Among another round of presidential nominees announced this week was an openly lesbian law professor who is set to head the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, marking the first time an openly LGBT person has been nominated to the EEOC.
On Tuesday, President Obama nominated Chai Feldblum, a Georgetown University law professor, as the new EEOC commissioner.
Feldblum’s nomination was announced among several others, including ambassadors to the Organization of American States and the United Nations, and Obama issued a statement expressing confidence in the skills of all the nominees.
“This group brings a dedication and expertise in their fields that will serve this administration and the American people well,” the president said. “As we work to advance equal rights, keep our nation safe and put our country back on a path to prosperity, I look forward to working with these fine individuals in the months and years ahead.”
Feldblum is the founder and director of Georgetown Law’s Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic, which trains law students to enter the field of legislative law. Before coming to Georgetown in 1991, she served as legislative counsel to the AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she handled numerous HIV/AIDS-related cases and helped draft legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. She was also one of the crafters of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which broadened the scope of the nondiscrimination legislation.
Feldblum, who received her law degree from Harvard Law School, is a longtime LGBT advocate and one of the crafters of previous versions of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, federal legislation that would prohibit workplace discrimination against LGBT employees. In the early ’90s, she served as legal director for the Campaign for Military Service, an agency that fought against the implementation of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Feldblum has also written numerous scholarly papers and articles on LGBT issues, such as a paper on the intersection of sexual orientation and religion and legal commentary on Proposition 8, the California referendum that overturned same-sex marriage in the state.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, lauded Obama’s selection.
“Professor Feldblum’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Americans makes her eminently qualified for commissioner of the EEOC,” Solmonese said.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].