Joan Garry is recognized as one of the most vocal, passionate and effective civil rights leaders in America, recently completing nearly a decade of service as the Executive Director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She is currently the co-author of www.whosthegrownup.com, a blog she has launched with her seventeen year old daughter, Scout Opatut. She is a featured blogger on The Huffington Post and her essays appear biweekly in gay papers around the country.

In 1999, Entertainment Weekly featured her on its list of the 100 Most Influential People In Entertainment. Garry’s articulate advocacy has been featured across all national news networks, with notable media appearances including NBC’s Today; ABC’s World News Tonight; PBS’ The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, numerous appearances on CNN, CSPAN, MSNBC (including Hardball with Chris Matthews) and Fox News Channel (including The O’Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes). Her comments are frequently sought by leading newspapers, magazines and news services, including The New York Times, the Associated Press, Reuters, the Washington Post, USA Today, Time Magazine, Newsweek, among others; and her thought-provoking op-ed essays have appeared in outlets such as Time and USA Today.

During her tenure at GLAAD, Joan persuaded the NY Times to include gay and lesbian couples on its wedding pages, she created a national debate about the homophobic words of radio host, Laura Schlessinger and even debated Jerry Falwell about whether Tinky Winky was gay.

She is also the first woman in the state of New Jersey to legally adopt her partner’s biological children and the first female singing member of the NYC Gay Men’s Chorus.

Joan is currently writing a book about the modern American family and has persuaded her family to allow themselves to be material.