Today, the Human Rights Campaign announced it has hired Rebecca Marques as the organization’s Texas state director.

“I’m excited to join and lead the fantastic on-the-ground team HRC has cultivated over the past few years in Texas,” said Rebecca Marques, HRC Texas state director. “After working to elect pro-equality candidates in an historic election earlier this month, our focus now turns to the state legislative session -- one that is sure to define how Texas will protect our LGBTQ friends and neighbors. In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to working alongside our staff across the state, with our LGBTQ community, and with ally organizations and lawmakers to ensure that Texas provides a welcoming home for all.”

“Rebecca has a wealth of on-the-ground knowledge and experience in Texas politics – experience that will be vital in Austin and across the state,” said Marty Rouse, HRC national field director. “We’re thrilled to have Rebecca lead our team in Texas, where we will continue to work for full LGBTQ equality and to defeat any attempts to discriminate in the Lone Star State.”

As HRC’s Texas State Director, Marques will lead efforts to advance LGBTQ rights in every corner of the state, at the ballot box and at the State Capitol. During the legislative session, HRC works closely with ally organizations to defeat any anti-LGBTQ legislation and promote LGBTQ equality.

Prior to joining HRC, Marques served as political strategist for the ACLU of Texas. In that role, she led the organization’s LGBTQ and reproductive rights work at the Texas state legislature and in advocacy efforts across the state. During her time with the ACLU, Rebecca worked closely with HRC and the allied organizations working to promote LGBTQ equality in the Texas legislature. Previously, she served as the Florida campaign organizer for Oceana’s Climate and Energy Campaign, where she successfully led bipartisan local and statewide initiatives to prevent the expansion of offshore drilling to the Atlantic. Marques holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Central Florida, which is where she got her first taste political of organizing -- and has never looked back.