2006 Exemplar Award goes to O’Conner
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| Sally O’Conner |
Officials with Leadership Lambda, a program of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance’s Don Baker Education Fund, have announced “an entirely new offering of leadership training and classes” for the LGBT community in North Texas.
The new programs will be announced at a special event on Saturday, during which Leadership Lambda will present its 2006 Exemplar Award to Sally O’Conner.
The Exemplar Award recognizes people whose leadership sets an example for others, according to Maria Rubio, Leadership Lambda Steering Committee member.
“Our community is what it is today because people have gotten active,” Rubio said. “Sally’s involvement and dedication have made a real difference. She’s certainly a role model who inspires others.”
O’Conner has been a political activist for 35 years.
She was a consultant to California Assembly Speaker’s Office of Majority Consultants and a Democratic political campaign consultant before moving to Dallas in 1985 to serve as national director of programs for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
O’Conner is currently manager of corporate communications for Citigroup/CitiMortgage in Dallas.
After graduating from the Leadership Lambda Seminar Series, O’Conner joined the organization’s board and also served on the board of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. She is a past vice president of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance board and was chair of the alliance’s Political Action Committee.
O’Conner is currently a member of the Human Rights Campaign’s national Board of Governors and its National Finance Committee. She is also co-chair of the Dallas-Fort Worth Human Rights Campaign Steering Committee and a major donor with the Federal Club.
“I am proud of many things I have been a part of the passing of the non-discrimination ordinance by the Dallas City Council when I was with DGLA, of bringing my HRC family together with my Citigroup family, and most importantly, of the friends who are now my family that I met working side-by-side during the highs and lows of our fight for equality,” O’Conner said in a written statement.
“A person’s time is the most precious contribution anyone can give to an organization,” O’Conner continued. “There is a seat at the table in the Dallas LGBT community for anyone who will do what they say they will do and honor their commitments.”
The award will be presented and the new Leadership Lambda programs will be announced at a special event Saturday at Monica’s Aca Y Alla, 3914 Main St. in Deep Ellum, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, October 13, 2006.