Julie Dorf is an esteemed international human rights advocate, renowned for her pioneering work in advancing LGBT rights globally. As the founding executive director of OutRight Action International (formerly the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission), she established the organization in 1990 and led it until 2000. Under her leadership, Dorf transformed the group from a grassroots initiative reminiscent of ACT-UP into a respected 501(c)(3) organization, becoming a vital source of information and advocacy for LGBT rights worldwide.

Following her tenure at OutRight, Dorf worked with the Horizons Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on LGBT issues in the San Francisco Bay Area. She then became a senior advisor at the Council for Global Equality, an organization she co-founded that advocates for LGBT-inclusive American foreign policy, continuing her commitment to equality and justice on a global scale.

Dorf’s influence extends beyond these roles; she co-founded the Pink Triangle Coalition to seek reparations for homosexual victims of Nazi persecution and was instrumental in creating the Astraea International Fund for Sexual Minorities. Additionally, she implemented the Russia Freedom Fund to support LGBT activists facing oppressive laws in the former Soviet Union.

An alumnus of Wesleyan University, where she earned a B.A. in Russian and Soviet Studies, Dorf remains actively engaged in advocacy. She serves on various boards and advisory committees, including those of OutRight Action International and Human Rights Watch, and continues to shape the discourse around LGBT rights and human dignity.