Herndon Graddick, President

See update: GLAAD Names Herndon Graddick President

GLAAD's National Board of Directors announced Herndon Graddick as President of GLAAD on April 14, 2012.

Prior to this role he served as Vice President of Programs and Communications. He oversees GLAAD's work to create a LGBT-inclusive media landscape and share stories that grow acceptance of LGBT people and build support for equality. He leads GLAAD's programs in National & Local News; Entertainment; People of Color; Religion, Faith & Values; Advertising; and Spanish-Language Media programs. Under his leadership, GLAAD has engaged in numerous highly visible and impactful campaigns including ‘Stand Up For Ellen,’ which prompted the group One Million Moms – a project of the American Family Association – to end their call for J.C. Penney to fire Ellen DeGeneres as its new spokesperson because she is gay. Graddick also oversaw GLAAD’s work on the Commentator Accountability Project – an initiative launched in March 2012 to highlight the extreme rhetoric of anti-LGBT activists who currently appear in national news outlets. He is leading efforts with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) on the “I AM: Trans People Speak” video series as well as with film director Brett Ratner to develop a series of videos with GLAAD featuring high-profile celebrities and public figures speaking out for LGBT equality. Graddick has also put resources behind GLAAD’s work to share stories of LGBT people of color and allies with African American media, sports media, and Spanish-language news outlets, among other areas.

Graddick previously served as GLAAD's Deputy Director of Media Programs. Graddick successfully led GLAAD's efforts to file a complaint with the FCC against the anti-gay Spanish-language talk show "Jose Luis Sin Censura," and remove anti-gay language from Universal Pictures' 2011 film trailer for "The Dilemma." Graddick also oversaw successful efforts to create a partnership with the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers following the use of an anti-gay slur by Kobe Bryant.

Graddick comes to GLAAD after serving as the Executive Producer of the Global Observatory, a media and communications effort conceived by former President of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres, and Clinton Administration advisor, Aimee Christensen, and which aims to raise public awareness around the climate change crisis.

Recently, Graddick served as a Supervising Producer at E! Networks. Prior to E!, Graddick was the first strategic programming hire for CURRENT TV, the youth-oriented news and entertainment network created by former Vice President Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt. At CURRENT, Graddick served as day-of-air news division director.

Graddick's scope of work at the network included supervision of production, editing and broadcast of several packaged pieces of television per day.  He spearheaded CURRENT's television and broadband programming partnership with Google, serving as the key point-of-contact between former Vice President Gore and Google Chairmen Larry Paige and Sergei Brin.  Upon completion, he headed the development and execution of Current's programming partnerships with Yahoo, Inc.

Previously a producer with Cable News Network (CNN), Graddick contributed to the creation of daily primetime news and current events programming such as  "Paula Zahn Now," "Anderson Cooper 360," and "Live From the Headlines."  

Graddick's early years in media were diverse – as a field producer, writer, researcher, and assignment editor—working closely with CNN International, American Morning, Larry King Live, Inside Politics, and Headline News.  

Graddick is a graduate of the University of California with a Bachelor of Arts and Science – American History & Psychology.

View GLAAD's staff list or learn more about GLAAD.