Jeana Frazzini and Nancy Haque will serve as co-directors of the 19-year old statewide advocacy group. Frazzini has led the organization as the executive director since 2008 after serving as the Development Director for three years. Nancy Haque joins the Basic Rights staff after serving on the Basic Rights Board for three years and serving as a consultant on the organization’s strategic planning process this past year.
“For nearly two decades Basic Rights Oregon has sought to be an innovative leader in the LGBTQ movement and the time is right for us to make another big change in recognition of the shift in the work,” said Vanessa Usui, co-chair of the Board of Directors. “We are nearly ready to introduce our next strategic plan after focusing on the freedom to marry, and transgender and racial justice for the last five-plus years. This is a transformational moment for Basic Rights Oregon and the LGBTQ movement. We need to evolve with it.”
Haque has more than 18 years of professional experience, including seven years as the Building Political Power Director at Western States Center, where she led a voter organizing training and empowerment project and managed the 2013 Racial Equity Report Card for Oregon.
Haque also spent eight years working on economic justice issues, including stints with Portland and National Jobs with Justice and with AFL-CIO. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Evergreen State College and a Master’s of Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The organization is completing its next strategic plan. As a part of the process, the organization heard back from more than 1,000 community members and supporters statewide via an online survey, listening sessions and 1-on-1 interviews. There was a clear consensus that in order for all LGBTQ Oregonians to experience lived equality, we will need to focus in these communities: LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ people of color, transgender Oregonians and LGBTQ people living outside Portland.
“Nancy’s experience in organizational development within a social justice context will be a great asset to the organization as it goes through this transformation,” said Board Co-Chair Anita Rodgers. “As a queer woman of color she also brings new leadership perspective that will inform Basic Rights Oregon’s work in the coming years. This is an exciting and unprecedented time in our movement. We believe Nancy and Jeana are the right team to lead us through this next chapter.”
