U.S. Green Building Council President, CEO & Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi today declared that the neighborhood being built by Make It Right New Orleans, the post-Katrina housing initiative launched by actor Brad Pitt, is the “largest and greenest community of single-family homes in the world” at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York.

Make It Right, which was announced as a “commitment” at the 2007 CGI meeting, has already LEED Platinum certified 13 homes and is building at least 150 sustainable, storm-resistant LEED Platinum homes in a Lower 9th Ward neighborhood of New Orleans wiped out by the Hurricane Katrina and that
was nearest to the disastrous breech of the Industrial Canal levee.

“Through Make It Right we are reminded that our work is not about buildings, but rather about the people within them,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “In facing our nation’s unprecedented economic and environmental crises, we must change the way the
places in which we live, work, learn and play are built and operated. What we’re seeing with green building goes beyond energy-efficiency to a transformation of entire communities – and the lives of the people who live there. Make It Right has proved that green building can be both affordable and high performing.”

After the presentation of the award, President Clinton, Brad Pitt, Rick Fedrizzi, Make It Right Executive Director Tom Darden, Architect William McDonough and Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Director of Sustainability, Masdar City, UAE International, addressed the progress Make It Right has made, as well as how green building should play a role in revitalizing the nation’s economy and tackling environmental challenges, in a session moderated by White House Domestic Policy Adviser Melody Barnes.

Tags: Brad Pitt, CGI, Chad Griffin, Clinton Global Initiative, LEED, Make it Right, Melody Barnes, Rick Fedrizzi, U.S. Green Building Council, William McDonough, Yusef Robb

Chad Griffin and Kristina Schake were each named today to the Board of Directors of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, an Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing equal rights for every American.

Actor/director Rob Reiner, children’s advocate Michelle Singer Reiner, producer Bruce Cohen and writer and director Dustin Lance Black were also named to the Board. Griffin will serve as the organization’s first Board President.

The Foundation’s first project is a federal court challenge to California’s Proposition 8, which eliminated marriage rights for same sex couples. Led by attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, two of the nation’s most preeminent constitutional lawyers, the suit states that Proposition 8 creates a class of “second-class citizens” and thereby violates the U.S. Constitution.

>> Click here to read about the announcement in Variety or The Advocate.

Tags: American Foundation for Equal Rights, Bruce Cohen, Chad Griffin, David Boies, Dustin Lance Black, Kristina Schake, Michelle Singer Reiner, Proposition 8, Rob Reiner, Ted Olson, The Advocate, Variety

A lawsuit first filed in federal district court last Friday, May 22, states that Proposition 8 — which eliminated the right of same sex couples to marry in California — creates a class of “second-class citizens” and thereby violates the U.S. Constitution. The suit also calls for an injunction against Proposition 8 until the case is resolved, which would immediately reinstate marriage rights to same sex couples.

The suit was filed by two same-sex couples who wish to be married but, because of Proposition 8, have been denied marriage licenses. The plaintiffs are represented by Theodore B. Olson and David Boies. Olson, a former U.S. Solicitor General, represented George W. Bush in 2000’s Bush v. Gore, which decided the presidential election. Boies represented Al Gore in that case. Olson, widely regarded as one of the nation’s preeminent constitutional lawyers, has argued 54 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. Boies ranks as one of the leading trial lawyers of his generation, having secured landmark victories for clients in numerous areas of the law. This is the first time they have served alongside each other as co-counsel.

The plaintiffs and attorneys will be announcing the case at a press conference in Los Angeles today.

“Yesterday, the California Supreme Court said that the California Constitution compels the State to discriminate against gay men and lesbians who have the temerity to wish to express their love and commitment to one another by getting married,” Olson said. “These are our neighbors, co-workers, teachers, friends, and family, and, courtesy of Prop 8, California now prohibits them from exercising this basic, fundamental right of humanity. Whatever discrimination California law now might permit, I can assure you, the United States Constitution does not.”

“Mr. Olson and I are from different ends of the political spectrum, but we are fighting this case together because Proposition 8 clearly and fundamentally violates the freedoms guaranteed to all of us by the Constitution,” Boies said. “Every American has a right to full equality under the law. Same sex couples are entitled to the same marriage rights as straight couples. Any alternative is separate and unequal and relegates gays and lesbians to a second class status.”

The plaintiffs in the case are Kris Perry & Sandy Stier, and Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo. They issued the following joint statement today: “We and our relationships should be treated equally under the law. Our goal is to advance the cause of equality for all Americans, which is the promise that makes this nation so great.”

The case is a project of the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Watch the press conference live (and on replay) here:

Tags: American Foundation for Equal Rights, California Supreme Court, Chad Griffin, David Boies, Discrimination, Equal Rights, Griffin|Schake, Jeff Zarrillo, Kris Perry, Kristina Schake, Matthew diGirolamo, Paul Katami, Proposition 8, Sandy Stier, Ted Olson, Yusef Robb

The documentary “Outrage,” which is being directed by Academy Award-nominated Kirby Dick and executive produced by our very own Chad Griffin, premiered tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival.

“Outrage” takes on the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. Boldly revealing the hidden lives of some of the United States’ most powerful policymakers, the documentary takes a comprehensive look at the harm they’ve inflicted by keeping their secrets.

The movie opens in theaters on May 8.

>> Watch the film’s trailer here:

Tags: Chad Griffin, Kirby Dick, LGBT, Magnolia Pictures, Outrage

Chad Griffin is executive producing a documentary that will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 24th and be distributed by Magnolia Pictures.

In the film, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick will cast “a spotlight on the massive hypocrisy that allows powerful people to work against the rights of a minority when they hide their personal lives while enjoying the spoils of power.”

The official movie poster was released this week with the tag line “Do Ask. Do Tell.”

>> Read the indieWIRE piece here.

>> Read Variety’s Wilshire & Washington blog here.

Tags: Chad Griffin, Kirby Dick, Magnolia Pictures, Outrage, Tribeca Film Festival, Variety

Chad Griffin was quoted in today’s LA Times column on Kal Penn’s new role as Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Liaison.

“Appointing Kal Penn is a wise and strategic move that should foster a strong and productive relationship between the White House and Hollywood,” said industry political advisor Chad Griffin. “Not only is it beneficial that the White House liaison to the creative community is a member of that community, Penn is very smart and well-versed on policy and politics.”

Griffin added: “He combines the advantages of having access and of being able to clearly and convincingly communicate the White House’s and the industry’s priorities.”

Read the entire piece here.

Tags: Chad Griffin, Hollywood, Kal Penn, LA Times

Griffin|Schake clients, stem cell activists Jerry & Janet Zucker and Douglas Wick & Lucy Fisher, were featured today in a LA Times piece about the opportunities for embryonic stem cell research in the Obama Administration.

Jerry Zucker expressed optimism for new scientific breakthroughs on all fronts:

Finally, science is legal again,” said director-producer Jerry Zucker, one of Hollywood’s — and the country’s — early champions of stem cell research. (Zucker and his wife teamed up on the issue with their friends Fisher and Wick after both families discovered that their daughters had Type 1 diabetes.) “We have fought for stem cell research, but we have also fought for science in general,” Zucker said. “Whether it’s to tackle global warming, a new virus or the supply of food for a growing world, we have to look to science.”

Douglas Wick shared similar thoughts on the prospects for change:

“We’re very hopeful someone in the Obama administration will say, ‘Let’s cure diabetes. Let’s cure Parkinson’s,’ ” Wick said. “It seems very doable.”

Chad Griffin suggested that the country needs to set an ambitious goal for defeating life-threatening diseases through stem cell reaseach.

President Obama can drive the scientific breakthroughs we need to solve our most challenging health crises,” said former Clinton White House staffer Chad Griffin, whose firm oversees the Cures foundation.

“This is a nation that answered one man’s call to put a man on the moon in just eight years; this is a nation that grew a small research network into the global Internet that is revolutionizing our world. The new president can now rally our nation around a medical Manhattan Project aimed at defeating the world’s most lethal diseases.”

Red the full LA Times article here.

Tags: Chad Griffin, CuresNow, Douglas Wick, Jerry Zucker, Los Angeles Times, Media Strategy, President Clinton, President Obama, Stem Cell Research

Today, Chad Griffin participated in the Equality Summit 2009, a gathering of 400 community leaders committed to winning back marriage equality in California. The events provided a place for equal rights activists to network, share information and resources, and plan next steps for winning back marriage equality in California.

Griffin’s comments were picked up in an Associated Press story about the event.

While two initiatives seeking to undo Proposition 8 — the voter-approved measure — already have been submitted to the Secretary of State, pro-gay marriage leaders say 2010 may be too soon to bring the issue back before voters.

“There is one thing worse than losing Prop. 8, and that would be losing again,” said Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles political consultant who organized Hollywood’s opposition to the ban. He was speaking to about 400 activists who gathered for a statewide planning summit here Saturday.

Read the full AP article at ABCnews.com.

You can watch the opening session of the Equality Summit here (Griffin appears at the 29 minute mark):

Tags: Associated Press, Chad Griffin, Equality Summit, Hollywood, Marriage Equality, Proposition 8

Chad Griffin was recently interviewed by Paige Donner for a piece that ran today on The Huffington Post. In the interview, Chad discussed his campaign-style approach to communications, being the youngest staffer in President Clinton’s West Wing, the issues that matter to him, and his recent work on marriage equality.

Read the full article here.

Tags: Chad Griffin, Marriage Equality, President Clinton, The Huffington Post

The Arkansas Times recently named Arkansas-native Chad Griffin an “Arkie to Watch” in light of recently being honored by The Advocate as one of the publication’s “20 People of the Year.”

Read the blog post here.

Tags: Chad Griffin, People of the Year, The Advocate

Los Angeles-based political strategist Chad Griffin has been honored as one of The Advocate’s 2008 People of the Year. The list, appearing in the January issue and selected by The Advocate’s editorial staff, includes 19 other luminaries of activism, politics and entertainment such as Steve Hildenbrand, The Obamas, Al Gore, Tina Fey, Clay Aiken and Hilary Rosen.

The list seeks to honor those who have made a profound impact for 2008 in the area of gay rights. The only Californian to make the list, Chad Griffin, president of the firm Griffin|Schake, is known for his campaign-style approach to communications for his A-list clients, political initiatives and philanthropic organizations.

Griffin shares the title of Person of the Year with Barney Frank, Tina Fey, Hilary Rosen, Bruce Bastian, The Obamas, Clay Aiken, Suze Orman, Steve Hildenbrand, Lawrence King, Amy Balliett, Matthew Mitcham, Sunil Bubu Pant, Al Gore, Chad Griffin, Thomas Beatie, Wanda Sykes, Jason Rae, Gus Van Sant & Dustin Lance Black, Keith Olbermann, Jared Polis & Linda Ketner and Luc Montagnier & Francoise Barre-Sinoussi.

Griffin was recognized for his career shaping the policy debate around some of the nation’s most important social issues - equal rights, early childhood education, universal health care, stem cell research, alternative energy and energy security, anti-smoking and global warming. The Advocate also applauded him his efforts to produce the Senator Feinstein and Secretary O’Connell television ads for the final push against Proposition 8.

Read The Advocate’s Person of the Year story here.

Tags: Al Gore, Chad Griffin, Gay Rights, People of the Year, The Advocate