The National Center for Transgender Equality is proud to announce the addition of Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen to its growing team in a new position.
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen is a transgender policy, advocacy, and messaging expert who has joined NCTE as Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Action effective July 1, 2019. As a transgender man, his wide-ranging experience in the LGBTQ movement has covered field organizing, leadership development, fundraising, and media advocacy. He previously worked with Freedom for All Americans, GLAAD, the Transgender Law Center, Gender Justice LA, and the National LGBTQ Task Force.
“We are so excited to have such a dedicated and thoughtful advocate on our team,” said Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Rodrigo has dedicated his career to the core values of inclusion, justice, and equality that are at the heart of NCTE and the transgender movement. His work has already changed the lives of transgender people and their families across the country, and we are so excited to have him with us.”
“I am honored to join NCTE at this pivotal time,” said Heng-Lehtinen. “The organization has consistently led the charge on groundbreaking advances for transgender people across the country. With Americans now more open to transgender rights than ever before, it’s exciting to be part of this team and grow acceptance for our community.”
In past roles, Heng-Lehtinen trained thousands of volunteers to canvass and phone bank on innovative nondiscrimination and marriage equality campaigns, and organized leadership development programs in transgender communities and LGBTQ communities of color, honing new strategies for social change. Most recently, he co-led the successful campaign to update New Hampshire’s nondiscrimination protections to include transgender Granite Staters.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted international Spanish-language interviews, including on Univision, Telemundo, and CNN en Español, as well as English-language interviews with outlets such as The New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, and Politico.
Rodrigo graduated from Brown University and lives in Washington, D.C.
