Victor Basile, counselor to the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and a national leader in the LGBT community, will speak at the UMass Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) on Thursday, April 21, from 1-2 p.m. in Gordon Hall 302-304.
The talk, “Navigating the Maze: Working for Social Justice and Gay Rights in the Nation’s Capitol,” will draw on Basile’s long career of government and nonprofit service and his work for social justice for LGBT people.
Following the talk, a reception will be held in the Gordon Hall atrium to welcome Basile to campus and provide an opportunity for informal conversation with the speaker.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management oversees the recruitment and development of almost 2.8 million federal workers. Basile was appointed to his position at OPM under the Obama administration.
Basile has been an advocate for LGBT rights since the late-1970s. He served as the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign and later co-founded the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund to help openly gay candidates run for political office. He was executive producer for the award-winning documentary After Stonewall and for the PBS series, In the Life.
He also served as the executive director of Moveable Feast, Inc., a Baltimore-based nonprofit serving the HIV/AIDS community.
Basile graduated from UMass Amherst in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in public health and health sciences. His early work as a VISTA volunteer set him on a path of public service and advocacy.
Basile’s talk is open to the public. For additional information about the event, please contact CPPA director M.V. Lee Badgett (lbadgett@pubpol.umass.edu).