+ legal professionals in the United States. It was founded in 1989 and became an affiliate of the American Bar Association in 1992. The association is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Serving LGBTQ+ Organizations

McCormack+Kristel was started in 1993 as McCormack & Associates with the mission of recruiting senior leadership for the many research, advocacy and human services organizations growing exponentially in response to AIDS pandemic. Diversity recruiting has long been on the firm’s agenda.

With the advent of effective treatments for HIV/AIDS, and the diminishing needs of many of these organizations, the firm broadened its client base into areas like social justice; healthcare; women’s issues; higher education; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender; civil rights; and more.

Five years ago, founding partner Joseph A. McCormack formed a new business partnership with Michelle Kristel, who joined the firm in 2013 as an associate. The firm has offices in New York City and Palm Springs, CA. McCormack+Kristel clients have included the ACLU, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, TransForm, Planned Parenthood, SAGE, and the Tides Foundation, among others.

In 2022, Mr. McCormack retired. Ms. Kristel continues to run the firm’s national practice. Ms. Kristel is the former executive director of In The Life Media (ITLM), a non-profit organization producing social change media to raise awareness of issues related to gender, HIV/AIDS, and LGBT rights.

Related: McCormack+Kristel Helps Recruit New Leader for Project HOME 

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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