Today, the Garden State Equality Action Fund announced that Jeannine Frisby LaRue will succeed Bryan Epps as Board Chair. Epps has served as chair for two years, starting his tenure not long before the highly consequential 2020 elections.

“It has been an honor to serve on the Garden State Equality Action Fund’s board,” said Epps. “In the last two years, my fellow board members, Garden State Equality’s staff, and our volunteers and members have helped us make great strides towards greater legal and lived LGBTQ+ equality in New Jersey. We’ve worked with our pro-equality legislature to protect LGBTQ+ older adults and help LGBTQ+ veterans, to codify marriage equality into state law, and to decriminalize HIV and expand harm reduction services. I look forward to seeing what Garden State Equality achieves in the future.”

“I am grateful to my fellow Garden State Equality Action Fund board members for putting their trust in me and electing me as their chair,” said LaRue, who was unanimously voted into her new position. “I look forward to continuing our work to preserve and advance LGBTQ+ rights in New Jersey, especially as attacks against our communities ramp up nationwide.”

LaRue, who joined the board last year, is Senior Vice President at the Kaufman Zita Group. Her barrier-breaking career spans four decades and includes work in education, unions, government affairs, and politics.