Searchlight Welcomes Mara Keisling as Senior Fellow

Washington, DC – Mara Keisling, American transgender rights advocate and founding executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), is joining the Searchlight Institute as senior fellow.

At NCTE, Keisling led the nation’s leading advocacy organization for transgender Americans from 2003 until 2021. She spearheaded organizational and coalition efforts that won significant advances in transgender equality, including the inclusion of gender identity in the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act from 2007 onward.

Keisling also co-authored Injustice at Every Turn, the groundbreaking 2009 report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, and the report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.

“For decades, Mara has been a pioneering champion for transgender rights and advocacy — delivering real victories and fundamentally shifting the public conversation,” said Adam Jentleson, president of Searchlight. “I look forward to working with Mara in pursuing research to better understand the terrain that transgender Americans face as we work to protect their fundamental rights.”

Prior to founding NCTE, Keisling worked for 25 years in social marketing and opinion research. She currently sits on the Boards of Directors for SAGE and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Keisling was raised in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and conducted graduate work in American government at Harvard University.