The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund Announce New Senior Staff Members
WASHINGTON – Today, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund announced the addition of three new senior staff members: Allyn Brooks-LaSure, Vice President for Communications; Bethany Criss-June, Managing Director of Development; and Christine Soyong Harley, Census Campaign Director.
“We are proud to welcome these outstanding additions to our talented staff,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund. “Each of these new Leadership Conference staff will be critical to our organization’s capacity for the ongoing work, and especially as part of our fight for justice, equality, and inclusion during particularly challenging times.”
Allyn Brooks-LaSure is the Vice President for Communications. He most recently served in domestic and overseas assignments as a U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer. As UK Desk Officer, he supported U.S. policymakers in strengthening the U.S.-UK diplomatic, economic, and defense partnership. Before that, he served as the climate communications advisor in the State Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs, where he led efforts to showcase U.S. leadership on climate change leading up to, during, and following the 2015 Paris climate talks. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Allyn served as deputy associate administrator for external affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency under Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. Brooks-LaSure has also served as spokesman for two U.S. senators, the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, and the Save Darfur Coalition. He is also a 2016 International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) Fellow. Brooks-LaSure is a graduate of The Citadel.
Bethany Criss-June is the Managing Director of Development. She most recently served as National Director of Membership for the NAACP. Over her six years of service, she increased digital activism and built a stronger multi-generational, multi-racial, and multi-ethnic membership base. Prior to the NAACP, she served as Development Director for a DC regional theater, Executive Director for a DC based nonprofit advocacy organization, and Director of Programs and Development for (the now digital) America’s Black Holocaust Museum. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Christine Soyong Harley is the Census Campaign Director. She most recently served as Deputy Director for the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA). Prior to joining NCAPA, Harley was the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders where she led policy and program initiatives supporting AAPI engagement with, and increased access to, federal programs. She has previously held leadership and policy roles at the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, and at the Illinois Department of Human Services. Harley received her B.A. from Oberlin College and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund’s campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. For more information on The Education Fund, visit http://leadershipconferenceedfund.org/.