Andrew Schneider, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut since 2007, has resigned effective September 30 to become executive director of Fairness West Virginia, that state’s leading advocate for LGBT rights. Schneider served as executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia from 2001 to 2007, before which he worked for three years as development director of the ACLU of Connecticut. The ACLU-CT has initiated a nationwide search for a successor, to lead ACLU-CT and continue its long record of broad success in civil liberties issues.
“During Andrew’s tenure, ACLU-CT was able to lead the effort, often through collaboration with other organizations, to strengthen the protection of civil liberties,” said Andy Schatz, president of the organization. “Our many successes under Andrew’s leadership have included abolishing the death penalty, establishing marriage equality, outlawing discrimination against transgender people, and protecting against racial profiling, abusive use of technology and misuse of Tasers by police. We will miss him and wish him well, and we are confident that his successor will continue to lead us successfully in these and other critical issues which face us all.”
“I’ve had an exciting and fulfilling seven years leading the ACLU of Connecticut,” Schneider said. “It’s sad to leave this state, which has been a warm home for me, but I’m looking forward to a fresh challenge in the beautiful mountains of my other home state.”
Fairness West Virginia is a statewide civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to fair treatment and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender West Virginians. It is a member of the national Equality Federation.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut (acluct.org), founded in 1949 as the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, works to defend, promote and preserve individual rights and liberties under the U.S. and Connecticut constitutions. ACLU-CT, with 6,000 members and employing a staff of eight, is the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.
