National LGBTQ Task Force
A US nonprofit advocacy organization that builds LGBTQ grassroots power and advances social, political, and economic justice.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American nonprofit social-justice and civil-rights organization focused on organizing LGBTQ people and allies, influencing public policy, developing grassroots leadership, and advancing a broad progressive vision of liberation. It was established in 1973 as the National Gay Task Force, during a period when organized gay and lesbian political advocacy in the United States was becoming more nationally coordinated. Its early founders included activists, physicians, religious figures, cultural producers, and civil-rights advocates, reflecting the organization’s emphasis on coalition building rather than a single constituency or tactic. The organization changed its name to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 1985 and adopted the National LGBTQ Task Force identity in October 2014. These changes reflected the expanding language and political scope of the movement, including greater recognition of bisexual and transgender communities and a wider understanding of LGBTQ equality as connected to racial, economic, gender, and other forms of justice. The Task Force has historically combined lobbying and policy advocacy with public education, litigation-related movement support, communications, voter and civic engagement, and direct skills development for community organizers. Its best-known recurring program is Creating Change, formally the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change. First held in 1988, the conference provides training, strategy sessions, networking, and movement-building opportunities for activists, nonprofit professionals, community leaders, and allies. Attendance has exceeded 2,000 participants in some years. In 2003, the conference added the Skills Academy for Leadership and Action, a dedicated training component for grassroots organizers. Creating Change has served as a national forum where organizations address both immediate policy campaigns and longer-term questions about movement structure, inclusion, leadership, and intersectional justice. The Task Force Policy Institute functions as the organization’s research and analysis arm. Its work has included social-science research, policy analysis, strategic planning, public education, and advocacy intended to give LGBTQ organizers and policymakers evidence for campaigns. One notable project associated with the institute was the 2010 “queering the census” initiative, which promoted an unofficial bright-pink sticker encouraging people to identify themselves using LGBTQ-related categories or as straight allies. The sticker was not part of the official census and its responses were not incorporated into census data, but the campaign drew attention to the limits of federal demographic data and helped frame representation in national statistics as a civil-rights issue. The organization has also participated in public protests and coalition efforts. In 2005, it opposed a Vatican instruction concerning the admission of men with homosexual tendencies to Catholic seminaries and holy orders. In 2019, the Task Force partnered with the Imperial Court System on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The project commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising by recognizing deceased LGBTQ pioneers and movement figures; the first fifty honorees were announced during the Stonewall 50–WorldPride NYC celebrations. Leadership has changed repeatedly as the organization’s priorities and the wider movement evolved. Rea Carey served as executive director from 2008 through 2021. Kierra Johnson succeeded Carey in 2021 and became the first Black woman to lead the organization. The Task Force remains an active US LGBTQ advocacy institution, with its work centered on grassroots organizing, policy change, leadership development, research, public education, and national movement convening rather than commercial products.
History
The National LGBTQ Task Force was founded in 1973 as the National Gay Task Force, one of the earliest national organizations dedicated to coordinated gay and lesbian civil-rights advocacy in the United States. Its founders included Robert L. Livingston and his husband, artist Tom Ellis; New York City physician and former city health official Howard Junior Brown; activist and researcher Bruce Voeller; Catholic priest Robert Carter; Ron Gold; Nathalie Rockhill; historian Martin Duberman; and activist Frank Kameny. The founding group brought together political organizers, medical professionals, religious participants, historians, and public figures, establishing a model based on national coordination and coalition work. The organization developed during a period in which LGBTQ advocacy was moving from local protest and community defense toward sustained national policy engagement. Its work has included lobbying, public education, movement communications, research, leadership development, and support for grassroots campaigns. Over time, the organization broadened its analysis beyond formal legal equality to include racial justice, economic justice, gender justice, transgender rights, bisexual visibility, and the inclusion of marginalized communities within LGBTQ organizing. In 1985, the group became the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The revised name reflected the growing visibility of lesbian leadership and the organization’s effort to represent a wider movement. Its executive leadership changed frequently over subsequent decades, including Bruce Voeller, Jean O'Leary, Charles Brydon, Lucia Valeska, Virginia Apuzzo, Jeff Levi, Urvashi Vaid, Peri Jude Radecic, Melinda Paras, Kerry Lobel, Elizabeth Toledo, Lorri Jean, Matt Foreman, and Rea Carey. Lani Ka'ahumanu later became notable as the first openly bisexual person invited to serve on a national gay and lesbian board associated with the organization. The Task Force created the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in 1988, following its involvement in organizing the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Creating Change became a major annual movement gathering, offering workshops, strategic discussions, organizational networking, and practical training. The conference continued to evolve as LGBTQ political conditions changed. In 2003, it introduced the Skills Academy for Leadership and Action, a daylong training program for grassroots activists and emerging leaders. The conference has attracted more than 2,000 attendees in some years and remains one of the organization’s central public-facing programs. The Task Force Policy Institute expanded the organization’s research and policy capacity. It has conducted or supported social-science research, policy analysis, strategy development, public education, and advocacy. In 2010, institute director Jaime Grant promoted the “queering the census” concept through an unofficial bright-pink sticker that encouraged people to identify with categories such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or straight ally. Because the sticker was not an official census instrument, its results were not added to federal census data. Nevertheless, the initiative highlighted the difficulty of measuring LGBTQ populations and helped sustain advocacy for more inclusive demographic data collection, including goals connected to the 2020 census. The organization has also used protest and public pressure to challenge institutions it viewed as discriminatory. In 2005, it protested a Catholic instruction addressing the admission of men with homosexual tendencies to seminaries and holy orders. In 2013, it received the Large Nonprofit Organization of the Year award in the Pantheon of Leather Awards. In October 2014, the organization adopted the National LGBTQ Task Force name. The change aligned its public identity with contemporary LGBTQ terminology and its increasingly intersectional approach. In February 2019, it joined the Imperial Court System in announcing the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor, planned for the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The project was created in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and was intended to commemorate deceased LGBTQ trailblazers whose work had influenced civil rights and community life. The first fifty names were unveiled in June 2019 during the Stonewall 50–WorldPride NYC observances. Rea Carey led the organization from 2008 until 2021. Kierra Johnson became executive director in 2021, making her the first Black woman to hold the position. The Task Force continues as a national nonprofit movement organization whose principal activities are advocacy, organizing, research, education, leadership development, and convening rather than commercial production.
- 2021
Kierra Johnson becomes executive director
[1]Kierra Johnson succeeded Rea Carey and became the first Black woman to lead the organization.
- 2019
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor launched
[1]The Task Force and the Imperial Court System unveiled the first fifty honorees of a memorial at the Stonewall Inn.
- 2014
Current National LGBTQ Task Force identity adopted
[1]The organization changed its name from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to the National LGBTQ Task Force.
- 2003
Skills Academy added to Creating Change
[1]The conference introduced a daylong Skills Academy for Leadership and Action focused on grassroots activist training.
- 1988
First Creating Change conference
[1]The first National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change was held as a national skills-building and movement-organizing event.
- 1985
Name expanded to National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
[1]The organization adopted a name that explicitly recognized lesbian participation and leadership in the national movement.
- 1973
National Gay Task Force founded
[1]A coalition of activists and professionals founded the organization as the National Gay Task Force in the United States.
Products and positioning
A national LGBTQ movement organization positioned at the intersection of grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, leadership development, research, and intersectional social justice.
Conference and movement training · 1988
Creating Change
The Task Force’s annual National Conference on LGBT Equality is a large movement-building gathering for LGBTQ activists, nonprofit workers, community leaders, and allies. It combines workshops, networking, policy discussion, strategy development, and practical organizing instruction. The conference has drawn more than 2,000 attendees in some years and includes specialized training such as the Skills Academy for Leadership and Action.
Research and policy advocacy
Task Force Policy Institute
The Policy Institute is the organization’s research and analysis program. Its functions include social-science research, policy analysis, strategy development, public education, and advocacy. Its work is intended to provide LGBTQ organizers and policymakers with evidence and strategic tools for campaigns involving equality, inclusion, and broader social justice.
Memorial and public-history project · 2019
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor
A memorial project developed with the Imperial Court System for installation at the Stonewall Inn. It recognizes deceased LGBTQ trailblazers, pioneers, and other figures whose work positively influenced LGBTQ civil rights and community history. The first fifty names were announced during the 2019 Stonewall 50–WorldPride NYC events.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019National LGBTQ Wall of Honor
United States
Working with the Imperial Court System, the Task Force created a memorial at the Stonewall Inn to honor deceased LGBTQ pioneers as part of the fiftieth-anniversary recognition of the Stonewall uprising.
Outcome. The first fifty honorees were unveiled in June 2019 during Stonewall 50–WorldPride NYC.
- 2010Queering the census
United States
The Policy Institute promoted an unofficial bright-pink sticker encouraging people to identify using LGBTQ-related categories or as straight allies, calling attention to the absence of comprehensive LGBTQ demographic categories in census materials.
Outcome. The stickers were unofficial and their responses were not added to official census results, but the project contributed to advocacy for more inclusive demographic data collection.
- 2005Opposition to Catholic seminary instruction
United States
The Task Force protested a Catholic instruction concerning the admission of men with homosexual tendencies to seminaries and holy orders.
Outcome. The source material identifies the protest but does not specify a policy reversal or other definitive outcome.
Brand decisions
2019
Creation of the National LGBTQ Wall of HonorOtherBackground
The project was developed for the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and to recognize deceased LGBTQ movement figures.
Action taken
The Task Force partnered with the Imperial Court System and established a nomination and governance process for the memorial.
Aftermath
The first fifty names were unveiled at the Stonewall Inn during the 2019 Stonewall 50–WorldPride NYC celebrations.
2014
Adoption of the National LGBTQ Task Force identityStrategyBackground
The organization’s movement framework had expanded to encompass lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities and broader intersectional justice concerns.
Action taken
It replaced the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force name with National LGBTQ Task Force.
Aftermath
The current identity emphasizes a broad LGBTQ constituency and a social-justice-oriented approach to advocacy and organizing.
1985
Adoption of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force nameStrategyBackground
The organization sought a public identity that more clearly reflected lesbian participation in the national LGBTQ movement.
Action taken
It changed its name from the National Gay Task Force to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Aftermath
The revised name remained in use until the organization adopted its current LGBTQ-inclusive identity in 2014.
Sources2 sources
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