The board of directors at the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance (the “Alliance”) has announced Owen Daniel-McCarter as the group’s new executive director—becoming the first transgender man to lead a major LGBT nonprofit organization in the process.
He succeeds Anthony Papini, who relocated to his hometown of Seattle in April.
Daniel-McCarter has been the Alliance’s policy & advocacy director since December 2014. During his time in this position, he has supported school districts across the state in their writing and adoption of gender inclusion policies, has worked to establish the Transforming School Discipline Collaborative, and has supported hundreds of youth and their families advocate for their rights in school. A licensed attorney, Daniel-McCarter has litigated cases defending LGBTQ youth and adults in issues ranging from immigration law to criminal defense to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Prior to his position at the Alliance, Daniel-McCarter was legal Director and staff attorney at the Trans Life Center, a project of Chicago House and Social Service Agency.
The mission of the Alliance is to promote safety, support and healthy development for LGBTQ youth, in Illinois schools and communities, through advocacy, education, youth organizing and research.