Steven Goldstein is an American civil rights activist. Steven Goldstein (activist) photo

Goldstein received his B.A. from Brandeis University, an M.P.P. (Master in Public Policy) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and his J.D. from Columbia Law School. Goldstein was co-campaign manager for

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

for U.S. Senate in New Jersey in 2000. He had previously worked for the U.S. Congress as press secretary to U.S. Senator

Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was or ...

, and as a counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. He worked as a television producer as well, winning 10 regional Emmy Awards before founding

Garden State Equality Garden State Equality is a statewide advocacy and education organization in the U.S. state of New Jersey that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage. History Garden State Equality was f ...

in 2004. Goldstein served as CEO and chair of the group,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

's statewide organization for

LGBT equality Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

, from 2004 until 2013, when he stepped down to take a post at

Rutgers University–Newark Rutgers University–Newark is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, New Jersey's State University. It is located in Newark. Rutgers, founded in 1766 in New Brunswick, is the eighth oldest college in the United States and a m ...

. Under his leadership, Garden State Equality advocated for the state to legalize gay marriage, and when then-Governor Christie vetoed the marriage equality bill that both houses of the New Jersey Legislature passed, the organization filed the lawsuit,

Garden State Equality v. Dow ''Garden State Equality v. Dow'', 82 A. 3d 336 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. 2013) is a New Jersey Superior Court case holding that New Jersey's marriage laws violated the rights of same-sex couples to equal protection of the law under the New Jers ...

, that led to

same-sex marriage in New Jersey Same-sex marriage in New Jersey has been legally recognized since October 21, 2013, the effective date of a trial court ruling invalidating the state's restriction of marriage to persons of different sexes. In September 2013, Mary C. Jacobson, ...

. At Rutgers he served as Associate Chancellor for External Relations and associate professor at

Rutgers Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

and in political science. He taught courses on

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

advocacy, American politics and political communication. He was played by

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where C ...

in the 2015 movie ''

Freeheld ''Freeheld'' is a 2015 American drama film directed by Peter Sollett and written by Ron Nyswaner. The film stars Julianne Moore, Elliot Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell, and Luke Grimes. It is based on the 2007 documentary short film of the s ...

,'' based on the 2008 Academy Award-winning documentary of the same name, in which Goldstein himself appeared. From 2016 until September 2017, he was the executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect; during his tenure he made the organization, according to Liel Leibovitz writing in ''The Tablet'', "one of the loudest voices in the #resistance to Trump." Upon stepping down, he started studying for the rabbinate at the Academy for Jewish Religion in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, with a Jewish Innovation Fellowship from the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldstein, Steven Living people American LGBT rights activists 1962 births Rutgers University faculty Brandeis University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni