All of us at the California League of Conservation Voters are thrilled that Rick Zbur, our Chair of the Board and President, has been unanimously elected as the new executive director of Equality California (EQCA), the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization in California.
Rick is a passionate environmental champion who will continue in his current CLCV Board capacity to lead our efforts to protect California’s environment for future generations, along with his new leadership role advancing EQCA’s mission of securing full and lasting equality for LGBT Californians.
As a father of three young children, Rick knows that advocating for human rights and for environmental protection are equally important to ensuring the best possible quality of life for all Californians. I know him to be equally committed to the work of protecting our air, land, and water as he is to the work of achieving full equality for California’s LGBT communities.
Rick and I look forward to the exciting opportunities his new position provides both organizations to work more closely together to mobilize California’s electorate in support of policies and leaders who will make sure our Golden State lives up to our expectations as a sustainable, healthy, and equitable place for our families and communities.
Editor’s Note: Rick Zbur will succeed John O’Connor as executive director of EQCA later this summer. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, Zbur will retire from Latham & Watkins, one of the largest law firms in the world, and begin leading EQCA full-time on September 1, 2014.
Below are statements from several of California’s elected officials:
“Since his historic run for Congress, Rick has been a tremendous advocate for the LGBT community, and a thoughtful and talented leader who knows how to build the coalitions that are crucial to advancing our movement,” said Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. “We have made a great deal of progress, but we clearly have more work to do to ensure that every LGBT person in California is treated with dignity and respect, and I am absolutely confident that Rick will be an exemplary leader for EQCA who can focus on moving our movement forward. I also want to thank John O’Connor for his effective and dedicated service as executive director of EQCA. He has done a remarkable job in leading one of California’s preeminent LGBT rights organizations, and I am thankful for his service.”
“Rick is an LGBT trailblazer and true advocate for full equality,” said Speaker-Elect Toni Atkins. “I’m looking forward to working with EQCA under his leadership to continue advancing equality for LGBT Californians.”
“Rick is well known and respected among state and local leaders as a result of his leadership of one of California’s premier environmental organizations,” said Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. “And he has the vision to ensure that EQCA continues to lead California to a state of full equality for LGBT people.”
Please see the Equality California press release for more information.
