Eliza Byard was the executive director of

GLSEN GLSEN (pronounced ''glisten''; formerly the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) is an American education organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expres ...

before stepping down on March 1, 2021. She also previously worked as a filmmaker.

Life

Eliza Byard was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 8 March 1968. Her mother Rosalie is an

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

teacher at the Kaplan International Center, and her father Paul is an architect and director of historical preservation courses at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

's School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. When Eliza was thirteen, she worked as an intern at the New York City public television station WNET. Eliza Byard attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and later Columbia, where she received her master's and doctorate degrees in United States history. In 2004, Byard had a commitment ceremony with her partner, Eva Kolodner, a film producer.

Career

Early in Byard's career she served as the director of development for the

Center for Investigative Reporting The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in San Francisco, California. CIR was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization. It subsequently grew into a multi ...

. In 1996 she became the editor, writer, and co-producer of the film ''Out of the Past'', which was published in 1997. It premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in 1998, where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. While working on the film she met

Kevin Jennings Kevin Brett Jennings (born May 8, 1963) is an American educator, author, and administrator. He was the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education from July 6, 2009 – June 2011. ...

, the founder and then executive director of GLSEN. Byard joined GLSEN as deputy executive director in 2001, where she led the development of programs including the national Think B4 You Speak anti-bullying program,

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

ad campaigns, and GLSEN's research and student organization efforts. In 2008 she became the organization's executive director. Byard announced on January 13, 2021 that she would be stepping down as executive director on March 1, 2021. Byard also serves on the board of trustees for America's Promise Alliance,

Sodexo Sodexo (formerly Sodexho Alliance) is a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It has 522,000 employees as of 2023, operates in 55 countries and serves 100 million custome ...

's diversity advisory board, the National Collaboration for Youth steering committee, and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention LGBT suicide task force. She also served on

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

's commission for runaway and homeless children, and was the chair of the board of directors for Arts Engine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byard, Eliza 1960s births Living people Businesspeople from New York City Film producers from New York (state) Columbia University alumni Yale University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)