Roey Thorpe, who has spent five years as the executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, the state’s largest gay-right organization, is stepping down at the end of June to take a job with New York-based Freedom to Marry, a national group dedicated to same-sex marriage the very subject that put her in the spotlight two years ago.
Thorpe, 44, plans to start work in August as program director for Freedom to Marry, a group working to win same-sex marriage rights across the U.S. She will be responsible for implementing a national strategy for gay marriage on the state level.
Basic Rights Oregon will conduct a national search to find Thorpe’s replacement.
Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams, who worked on Thorpe’s board, described her departure as “great news for the nation, sad news for us.”
She also received praise from Kevin Mannix, a former chair of the state Republican Party.
“While we have deep philosophical differences, I recognize that she has great skills as an advocate and as a political strategist,” he said.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, May 26, 2006.