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Douglas Meeks, President

Douglas Meeks, a graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School and general practitioner in the Lansing area, puts the axiom "speak Truth to power" into action. While a law student, he advocated aggressively for the administration to add sexual orientation to the school's anti-discrimination policy and for faculty to receive same-sex partner benefits. He founded the Human Rights Alliance (HRA), now the Gay Rights Alliance, which is Cooley's only recognized campus LGBT group. Meeks spent his final semester as a McCleary Law Fellow with the Human Rights Campaign in Washington D.C. He also worked with America Coming Together and Outfront Minnesota on the 2004 Presidential election.

Meeks joined the Board of Michigan Equality 2005 and was recently elected President. He is an active member of the Peninsula Group, a LGBT strategic planning committee formed after the passage of Proposal 02-04 (a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage).

Meeks has a B.A. in Political Science and Interdisciplinary Studies from Michigan State University. Meeks is an athlete with North American Gay Volleyball Association (NAGVA) and resides in Lansing with his partner.

Affiliations: The Peninsula Group, Lansing Association for Human Rights, Stonewall Group, Human Rights Campaign-Law Fellow , America Votes, Ingham County Bar Association, Old Town Lansing Association, Westside Neighborhood Association, Thomas M. Cooley Law School Alumni