Leading beyond Stonewall

Here at Stonewall, our Board of Directors works behind the scenes to help turn our mission into a reality. From helping shape our direction as an organization, to spearheading powerful fundraising efforts that fuel our programs, our Board members work hard to keep Stonewall thriving. And they’re not just moving Stonewall’s mission forward; our Board members are deeply invested in social justice outside of their work for Stonewall, and some even make it their full-time job!

Today, we’re highlighting three incredible women on our Board who’ve dedicated their careers to moving the needle in social justice movements. Their individual leadership outside of Stonewall lends itself to our mission, helping to steer our work with diverse perspectives and experiences. Board members Cymone Fuller, Cecilia Gentili, and Rachel Korberg each took a moment to tell us how their Stonewall Board leadership blends with their professional social justice endeavors.

 Cymone Fuller joined Stonewall’s Board in 2019. With over a decade of experience in the world of criminal and youth justice reform, she currently works with Columbia University’s Justice Lab, aiding their efforts to promote healing and resiliency as solutions over punishment and surveillance models.

Stonewall: Do you see the movements for criminal justice reform and LGBTQ liberation as interconnected?

Cymone: Absolutely. In many ways, the target issue for both movements is the issue of white supremacy and a society that was built for and to protect a very particular archetype of person, specifically white, heterosexual, cis, wealthy men. As a result, almost all of our US institutions have failed communities that fall furthest on the margins which include LGBTQ folks and those targeted and impacted by the criminal justice system (which often overlap, especially in the youth justice system). For example, some of the primary issues facing LGBTQ communities like economic insecurity, homelessness, inadequate healthcare, etc. are the same issues driving folks into the criminal justice system. Having folks come together to generate solutions to these issues would at least start us on a path toward liberation.

Cecilia Gentili has been on Stonewall’s Board of Directors since 2019. A powerhouse community activist, Cecilia has spent decades on the front lines of the LGBTQ Movement demanding equity and safety for trans and gender non-conforming folks, sex workers, immigrants, and people of color. She recently launched her private firm, Trans Equity Consulting.

Stonewall: How has your activism work informed your role on Stonewall’s Board of Directors?

Cecilia: It was really important for me to be a part of an entity that supports the causes that I believe in. Stonewall has been extremely proactive in the area of gender justice – which to me is really important. Stonewall has also been incredibly proactive in trans rights, the decriminalization of sex work, and is doing a lot for immigrants. I am part of the Board because I love the work that Stonewall does for these communities, but I’m also part of the Board to be a representative of those communities. It works both ways. It is very important to have that reflection of a life experience in a Board. Historically Boards have not represented the communities that they work for, so for me it was very important to take that step and be that person.

Rachel Korberg has been a Board member since 2017. Along with a history of advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ community, Rachel is currently a leader of Ford Foundation’s Future of Work(ers) program, which seeks to strengthen and protect workers’ rights in the US and around the globe.

Stonewall: Where do you see overlap between the movements for workers’ rights and LGBTQ liberation?

Rachel: Too often, the public discourse makes it seem like LGBTQ people only need to get married and join the military! While these are important domains of our fight for equality, we must also be able to pay our bills, have access to healthcare, experience dignity on the job, and have a say in our economy. Trans and nonbinary people face extremely high levels of unemployment and on-the-job discrimination and harassment. Even though the LGBTQ and economic justice movements are deeply interrelated, we don't work together enough—I look forward to that changing in the years to come. 

To learn more about current members of our Board of Directors, click here.