Kerry Lobel is one of the nation's most astute and respected leaders in the contemporary movement for social justice. A seasoned non-profit strategist and activist, Kerry has been on the front lines of progressive change for a quarter-century. As an organizational consultant, she has worked with more than 200 groups around the country to help them clarify purposes, raise funds and strengthen internal structures. As an author, she has written and edited groundbreaking books and reports.

Since founding The Change Group in 2003, Kerry has worked with numerous organizations including Equality Maryland, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, Metropolitan Community Churches, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, San Francisco LGBT Center, The Horizons Foundation and The Women's Building.

Kerry is best known for her work while the executive director of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force from 1996 to 2000. Under Kerry’s stewardship, the organization was transformed, nearly doubling its budget and staff. Her philosophy of focusing on state and local level efforts put the organization in the media spotlight with the launch of Equality Begins At Home—the largest grassroots mobilization in the history of the LGBT movement.

Beginning in 2000, Kerry served as the principal consultant to the Lesbian Equity Foundation. Founded by Kathy Levinson, former President and COO of E*Trade, Kerry designed the foundation’s launch, managed its grantmaking program and provided support to Executive directors and development staff of grantee organizations. The foundation supports new initiatives that explore the intersections between sexual orientation, gender and Judaism.

Kerry has a long and rich history as a hands-on strategist and activist. While traversing the country, she became a touchstone to a sea of activists - from those immersed in legislative red tape to those who never dreamed they could contribute to social change. Kerry became renowned for her steady insistence that the struggles of youth, transgender people, bisexuals, people of color and people of faith be fully recognized by and incorporated into the LGBT movement.

Hailed for her integrity and commitment to a politics of inclusion, the effects of Kerry’s work extend beyond the LGBT movement to the progressive movement at large. From 1985 through 1994, she was the lead organizer of the Women's Project in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she focused her work on bias violence, women and AIDS, women in prison and domestic violence. She also co-founded Support Services for Nonprofits, a consulting group that provided technical assistance and training to battered women’s programs in 12 Southern states. Prior to that, Kerry was the Executive director of the Southern California Coalition on Battered Women from 1979 through 1984.

Kerry co-wrote HIV, AIDS and Reproductive Health: A Peer Trainer's Manual (for women in prison) (1992); co-authored Lesbian Teens in Abusive Relationships in Dating Violence: Young Women in Danger (Seal Press, 1990); and edited Naming the Violence: Speaking Out About Lesbian Battering (Seal Press, 1986). She also authored reports on women’s economic status in Arkansas.

Regarded as an eloquent and powerful speaker, Kerry has wide experience with print, electronic and television media. She has been quoted in every major newspaper in the country, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and USA TODAY. She has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC and has been quoted in the nation's leading newsmagazines.

Currently, Kerry serves as the executive director of Puente de la Costa Sur in Pescadero, CA. Kerry also serves on the board of the Center for Young Women’s Development in San Francisco, CA. Previously, she has served on the boards of many organizations including Coastside Jewish Community; the Ryan White Center, a direct service agency for people living with HIV and AIDS in Arkansas; the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and the National Network on Women in Prison. Kerry chaired the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Santa Monica, CA Commission on the Status of Women. She was a member of the Santa Monica Planning Commission and ran as an open lesbian for the Santa Monica City Council.

Kerry lives in Pescadero, California.