Lambda Welcomes Hector Vargas to Southern Regional Office in Atlanta

(ATLANTA, June 5, 2001) — Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Tuesday welcomed Hector Vargas as its new regional director in Atlanta, where the legislative lawyer and organizer will advance civil rights efforts on behalf of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV and AIDS in the South.

Vargas returns to Georgia, his former home, to oversee Lambda’s Southern Regional Office and outreach efforts there and in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Lambda Executive Director Kevin M. Cathcart said, “With his legal background as well as strong links to the region and organizing talents, Hector will greatly fuel our work and growth in the South. I am very pleased that he has joined Lambda’s staff.”

Said Vargas, “I have always admired Lambda’s work, and it is a thrill for me to be part of this dedicated and effective team. This is a great chance for me to both come home to Atlanta and to build on my experiences at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.”

Vargas was a state legislative lawyer with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, where he worked with state and local activists and elected officials on legislation to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Prior to that, he was an assistant director with the American Bar Association in the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities. During his extensive career, he also worked as a national student organizing director with the National Association for Public Interest Law.

Vargas recently completed a term as co-chair of Asian & Pacific Islander Queers United for Action, a group serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Asian & Pacific Islander community in the Washington, D.C. area.

A 1993 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, Vargas received a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from the University of Georgia.

Vargas’ arrival allows Lambda Staff Attorney Stephen Scarborough to increase his focus on litigation after serving as both staff attorney and regional director of the SRO during the past nine months. Said Scarborough, “It is a wonderful opportunity for the SRO that Hector is joining the staff, and working together, I know we will build upon the great changes we have made to the legal landscape in the South.”

Lambda is the oldest and largest legal organization dedicated to the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV and AIDS. Lambda’s headquarters are in New York with regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta. Lambda will open an office in Dallas in 2002.