Matt comes to Equality Connecticut with 15 years of experience in LGBTQIA+ and HIV activism and nonprofit administration. After graduating from the University of Connecticut with a B.A. in English, Matt began his career as a Field Organizer for Love Makes a Family, working in communities around Connecticut to galvanize support for same-sex marriage. Simultaneously, Matt worked on the HIV Prevention team at the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective. In 2009, Matt joined the Elton John AIDS Foundation where he spent 10 years working on a grant-making program addressing HIV treatment access, prevention, and the systemic causes of the HIV epidemic in the United States. In 2019, Matt set up a small consulting practice that supports social justice organizations in fundraising, strategic planning, and project management. He is really excited to work with fellow advisory board members and the community at large to build a lasting queer-led social justice organization in Connecticut. With deep roots in the Prospect/Greater Waterbury area, Matt is continually drawn to the beauty and vibrancy of Connecticut’s cities and people. Matt is driven by a fierce commitment to advocacy, movement building, social development, and cultural production that build solidarity across social justice movements among queer people.
Matt can be reached at matt@eqct.org.
Leah Juliett is an award-winning writer, community educator, public speaker, social media strategist, campaign builder, and engagement expert with a decade of LGBTQ+ advocacy and organizing experience. Leah is a bestselling author, two-time TED speaker, passionate speechwriter, and lived-experience expert on the subjects of image-based, gender-based, sexual, and hate-motivated violence. A lifelong Connecticut resident raised in Greater Waterbury, Leah comes to Equality Connecticut with a well-established commitment to Connecticut’s queer and trans community. Leah has worked in Congress with Senate Democrats, consulted with global and national policy leaders, and alongside influential organizations like GLAAD, L’Oreal Paris, and Lesbians Who Tech to develop brand voices and language that generate empathy, drive power, and inspire political change. Leah fights for democracy with diversity and empathy-driven communications––from Congress to Connecticut and back.