Sunitha Menon (Photo – EqualityCalifornia)
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have made history, appointing an Executive Director to lead the County’s LGBTQ+ Commission, which will make recommendations to the Board on future policies to ensure greater inclusivity and equity.
By News Desk
The Board of Supervisors selected Sunitha Menon to serve as the first-ever Executive Director of the newly created LGBTQ+ Commission, where she will lead efforts to review, recommend, and propose policies, budgets, legislation, and programs impacting the LGBTQ+ community. As a first-generation queer person of color, Sunitha Menon has seen firsthand how inequalities and discrimination have affected the health, safety, and well-being of marginalized communities.
Sunitha Menon previously served as Managing Director of Operations at Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, where she led strategic planning and developed and executed a comprehensive culture change plan focused on expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the organization.
Menon said, “Although we’d like to think that California and Los Angeles County specifically have been immune to the hateful attacks and rhetoric that have impacted so much of our community across the country, we face safety concerns, discrimination, and hate every day. I am confident that with my experience and the support of our diverse commissioners, the Board of Supervisors, and importantly, the wider LGBTQ+ community, we will be able to fight for our rights, our safety, and create a county where all LGBTQ+ people can thrive.”
Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn co-authored a motion in June 2023 to create the County’s first-ever LGBTQ+ Commission to review and make recommendations on new policies on practices and protocols that impact LGBTQ+ communities.
According to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relation’s 2021 Hate Crime Report, 89 percent of the hate crimes against gay men, and 93 percent of anti-transgender crimes, involved violence. And research has found that attempted suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth are significantly higher than among the general population.
Menon was responsible for establishing the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s Chat program, which provides immediate mental health support to those in crisis. She also created and ran the first Consulting Services Department at RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization where she worked with companies, government organizations, and nonprofits with the goal to prevent sexual violence and support survivors.
Leave a Reply