Women At The Helm 2011

November 9, 2011 Kat Long

Rachel Tiven: Executive Director, Immigration Equality “Every day, Immigration Equality hears from couples and individuals who, because of our work, literally have a new lease on life,” Rachel Tiven proudly reports. As the Executive Director of Immigration Equality and Immigration Equality Action Fund, the national organization fighting for equality under U.S. immigration law for LGBT and HIV-positive individuals, Tiven (pictured with New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler) has helped to win asylum for more than 100 LGBT people who escaped persecution and violence in their homelands. Immigration Equality was founded with three goals: end the HIV travel and immigration ban, provide LGBT people with full access to asylum in the United States, and allow lesbian and gay Americans to sponsor their partners for citizenship. “In a little more than a decade, we have already accomplished our first two goals,” Tiven says. “Today, Immigration Equality is working to win its final victory, too. That work is based on a simple but profound belief: American citizens should not be told whom they can, and cannot, share their lives and their homes with, and no one should be forced to choose between the person they love and the country they call home.” Prior to her work with the group, Tiven was a reporter and television producer for Bloomberg Business News and an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York.

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Faith Cheltenham: President, BiNet USA Human beings “are as diverse as every hue and shimmer in a rainbow,” according to Faith Cheltenham, and relationships don’t define our sexual orientations. She should know: Cheltenham is the outspoken President of BiNet USA, the national organization for bisexual advocacy, outreach and networking efforts on behalf of the bisexual, pansexual and fluid communities in America. BiNet USA connects individuals with more than 75 grassroots organizations that provide support, social activities and advocacy opportunities. In addition to her leadership role with the organization, Cheltenham holds a full-time position as a Senior Account Executive in the private sector. Cheltenham got her start in LGBT activism in the late 1990s, and has been a frequent speaker at outlets such as Yale University, UCLA’s Queer Black Youth Conference, San Diego Comic Con and the LOGO television network. “The most rewarding part of being a bi activist is standing up and finding you are surrounded by a multitude of folks who share your experiences. Just like you, they were told they didn’t exist, and just like you they persist,” Cheltenham says. What inspires her? “I am blessed to have developed a positive, embracing and unified identity as a black bisexual woman. My inspiration is the belief that all bisexual people deserve the same, since we were all made this way.”