THE STORIES
The Voyagers on the Mothership
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Appointed by President Biden, Jessica Stern serves as the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Persons. Special Envoy Stern leads U.S. efforts to protect LGBTQI+ persons globally from violence and discrimination. Prior to joining the Department of State, Stern led Outright International, a global LGBTQI+ human rights organization, as its Executive Director for ten years. At Outright, Stern helped the organization secure observer status at the United Nations, release human rights reports annually, built the world’s largest COVID LGBTQI+ grant-making program, and quintupled the budget. Before Outright, Stern was a researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. Stern has a long history of multilateral engagement. She was a founding member of the UN LGBTI Core Group and of its secretariat. Stern successfully campaigned for the first UN General Assembly resolution to include gender identity and for successive Human Rights Council resolutions on sexual orientation and gender identity, leading to the establishment of the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Stern provided the first LGBTQI+ rights expert testimony in a UN Security Council Arria. Stern has frequently served as an advisor to UN mechanisms, including as a founding member of the UNWomen LGBTI Reference Group. Stern is a published author, is frequently cited in the media, and is the recipient of numerous honors, including from Crain’s New York Business, Gay City News, and the Metropolitan Community Church. As an adjunct associate professor, Special Envoy Stern taught the first LGBTQI+ rights course at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs. Special Envoy Stern has lived in Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
Featured in Episode 1:
From Queer Joy to Global Justice: My interview with Jessica Stern on a journey of advocacy and empowerment. Growing up queer in New York, finding mentors working in a bookstore (yes!) and the stunning invitation to become one of the top diplomats for the United States at a time of hope.
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For thirty years, Alisa Gravitz has led Green America, the national green economy organization. Green America develops marketplace solutions to social and environmental problems with a key focus on tackling climate change, building fair trading systems, stopping corporate abuse, and growing the green economy.
A conversation on the power of storytelling, environmental justice, and community-led change. 🌱✨ Bama Athreya and Alisa Gravitz reflect on the shift toward renewable energy, the founding of Green America, and how everyday choices can drive a more sustainable future.
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You may know Latanya Mapp as the author of Everyday Feminist, a collection of stories of the extraordinary women she met during her time leading international feminist organizations like Global Fund for Women. But her book begged the question: what about Latanya’s own story? We talk about her roots as a ‘straight-up Philly girl,’ her formative professional years in the midst of extraordinary changes in post-apartheid South Africa, and the importance of knowing our own history.
You may know Latanya Mapp as the author of The Everyday Feminist, a collection of stories about remarkable women she met during her time leading international feminist organizations like Global Fund for Women. But her book begged the question: what about Latanya’s own story? We talk about her roots as a “straight-up Philly girl,” her formative professional years in post-apartheid South Africa, and the importance of knowing our history.