GLAAD

History

Formed in New York City as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in 1985 to protest against what it saw as the New York Post's defamatory and sensationalized AIDS coverage, GLAAD put pressure on media organizations to end what it saw as homophobic reporting. Initial meetings were held in the homes of several New York City activists as well as after-hours at the New York State Council on the Arts.

This core founding group included film scholar Vito Russo; translator Gregory Kolovakos, then on the staff of the NYS Arts Council and who later became the organization's first executive director; Jewelle Gomez, the organization's first treasurer; writers Darrell Yates Rist, Marcia Pally and Allen Barnett; New York Native then-editor Barry Adkins; Russo's fellow Gay Activists Alliance veterans Arnie Kantrowitz, Marty Robinson, Jim Owles and Hal Offen; and music critic Bruce Michael-Gelbert.

In 1987, after a meeting with GLAAD, The New York Times changed its editorial policy to use the word "gay" instead of harsher terms referring to homosexuality. GLAAD advocated that the Associated Press and other television and print news sources follow. GLAAD's influence soon spread to Los Angeles, where organizers began working with the entertainment industry to change the way the gay and lesbian community was portrayed on screen.

Entertainment Weekly has named GLAAD as one of Hollywood's most powerful entities, and the Los Angeles Times described GLAAD as "possibly one of the most successful organizations lobbying the media for inclusion".

Within the first five years of its founding in New York as the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Defamation League (soon after changed to "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" after legal pressure by the Anti-Defamation League), GLAAD chapters had been established in Los Angeles and other cities, with the LA chapter becoming particularly influential due to its proximity to the California entertainment industry. GLAAD/NY and GLAAD/LA would eventually vote to merge in 1994, with other city chapters joining soon afterward; however, the chapters continue to exist, with the ceremonies of the GLAAD Media Awards being divided each year into three ceremonies held in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Following the 2011 resignation of Jarrett Barrios from the GLAAD presidency, Mike Thompson served as interim president until the announcement of Herndon Graddick, previously GLAAD's vice-president of Programs and Communications, to the presidency on April 15, 2012. Graddick is the younger son of Charles Graddick of Mobile, a circuit court judge and the former attorney general of Alabama.

2013 name change

On March 24, 2013, GLAAD announced that they had formally dropped "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" from their name and would now be known only as GLAAD to reflect their work more accurately. The name change was a commitment to incorporate bisexual and transgender people in their efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety. Jennifer Finney Boylan was chosen as the first openly transgender co-chair of GLAAD's National Board of Directors.

Executives

Sarah Kate Ellis is the current president and CEO of GLAAD. Ellis took the positions in 2014 and under her leadership GLAAD's revenue grew by 38%. In 2015, Ellis promoted Nick Adams to the newly created position of director of transgender media & representation. Adams started working at GLAAD in 1998 and had previously been GLAAD's director of communications & special projects.

In 2022, Ellis renegotiated her contract with GLAAD, receiving a $150,000 signing bonus and a base salary of $441,000 per year with automatic 5% annual increases through 2027, plus performance and discretionary bonuses that the New York Times reported could bring total annual compensation into the high six or low seven figures (GLAAD stated that the upper end was "practically impossible").

In August 2024, the New York Times published an investigation into a "pattern of lavish spending" at GLAAD, much of it by Ellis. Reviewing expense reports and receipts from January 2022 through June 2023, the paper reported more than 30 first class flights, stays at luxury hotels including the Waldorf Astoria, expensive car services, a $25,000 annual allowance for a summer rental in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and approximately $18,000-$20,000 to remodel Ellis's home office (including a chandelier and other furnishings). The organization also covered costs associated with a week-long stay at a seven-bedroom chalet near the World Economic Forum in Davos and travel to the Cannes Lions festival. Nonprofit experts cited by the Times said some of the spending and how it was treated may have conflicted with GLAAD's internal policies and IRS rules on executive compensation and benefits for tax-exempt organizations. Former GLAAD chief financial officer Emily Plauché had raised internal concerns about the spending.

GLAAD defended Ellis's leadership and the expenses as necessary to the organization's work, stating that some items (including the Davos lodging) were covered by external donors and that certain costs were later reimbursed or policy changes were made. A subsequent Washington Blade op-ed by former GLAAD vice-president Zeke Stokes contested the Times' reporting as "riddled with bad reporting, innuendo, lies, mistruths, facts out of context, and misinformation."

GLAAD/NY executive directors (1985–1994)

• Gregory Kolovakos (1985–1987)
• Craig Davidson (1987–1990)
• Ellen Carton (1991–1995)

GLAAD early board members/officers

• Christopher Borden Paine (1985–?)
• Amy Bauer (1986–?)

GLAAD/LA executive directors (pre-1994)

• Richard Jennings and Jehan Agrama (1989–1992)
• Peter M. Nardi (1992–1993)
• Fhag Höt (1992–1994)
• Lee Werbel (1993–1994)

Post-merger (1994–present)

• William Waybourn (as national managing director; 1995 – 1997)
• Joan M. Garry (1997 – June 2005)
• Neil Giuliano (September 2005 – June 2009)
• J. Michael Durnil (interim; June – September 2009)
• Jarrett Barrios (September 2009 – June 2011)
• Mike Thompson (acting) (June 2011 – 2012)
• Herndon Graddick (April 2012 – May 2013)
• Kurt Wentzell (June 2000 - September 2022)
• Dave Montez (May 2013 – November 2013)
• Sarah Kate Ellis (2013 – present)

Other executives

• Scott Seomin
• John Sonego