Staff Leadership:  Chris Sanders has served as executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project and the Tennessee Equality Project Foundation since 2013.  He holds the M.Div. from Vanderbilt University.  He previously served as president of the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce and was a founding member of the Nashville Grizzlies Rugby Football Club, Nashville's first gay rugby team. He can be reached at [email protected] .

Board Leadership:  Ginger Leonard serves as chair of the boards of the Tennessee Equality Project and the TEP Foundation.  A Memphis resident, Ginger is a retired community volunteer who has previously served on many community boards including OUTMemphis.  Jerry Jones serves as treasurer of the Tennessee Equality Project.  Jerry lives in Nashville where was publisher of Out & About Nashville and serves as the public affairs manager of Vanderbilt LifeFlight.

The Tennessee Equality Project advocates for the equal rights of LGBTQ people in Tennessee.  We do this through legislative advocacy.  That means we lobby the Tennessee General Assembly and local governments around the state.  When there is an important federal issue, like bills that include anti-LGBTQ adoption language, we help you make your voice heard with your federal officials.

The TEP Foundation provides a variety of educational and organizing programming.  We have registered 353 voters online since October. 2017  We provide workshops called Advocacy 101 across the state so that more people can engage their elected officials.  We monitor and analyze state legislation related to the LGBTQ community.  We gather stories about the impact of state preemption of local government and provide public education on the issue.  We hold Boro Pride in Murfreesboro annually, which now attracts over 4000 participants.  Our Tennessee Open For Business program recognizes companies that do not discriminate against their employees or customers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.