Atlanta mayor creates city's first-ever Director of LGBTQ Affairs position

ATLANTA - Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms created the City’s first-ever Director of LGBTQ Affairs position and has appointed additional members to the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board.

Atlanta is among only a handful of cities in the country to establish a full-time position that advises the Mayor and senior City Officials.

The City of Atlanta’s LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator, Malik Brown, will now serve as Director of LGBTQ Affairs. Brown will work with and advise the Mayor and City departments on policies, programs and initiatives affecting LGBTQ residents, City employees and visitors, including cultural humility training.

Brown, a lifelong Atlanta resident, is an established LGBTQ advocate and an Executive Committee member of the Human Rights Campaign’s National Board of Governors, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the country.

“Since taking office, our Administration has prioritized the well-being and advancement of Atlanta’s large and diverse LGBTQ community and municipal LGBTQ affairs,” said Mayor Bottoms. “By creating a Director-level LGBTQ Affairs position in the Mayor’s Office and continuing the work of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board, we are creating institutional support for LGBTQ Atlantans.”

Mayor Bottoms also announced the latest members of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board, composed of citywide LGBTQ civic leaders, influencers, and advocates. New members of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board represent many of the diverse voices in Atlanta’s LGBTQ community, including trans and non-binary people, LGBTQ people of color, healthcare professionals, straight allies, Jewish residents, and more. The Director of LGBTQ Affairs will serve as the City’s liaison to the Board.

Focus areas of the Director of LGBTQ Affairs and the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board include:
•    LGBTQ Youth
•    LGBTQ Arts Entertainment and Culture
•    Trans Affairs
•    LGBTQ Health
•    LGBTQ Economic and Community Development