Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center

In Memory of Paula L. Ettelbrick - October 2, 1955 - October 7, 2011

Photo of Paula Ettelbrick and Ginny Apuzzo at the 2009 Come Out and Find Out Conference

The Center mourns the loss of Paula L. Ettelbrick, a powerful advocate in the fight for LGBTQ civil rights. Over the past 25 years, Ettelbrick held leadership positions in a number of influential rights groups, including Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission,

Photo by Barbara Fried

the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Empire State Pride Agenda, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Stonewall Community Foundation.

Paula gave the keynote address at our 2009 Come Out and Find Out Conference, where she inspired the audience by "tracing...our history and our challenges” and putting "LGBTQ rights...into the context of universal rights”.

As Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, stated in an email, “Paula was so many things to so many people — her family, the movement, the New York City and global queer communities...First and foremost I can say that I found her to be so genuinely deeply unfalteringly committed to our liberation as LGBT people.”

Other Tributes to Paula Ettelbrick

New York Times
Dykes to Watch Out for Blog
GLAAD
The Advocate
The Washington Blade