ERA Coalition / Fund for Women’s Equality Announces Zakiya Thomas Will Serve as President and CEO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2022
Contact: cwest@eracoalition.org

Washington, DC –– Today, the ERA Coalition / Fund for Women’s Equality announced that Zakiya Thomas will serve as the next President and CEO.

“I am thrilled to welcome Zakiya Thomas as the next President and CEO of the ERA Coalition. She is the right leader for this moment,” said ERA Coalition Board Chair Kimberly Peeler-Allen. “I look forward to working with her to continue to grow the organization’s impact and influence in Washington and across the country, and bringing lived equality to all Americans.”

“I am delighted to welcome Zakiya Thomas to the helm of the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women's Equality. Zakiya's leadership in political campaigning and advocacy as well as her experience in teaching young people about the importance of civic representation will be instrumental in the movement to codify the Equal Rights Amendment.” said Fund for Women’s Equality Board Chair S. Mona Sinha. “We share the dream of having a truly democratic lived equality for all sexes. The times we live in demand bold action, dynamic vision and inclusion of gender justice in our Constitution. I look forward to championing an equal future with Zakiya.”

Thomas joins the ERA Coalition / Fund for Women’s Equality with more than a decade of experience as a campaign manager, political strategist, and leader building nonprofits, political campaigns, and businesses to achieve their goals. Thomas most recently founded and led a consulting firm on the premise of doing well while doing good to help small businesses, startups, nonprofits, and political organizations grow, adapt, and thrive.

“We are in a critical time in our country’s history. Congress, the Supreme Court, and statehouses across the nation are chipping away at our fundamental rights, making the ERA as crucial now as it has ever been. The ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality can leverage this national reckoning to finally codify legal and lived equality for women in the United States,” said ERA Coalition / Fund for Women’s Equality CEO Zakiya Thomas. “We have a unique opportunity to capitalize on recent momentum, and I will use my skills, talents, and experience to help make the ERA and gender equality a reality for all. I am looking forward to working with our partners, supporters, legislators, and others to make this happen.”

Thomas is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law where she teaches a nonpartisan course on how to run for political office. A licensed social worker, Thomas volunteers as a group facilitator for a parenting education program, working with parents and children. She is also on the Board of Pro-Choice Virginia. Zakiya received a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science from the College of William and Mary.

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The ERA Coalition was founded in 2014 to bring concerted, organized action to the effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA Coalition has a sister organization, the Fund for Women’s Equality, which promotes public education and outreach on the need for constitutional equality. Composed of more than 260 organizations across the country, the Coalition provides education and advocacy on Constitutional Equality. 

While the effort to amend the constitution to include sex equality began nearly a century ago, our renewed efforts are centered on women of color (African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latina, and Native American), gender-nonconforming and transgender women and girls, and nonbinary people – those who are most impacted by systemic inequities.

www.eracoalition.org | www.fundforwomensequality.org