Anya Lynn-Alesker (They/She) joined the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association & Foundation as Executive Director in September. They are an activist, educator, facilitator, and lawyer dedicated to elevating the needs and lived experiences of 2SLGBTQI+ communities and honoring their resilience and survivorship. For almost 20 years Anya has used the law as an instrument of empowerment with an anti-oppression framework and a deep belief in the vision of a beloved community.
Where did you work before joining the National LGBTQ+ Bar?
As Chief Counsel and Managing Attorney at the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence for almost 15 years, I worked with a team to elevate the practice of gender-based violence attorneys around the country. By incorporating the lives of survivors, centering the experiences of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, immigrants, low-income communities, disabled folks, Indigenous communities, people of color, and those living at multiple intersections, my team deepened the profession’s practices to illustrate how the law fails to meet the needs of our communities while envisioning and implementing new possibilities of practice and action. I feel lucky to have worked with such wonderful people for so long!
What inspired you to pursue a career in law?
My life and world view have been framed by the politics of inclusion and exclusion, marginalization and resistance. As a first-generation immigrant, queer, and nerd(!), it became clear to me at a young age that I needed to help build the different, better world I dreamed of if I really wanted that world to exist. Social justice, “good trouble,” and community service have been a core part of my identity since and have led me to become the activist, educator, facilitator, and lawyer that I am. I am dedicated to elevating the needs and lived experiences of LGBTQ+ communities and honoring their resilience and survivorship. I view the law as an instrument of empowerment to be used with an anti-oppression framework and a deep belief in the vision of a Beloved Community.
What motivated you to serve as Executive Director at the LGBTQ+ Bar?
I believe that the National LGBTQ+ Bar plays a key role in building the world that LGBTQ+ people and our allies want. We convene our collective community members, create space for dialogue, education, and strategy building, and we foster space for LGBTQ+ joy. Our communities are overtly under attack across the country. While the anti LGBTQ+ vitriol (particularly that focused on our trans and non-binary and/or BIPOC community members) has predated our contemporary moment in time, this is a particularly dark period in our collective history. I felt moved to work with all of you to support and advocate for our communities, and I am here to serve.
Why does the LGBTQ+ Bar matter today, and what role does it play in the legal profession?
I want to share a story that I believe really speaks to why we matter. A few days ago, I met with an attorney – a partner at a small firm – who has been a long-time LGBTQ+ Bar member and Lavender Law® participant. This attorney is the only out and known (to them) LGBTQ+ person in their workplace and general practice. They were speaking to me about the magic of what the Bar brings through our convening at Lavender Law®, both professionally and personally. One year they flew into the city hosting Lavender Law® and hopped into a cab to the conference hotel. They got out of the cab, walked into the lobby, and said, “Oh no, this isn’t it.” They were at the wrong hotel. When you walk into the lobby at Lavender Law®, you step into the heart of our LGBTQ+ legal community, and you feel it!
This past year we had over 2300 participants in Washington, D.C. The rooms were full, and the energy was high! Community matters, especially at this time in history when we are under overt attack. We matter because there is comfort, beauty, and power in being with community and being with allies who support us.
The LGBTQ+ Bar is a place for convening. The LGBTQ+ Bar is a place for career development through our Lavender Law® career fair, job boards, law school work, affiliate programming, and mentorship opportunities. Our DEI Consulting Practice works directly with employers to make workplaces and the profession more LGBTQ+ affirming and not just inclusive. Our judicial nominations work supports entry into the judiciary for brilliant LGBTQ+ minds, interested in upholding the rule of law. And we have more opportunities on the horizon!
What is a highlight of your first month at the LGBTQ+ Bar?
On a personal level, I have loved getting to know the incredible and dedicated staff and Board members at the Bar. My goal is to continue connecting with and getting to know all of you, to learn about your needs and how we may meet them. In terms of professional events, the clear highlight was attending our Washington, D.C. Out & Proud Award event on my third day of work. We were privileged to honor Stuart Spencer (Managing Counsel, Specialized Regulatory and Government Response, Tyson Foods Inc.) and Henrique Canarim (Vice President, Senior Assistant General Counsel, Leidos). Both shared moving stories about their journeys from youth to the present day – they were authentic, thoughtful, and funny. What really tugged at my heartstrings was that they both are committed to mentoring more junior LGBTQ+ attorneys – they both look far beyond themselves in their professional roles. That’s the underlying spirit of the LGBTQ+ Bar and the community we build together. We are not alone. We build together.
Do you have a favorite part of the LGBTQ+ Bar’s Annual Lavender Law® Conference and Career Fair, or a favorite memory from a past Lavender Law®?
Without question my favorite part of Lavender Law® is being in community with so many other LGBTQ+ people. Over the years it has been a place of reunion and joy, collective rage and grief, and the place to connect to some of the most brilliant thought partners a person could ask for to organize and mobilize. The conference has grown so much from when I first attended – both in participant numbers and generous sponsors. We are running out of room and that is a joyous problem!
What is your vision for the future of the LGBTQ+ Bar?
The LGBTQ+ Bar plays a key role in building the world that we want. By convening our collective community members, creating space for dialogue, providing high quality educational opportunities, facilitating and partnering in LGBTQ+ legal strategy building, mentoring the next generation of LGBTQ+ lawyers, judges, and law professors, sharing the wisdom of our elders, and addressing the intersectional harms experienced by our community members – we uphold the rule of law, strengthen the legal profession as a whole, and do so while simultaneously creating opportunities for collective action and joy. And yes, that was a run-on sentence and it was necessary!
Why should LGBTQ+ and ally legal professionals and law students become members of the LGBTQ+ Bar?
We are a community-based member association – we exist because of and for you! Our role is to serve LGBTQ+ legal professionals and to advocate to support our collective and individual abilities to thrive. We create a space of strength, support and affirmation for our members, address and name the intersectional harms that our community members navigate in their professional and personal lives, and convene spaces for dialogue, relationship building, and career mentorship. We collaborate with and support our local affiliate LGBTQ+ bar association and law student leaders. We advocate to increase access to the profession for LGBTQ+ people and recognize that we are not a monolithic community and need to honor the differing experiences and needs of all our community members.
Why should law students, new attorneys and people deep into their careers join? We offer career resources, opportunities for leadership and professional development, and we advocate for equal opportunity in the workplace and law schools for LGBTQ+ people. And we can and will do so much more with your involvement and contributions!
It is a challenging time for LGBTQ+ people in America. What makes you hopeful for the future?
Our community and allies make me hopeful. Audre Lorde said that “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” We do not have to be afraid alone. We must stay the course, love each other, and keep working towards the vision of the Beloved Community of which we dream. These are absolutely scary times – and it must be acknowledged that we are all experiencing them through varying spaces of privilege. It is my deep hope that we can learn from the lessons of the past, from movements that were not inclusive of all our community members, to make sure that we are moving forward together. I believe in us.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
I love karaoke and I am all passion and no voice.