The American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will honor Washington, D.C., lawyer Elaine Kaplan with its Stonewall Award.
The Stonewall Award recognizes lawyers, members of the judiciary and legal academics who have affected real change and removed barriers due to sexual orientation or gender identity in the legal profession. The award also recognizes those who have championed diversity for the LGBT community.
“Elaine Kaplan is being honored for her steadfast commitment to LGBT equality, particularly in the workplace,” said Jim Holmes, chair of the ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
Kaplan is the acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where she serves as the federal government’s chief people person, responsible for recruiting, hiring and setting benefits policies for 1.9 million federal civilian employees.
She is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. On March 19, President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims. Her nomination was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 17.
The ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity leads the ABA’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and full and equal participation by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the ABA, the legal profession and society. Created in 2007, the commission seeks to secure equal treatment in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.
