Ron Zacchi (all pronouns welcome) joined the Division of Human Rights as Senior Director of the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit in September 2024. Prior to this role, Ron served as Governor Hochul’s Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs, where they played a pivotal role in advancing transformative policies and securing increased funding for the LGBTQ+ community, addressing long-standing inequities caused by discrimination.

Before their tenure in the Governor’s Office, Ron was the Director of External Relations for the Division of Human Rights and began their career in state government as part of the Empire State Fellows program with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. They were later promoted to Assistant Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Throughout their time in public service, Ron has been deeply involved in shaping key LGBTQ+ policy changes in New York State, including the ban on conversion therapy, protections for transgender individuals, legalizing gestational surrogacy, and the passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).

Ron’s career in public service began with their leadership in the LGBTQ+ community, where they notably served as Executive Director of Marriage Equality New York (MENY). Under their leadership, MENY spearheaded a successful statewide grassroots campaign that ultimately secured equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in New York State.

Ron holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University and an Executive MPA from the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College, where they were honored with the Hagedorn Scholarship.

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