Jonathan Lovitz

Jonathan Lovitz (born July 19, 1984) is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocate, small business and public policy advocate, community organizer, former actor, and the Senior Vice President[1] of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce since 2015. He previously served as Communications Director and acting Executive Director of StartOut. Prior to advocacy, Lovitz was a performer in multiple national tours of Broadway shows, regional theatres, and television shows.

For the comedian and actor, see Jon Lovitz.
Jonathan Lovitz
Born (1984-07-19) July 19, 1984
Alma materUniversity of Florida
OrganizationNational LGBT Chamber of Commerce
TitleSenior Vice President
MovementLGBT rights movement
Spouse(s)Steven Sosna

Career

Lovitz toured the United States with two national touring productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar from 2006–2008. After moving to New York City in 2008, Lovitz worked in regional theaters and began taking small roles on television. In 2011 Lovitz joined Logo TV[2] as an on-air interviewer for LGBT issues, as well as one of the hosts of Setup Squad.

Lovitz's public profile as an LGBT advocate was raised in 2011 when he refused to serve on a New York City jury,[3] citing the lack of equal protections and marriage equality for LGBT citizens in the state. This led to multiple appearances on MSNBC[4] and NPR that year.

Lovitz joined the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce in 2015 as Vice President of External Affairs and Director of nglccNY;[5] he has served as Senior Vice President since 2016. At the NGLCC, Lovitz oversees media relations and public policy initiatives focused on the LGBT business community. As head of the NGLCC advocacy division, he led the efforts to write, lobby for, and implement policies for the inclusion of certified LGBT Business Enterprises (LGBTBEs) in cities including Los Angeles, CA;[6] Chicago, IL;[7] Miami, FL;[8] Orlando, FL;[9] Nashville, TN; Baltimore, MD;[10] Seattle, WA;[11] and Jersey City, NJ.[12]

In 2018, Business Equality Magazine named Lovitz one of its "40 LGBTQ Leaders Under 40" for his contributions to the LGBT rights movement.[13] He was named to the 40 Under 40 list[14] by the Philadelphia Business Journal in April 2019. The Advocate Magazine named Lovitz one of their 2019 Queer Icons in August 2019.[15]

Lovitz served on the Red Tape Commission for New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer; and is a pro-bono consultant focused on inclusion initiatives for the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) of the NYPD, who honored Lovitz with the Sam Ciccone Community Service Award in April 2018.[16]

In 2020, Lovitz co-founded PhillyVoting.org initiative to register voters in the Philadelphia region. The initiative utilizes QR code technology to immediately connect residents to a list of digital resources using any smartphone, tablet, or computer, with a primary focus on engaging Black and LGBTQ+ voters[17] throughout the region. The coverage of the PhillyVoting project in major Philadelphia news outlets, including NBC10 Philadelphia,[18] 6ABC Action News,[19] and Philadelphia Gay News, resulted in over 300 new registered voters in the program's first month.

Personal

Lovitz was born in Atlantic City, NJ and grew up in Coral Springs, Florida. He came out at the age of 16 after being involved heavily in local youth theatre and volunteer organizations.[20] He studied theatre at the summer arts conservatory Stagedoor Manor.

Lovitz graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Florida in 2006. He was honored as the keynote speaker for University of Florida's Pride Awareness Month's (PAM) 20th anniversary in 2014. Lovitz was named an Outstanding Young Alumni[21] by the University of Florida in April 2018.

He lives in Philadelphia with his husband, NBC News meteorologist Steven Sosna. The two were married[22] in New York City in October 2017 in a ceremony officiated by Jim Obergefell, Supreme Court marriage equality plaintiff in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case.[23]

References
  1. "NGLCC | Jonathan D. Lovitz | nglcc.org". www.nglcc.org. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  2. "Review: Does Logo (Finally) Have Another Reality Hit with "The Setup Squad"?". LOGO News. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  3. "The Accidental Activist". 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  4. JustinReturns2 (2011-03-09), Jonathan D. Lovitz of Set-Up Squad Talks About Gay Equality and Jury Duty Blocking, retrieved 2018-02-25
  5. "NGLCC selects Lovitz to lead external relations and NY subsidiary". Affinity Magazine – Innovative. Successful. Loyal. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  6. Duffy, Brandon (2019-07-26). "LA becomes largest city in US to formally include LGBTQ businesses in contract process worth billions". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  7. Byrne, John. "Lightfoot-backed study to look at possible set-asides for gay-, transgender-owned Chicago businesses advances". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  8. "NGLCC | MIAMI BECOMES LARGEST CITY IN FLORIDA TO INCLUDE LGBT BUSINESSES CERTIFIED BY NGLCC | nglcc.org". www.nglcc.org. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  9. "NGLCC | Orlando to Become First City in Florida to Include LGBT Businesses Certified by NGLCC | nglcc.org". www.nglcc.org. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  10. Cohn, Meredith. "Baltimore mayor issues order recognizing LGBTQ-owned businesses". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  11. "LGBT-owned businesses to get boost from King County". The Seattle Times. 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  12. "Mayors of 2 NJ cities sign orders to include veterans, disabled and LGBT businesses". newjersey.news12.com. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  13. "40 LGBTQ Leaders Under 40 | Business Equality Magazine". Business Equality Magazine. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  14. "Here they are! The Philadelphia Business Journal's 2019 40 Under 40, Part 1". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  15. "Isis King Is No Longer Just the Trans Contestant From Top Model".
  16. "Gay Officers Action League". Gay Officers Action League | New York. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  17. Capital-Star, Special to the; September 10, Pennsylvania Capital-Star; 2020 (2020-09-10). "New Philly online voting initiative targets LGBTQ voters". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved 2020-09-28.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. "New App Gives You Voting Info With Just One Click". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  19. Hendrickson, Beccah (2020-09-15). "One-Click Voter Registration Site Launches for the Philadelphia Region". 6abc Philadelphia. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  20. "Jonathan Lovitz: On Finding His Voice and Using it to Promote LGBTQ Empowerment - Profiles in Pride". 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  21. "From captivating audiences to engaging communities | News | College of the Arts | University of Florida". arts.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  22. "Jonathan Lovitz, Steve Sosna". The New York Times. 2017-10-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  23. "Jonathan Lovitz, Steve Sosna". The New York Times. 2017-10-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.