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A message from Brad Sears, Founding Executive Director

Dear Friends,

It has been my honor to be able to return to the Williams Institute and serve as Interim Executive Director for the past four years. I will wrap up that interim period at the end of this calendar year, returning to my roles with UCLA Law and the Williams Institute before 2020.

I'm thrilled to announce that starting in January 2025, the Williams Institute's Legal Director, Christy Mallory, will serve as our Interim Executive Director as we begin a national search to fill the position. I appreciate your support during this time of transition. Working together with you, our Founders Council, and the incredible team at the Williams Institute, we saw the Institute through the early days of the pandemic and the passing of one of our founding donors, Chuck Williams. We also celebrated the Institute's 20th Anniversary; grew the staff of our international, legal, communications, development, and administrative teams; and increased the organization's annual budget from $3.6 million to $6 million.

And our research has continued to have an incredible impact. We have published over 180 reports, articles, public comments, model policies, and amicus briefs during the past four years. Our work has shown the negative impacts of anti-transgender legislation and the positive benefits of over 20 years of marriage equality in the United States. We have done original surveys on LGBTQ+ issues from Los Angeles County to China. We have connected broader issues such as rising housing costs, mass incarceration, and climate change to LGBTQ+ people. Our work has continued to focus on the most vulnerable--and the most resilient-- parts of LGBTQ+ communities, including transgender and non-binary people, PLWH, and LGBTQ+ people of color, youth, older adults, and immigrants.

During the past four years, our work has been cited thousands of times in the media, several executive orders issued by President Biden, two Supreme Court opinions, and by Congress and state legislatures throughout the country. But most importantly, it has continued to impact people's daily lives. Over the past year, I have heard directly from parents who said that our research made them realize how important it was for them to accept their children fully, from employees who used our research to change policies at their companies, and from students who decided to pursue higher education focused on LGBTQ+ research and policy because of our work.

Just this past Sunday, at our annual UniTy event, I had one of these conversations that profoundly impacted me. A person who I have known since the early 2000s told me they were coming out as transgender. After waiting decades, they could finally have the surgery they needed--the first ever performed at one of LA's hospitals--because Medicare now covers the procedure. The conversation was a powerful and personal reminder of how Williams Institute research and community come together to support not just policy, but people.

Of course, our work is far from done. This election cycle confronts us with that reality daily. But just as the Williams Institute has stayed the course for the last two decades, I am confident it will continue to do so for decades to come. The current leadership bench at the Williams Institute has never been deeper or stronger. More specifically, I know Christy Mallory will provide incredible leadership for the Institute because she has already done so. She brings over 16 years of experience with the Williams Institute. She has been involved in every aspect of our work, including leading our legal team, engaging in our communications work, working with foundations and funders, meeting UCLA's administrative challenges, directing her incredible research projects, and engaging with policymakers and community partners. I am excited to see and support the next chapter of the Williams Institute's history.

Thank you so much for your continued support of me and the Williams Institute.

With deep appreciation,
Brad

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law is an academic research institute dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.


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