Rashad Robinson

Rashad Robinson is President of Color Of Change, a leading online racial justice organization. Rashad has led the organization in developing cutting-edge strategies to accelerate reform in the criminal justice system and win justice for its victims, increase electoral participation, cut off corporate support for right-wing organizations, and change the representation of Black people and social issues in news and entertainment media. Previously, Rashad served as Senior Director of Programs at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), leading all of the organization’s advocacy, strategic research, messaging and large-scale media campaigns. These winning culture change and narrative change initiatives helped transform the media landscape, successfully paving the way for broad acceptance and justice for LGBTQ people. Robinson previously served as Communications Director for the Right to Vote Campaign, a national collaboration of eight major civil rights and voting organizations – including the NAACP, People for the American Way and the ACLU. He also served as National Field Director with the Center for Voting and Democracy. In 2003, he was lead organizer for the Claim Democracy Conference, which featured national civil rights leaders, presidential candidates and congressional leaders. Rashad has been recognized as someone to watch by the Ebony Power 100, “The Root 100 for 2010” - a list of emerging and influential African Americans, and Crain’s New York Business 40 under 40. He is the proud recipient of awards from organizations as varied as ADCOLOR, the United Church of Christ and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation. Rashad serves on the board of the Hazen Foundation.