Hunt Alternatives Fund of Cambridge, Massachusetts announced that Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum, is a 2007 Prime Movers grant recipient. Lazin was selected for his commitment to advancing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality. The grant is intended to strengthen and encourage Mr. Lazin’s leadership in the GLBT civil rights movement.

“Malcolm Lazin is a terrifically talented leader of one of the most important human rights movements of our time,” said Ambassador Swanee Hunt, chair of Hunt Alternatives Fund. “We were impressed not only by his lifetime of dedicated activism, but also by his vision of a more just world.”

Malcolm Lazin helped found Equality Forum, which in 15 years has grown from a regional substantive weekend event into a national and international GLBT civil rights organization that produces GLBT History Month, an annual international conference and documentary films. Mr. Lazin is the Executive Producer of the award-winning documentaries JIM IN BOLD, Gay Pioneers, and Saint of 9/11.

Mr. Lazin served in the U.S. Department of Justice and received its highest annual award, the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. He was the Chair of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission, which was the principal state agency investigating organized crime. He brought creativity and innovation to both law enforcement positions, including the successful prosecution of those who misused public programs designed to assist low income citizens.

After conceiving the idea to light the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on Philadelphia’s waterfront, Mr. Lazin helped organize a bi-state committee and co-chaired fundraising. The illuminated bridge has become a well-known regional icon.

Mr. Lazin was the president of a real estate development company that built the first major project on Philadelphia’s waterfront. During his chairmanship of the Philadelphia Waterfront Developers Council, he helped initiate major infrastructure changes, including the redesigned Columbus Boulevard.

Mr. Lazin heads the Washington Square Committee, which spearheaded the successful effort to include the largest Revolutionary War burial site in Independence National Historical Park.

In 2005, Mr. Lazin was the recipient of the National Education Association’s Creative Leadership in Human Rights Award. In 2006, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Lebanon Valley College, where he serves on the Board of Trustees.

Malcolm Lazin's Bio

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ABOUT EQUALITY FORUM

Equality Forum is a national and international nonprofit, 501(c)(3) GLBT civil rights organization with an educational focus. Equality Forum develops high-impact educational content through documentary films, history projects, innovative initiatives and the largest annual national and international GLBT civil rights forum. www.equalityforum.com