May 18, 2017
Equality North Carolina Announces Interim Executive Director and Search Committee Co-Chairs
Matt Hirschy, current member of Equality NC senior staff will serve as interim ED; Donna Oldham and Andrew Spainhour will co-chair national search process
Today, Equality North Carolina announced Matt Hirschy will serve as interim Executive Director of the organization during the search for a permanent Executive Director. Hirschy has served as a member of Equality North Carolina’s leadership team for nearly 3 years and has played a crucial role in the organization’s electoral, programmatic, and advocacy work. Hirschy will take on the new role at the end of Chris Sgro’s tenure in late May. Sgro announced his departure last week.
Board chairs Jeanne Kutrow and Rick McDermott are also excited to announce that Donna Oldham of Charlotte and Andrew Spainhour of Greensboro will serve as co-chairs of a nationwide search to identify a permanent successor to Sgro. The full search committee will consist of diverse members from across the state and include people representing community partners as well as Equality NC board members.
“Equality North Carolina is excited to embark on this search process and thrilled to have talented board and community participation in the process. Donna and Andrew will provide thoughtful leadership over the comprehensive, national search for our next Executive Director,” said Kutrow and McDermott. “We know that in the interim, Matt Hirschy will provide a stable and steady voice for Equality NC. He has already worked in a leadership capacity with us for years, and has a deep understanding of our work to protect all LGBTQ North Carolinians from discrimination.”
Equality North Carolina has successfully built strong coalitions of business and faith leaders to do crucial public education around non-discrimination protections across the state. The organization has been a vital advocacy voice at the General Assembly, fighting discriminatory legislation like HB2 and HB142, while advancing pro-LGBTQ measures. ENC played a lead role in both municipal and statewide elections in 2015 and 2016, successfully electing pro-equality candidates up and down the ticket. All of this vital work will continue in the interim during this search process.