Stephanie Sandberg

Not so long ago, Stephanie Sandberg could very well have been out of a job. LGBTQ equality, both legally and socially, was at an all-time high in the United States, and a woman was on the way to the White House — or so she thought. But things didn’t go according to plan. As the new executive director of LPAC, the only political organization that specifically focuses on LGBTQ women’s issues, Sandberg works to make sure the hard-won progress for the LGBTQ community and women in recent decades isn’t reversed under the current administration. LPAC strives to get LGBTQ women and women of color elected to office, and has garnered support from the likes of Billie Jean King, Jane Lynch, and Urvashi Vaid. Sandberg got her start in the business of media — she was publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review and president and publisher of the New Republic. But in recent years, she began applying her expertise in business, organizing, and thought leadership to the issues of LGBTQ diversity and equality. She was the managing director at Out Leadership, a network of LGBTQ leaders working to help businesses strive for inclusion. Sandberg also helped launch and oversee OutWOMEN, which connects and promotes women executives who identify as LGBTQ. And now at the helm of LPAC, she is helping to make sure what happened in November 2016 doesn’t happen again. “I can’t imagine a better or more important time to bring my skills and experience to helping elevate LGBTQ women and women of color to elected office,” Sandberg says. “Not only are they the future of progressive politics, but the time for women’s and LGBTQ equality and social justice is now.” —SEJ