Program Directory

 
City Club of Cleveland - Joe Solmonese, President, Human Rights Campaign
City Club of Cleveland
 
 
 
As president of the Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solmonese has helped to make the organization a powerhouse both in Washington and around the country. The National Journal has rated the organization the second most successful interest group in all of Washington during the 2006 election.

Mr. Solmonese has been instrumental not only in hellping to enact legislation protecting the rights of the LGBT community, he has also launched many programs that help to expand education around many of the issues facing this community.

Before coming to HRC, Solmonese was chief executive officer of EMILY's List, overseeing one of the nation's most successful efforts to elect progressive women in every part of the United States. Mr. Solmonese brings that experience to HRC and is leveraging his experience to make the organization a national model of effective advocacy.

Mr. Solmonese has also worked with corporate leaders across the country and helped guide influential businesses, like Microsoft, to take strong public stances for fairness. With the release of HRC's Corporate Equality Index 2006, 86 percent of Fortune 500 companies now include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies and 51 percent offer same-sex partner benefits.

A native of Attleboro, Mass., Mr. Solmonese is 42 and lives in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Boston University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in communications.
June 12, 2009