National Center for Lesbian Rights NCLR hires New Deputy Director

by Melanie Nathan, Feb. 06, 2012, 10.20 am.

After a long and thorough national search for a new deputy director, NCLR is announcing that they have found the perfect fit in Arcelia Hurtado,  who is one of the nation’s leading civil rights attorneys.

Hurtado will be joining NCLR staff in April as the new deputy director, responsible for overseeing our day-to-day operations and helping to lead future planning, strategy, and development initiatives.

For the last two years, she has served as the executive director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), a San Francisco-based civil rights organization dedicated to advancing equal opportunity for women and girls through impact litigation and advocacy.

“We are incredibly excited to have Arcelia join NCLR, bringing with her a strong progressive vision and a wealth of organizational and legal experience. Her skills, values, and leadership are a great match for us, and her voice and talents will elevate NCLR and the impact of our work across the country.

Arcelia is equally thrilled to join our staff, telling me that she hopes to “continue and strengthen NCLR’s legacy of cutting edge litigation and commitment to social justice” and that she’s “very grateful for this opportunity to work on behalf of LGBT equality and inclusion, and use the experience and skills I have gained in my past positions to help NCLR continue its great work.” Kate Kendell, NCLR Executive Director  notes.

Arcelia hails from Southern Texas and has a wealth of experience. She earned her law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and has devoted her career to protecting the rights of women, immigrants, and criminal defendants.

Before leading ERA, the organization that originally sponsored NCLR, she was a deputy public defender for San Francisco County and Santa Clara County, and taught constitutional and criminal law at Bay Area law schools. Arcelia, who resides in San Francisco with her spouse, Nicole, and their two children, is also an accomplished writer.

You can find some of her pieces on the Huffington Post, as well as other outlets, where she often writes on a wide range of social justice and civil rights issues.

Arcelia will be based in NCLR’s San Francisco headquarters, replacing former Deputy Director Kris Hermanns, who left NCLR in December 2011 to lead the Seattle-based Pride Foundation as its new executive director.