Nadine Smith

Nadine Smith has been executive director of Equality Florida since its inception in 1997, and was executive director of its predecessor, the Human Rights Task Force of Florida prior to that. She joined the organization in 1993 after serving as one of four national co-chairs on the 1993 March on Washington and taking part in the historic, first-ever meeting between LGBT leaders and a sitting U.S. president (Clinton) in the White House. She began her activism in college and In 1986 and served on the founding board of the International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organization a group that continues to be a resource for young people across the globe. Nadine has also served four terms as co-chair of the Equality Federation and served as a member of the Democratic National Committee. She has led advocacy efforts in Florida at the state level at a time of unprecedented attacks on the LGBT community, initially serving as Equality Florida’s lead lobbyist in Tallahassee and heading efforts to stop discriminatory legislation and ballot measures and to overturn Florida’s ban on adoption by gay and lesbian parents. Nadine has been recognized for her national and state leadership by organizations around the nation, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Black Lesbian and Gay leadership Forum and others. A former award-winning journalist, Nadine has written syndicated columns for various LGBT and general audience publications. She currently serves as chair of the Leadership Team for State Voices Florida a coalition of progressive 501c3 organizations. In 2013, she was named by Florida Diversity Council as one of the “Most Powerful and Influential Women” in Florida.