Shannon Minter is the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), a leading national legal organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. He has received the Ford Foundation’s “Leadership for a Changing World” award and an Honorary Degree from the City University of New York School of Law for his advocacy on behalf of same-sex couples and their families. He has received the Anderson Prize Foundation's Creating Change Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Distinguished National Service Award from GAYLAW, the bar association for LGBT lawyers, law students, and legal professionals in Washington, D.C.; Cornell Law School’s Exemplary Public Service Award; the Unity Award from Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom; the Advocacy Award from the San Francisco Bar Association; and the Justice Award from Equality California. Shannon also serves on the American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and on the boards of Equality California and the Transgender Law & Policy Institute. Shannon received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1993.