Honoring Randi Weingarten and Antonious Porch

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers

Antonious Porch, General Counsel & Chief Diversity Officer at SoundCloud

Wednesday, November 8th
6 pm to 8 pm Eastern

Marriott Marquis Times Square
1535 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

ABOUT RANDI

Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, a union of 1.7 million teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators. The AFT is dedicated to the belief that every person in America deserves the freedom to thrive, fueled by opportunity, justice and a voice in our democracy.

Prior to her election as AFT president in 2008, Weingarten served for 11 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2, representing approximately 200,000 educators in the New York City public school system, as well as home child care providers and other workers in health, law and education. Weingarten taught history at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood from 1991 to 1997, and helped her students win several state and national awards debating constitutional issues. Weingarten was included in Washingtonian’s 2021 Washington’s Most Influential People, and in 2013, the New York Observer named Weingarten one of the most influential New Yorkers of the past 25 years.

Weingarten holds degrees from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Cardozo School of Law. She worked as a lawyer for the Wall Street firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan from 1983 to 1986. She is an active member of the Democratic National Committee and numerous professional, civic, religious and philanthropic organizations. Born in 1957 and raised in Rockland County, N.Y., Weingarten now resides in the Inwood neighborhood of New York City.

ABOUT ANTONIOUS

Antonious Porch is the General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer at SoundCloud, a leading music entertainment company.

In his role as General Counsel, Porch is responsible for the company’s business affairs, legal affairs and public policy strategy, and the management of its global team of legal experts in content licensing, copyright, data protection and privacy, and corporate matters. In 2020, Porch was appointed as SoundCloud’s Chief Diversity Officer, leading efforts to ensure the company consistently delivers on an integrated diversity, equity and inclusion strategy that is globally relevant and cross-functionally aligned to business outcomes. Porch also serves as the
executive sponsor of the SoundCloud Community Fund, which externally supports advancing social justice and equality, and the mental health and well-being of the creator community.

Porch speaks openly and proudly at a range of events, including for the National Bar Association, Out for Undergrad and Native Son. He has been instrumental in key legal battles in the Gay Rights movement, including representing the Rev. Gregory Dell during his defrocking church trial for blessing the relationship of two gay men, and on the board of the Service Members Legal Defense Network, fighting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Porch holds a current board role with International Radio and Television Society Foundation, ensuring educational
programmes cater to a diverse range of upcoming talent in the media industry.

A Chicago native, he is a graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School and also successfully completed a cable executive management program at Harvard Business School. He currently lives and works in New York City.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association and Foundation is proud to honor legal professionals who advance LGBTQ+ equality through words and actions to create more secure and welcoming workplaces. We invite you to join us as we honor our Board Presidents for their efforts to recognize and expand LGBTQ+ legal diversity in the profession.

For more information about sponsoring this and future events, please contact Seth Rosen or Nicole Fox by email (seth@lgbtqbar.org, nicole@lgbtqbar.org) or phone (202.637.7663).