Women at the Helm 2015
RACHEL EINBUND
Principal Attorney at the Law Office of Rachel Einbund, Esq.
The passage of the Marriage Equality Act in 2011 marked the end of one battle, and the beginning of many others. Rachel Einbund understood that from the start, and it's what led her to create her own legal practice, focusing on marriage-based green cards, work visas, domestic abuse victims and family-based immigration, to name but a few of her many specialties. Einbund, a graduate of NYU and New York Law School, prides herself on taking clients from all over, and on her belief in religious, political, gender and sexual freedom. In addition to running her own firm, she mentors law students; holds free workshops on the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) immigration policy; writes about immigration issues on her firm's blog, The LORE Review; and does pro-bono work for minors and unique cases. (She’s registered as a marriage officiant, too, as if all that weren't enough to keep her busy.) For her dedication to the law and our community, Einbund has received numerous honors: Just this year, the National LGBT Bar Association named her one of America's best LGBT lawyers under 40 and The International Women's Leadership Association called her a Woman of Outstanding Leadership. We here at GO simply call her "amazing."
Meet 16 dynamos who are true models of success
REBECCA ISAACS
Executive Director, Equality Federation
If you thought the fight for equality ended after same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States, think again. “Many people are surprised to learn just how much work remains to ensure all of us are able to live without the fear of discrimination,” says Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of Equality Federation. “There are 31 states that do not have complete statewide nondiscrimination protections and right-wing politicians are rousing their bases with a flurry of new discriminatory bills.” She says her parents encouraged a commitment to justice when she was young. “We had a household where speaking up was a virtue and interrupting injustice was celebrated.” Following college, Isaacs headed south of the border, supporting Mexico’s queer activist movement. She’s led the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, The LA Gay & Lesbian Center, Inner City Law Center—and she became a lawyer. She lives with her wife, Vanessa, and her daughter, Rachel, is in college at Princeton, and she appreciates that her job lets her travel all over the country, “meeting people where they are, in communities big and small. At Equality Federation, we support people being able to live freely in their own communities, if they choose to, in a safe, fulfilled way.”
