The National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Bar Association will present the Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Award to Bernadette Harrigan, Assistant Vice President and Counsel in the Law Department at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). The LGBT Bar is proud to honor attorneys and corporations that advocate for LGBT equality within the legal sphere through the Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Awards program.
“Bernadette is a true champion of LGBT equality, both for MassMutual and in her community,” said D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the LGBT Bar. “Her unparalleled advocacy focuses on a number of different issues currently impacting our community and we are thrilled to recognize her many contributions.”
Ms. Harrigan is a founding member and past chairperson of MassMutual’s LGBT Employee Resource Group, PRIDE. The group focuses on areas such as recruitment, retention, awareness, community outreach and marketing to support and develop LGBT employees at MassMutual.
“I am so grateful to receive this wonderful recognition from the National LGBT Bar Association for my contributions to the LGBT community,” said Bernadette Harrigan. “This is a shared award that is the result of the efforts of many people and I am fortunate to work for, and with, a company that not only values, but takes the lead on improving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender diversity; not only in the legal profession, but generally.”
Ms. Harrigan’s advocacy efforts reach beyond the workplace as well. She is on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, the statewide organization that promotes LGBTQ legal professionals in Massachusetts. Additionally, she is the past president of the Western Mass LGBT Political Alliance, a non-partisan organization that was formed to secure full civil rights for LGBT individuals. Ms. Harrigan has also worked extensively with MassEquality and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force on the effort to secure equal marriage rights for same sex couples in Massachusetts.
The Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Award will be presented on Thursday, October 10, 2013, at a reception in Boston.
