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CONTACT: media@aclu.org
Dorothy M. Ehrlich, Head of the ACLU of Northern California,
Moves to
National Office
 |
| Dorothy M. Ehrlich, Deputy Executive Director of the national ACLU |
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union
today announced the appointment of Dorothy M. Ehrlich as Deputy Executive
Director of the national organization. Ehrlich has served as Executive Director
of the ACLU of Northern California, the largest ACLU affiliate in the nation,
for 28 years.
"Dorothy Ehrlich is a superb leader who is highly
respected among her peers and colleagues and has demonstrated a strong and
unwavering commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU," said ACLU Executive
Director Anthony D. Romero. "Dorothy's name is synonymous with civil
liberties in Northern California. We are delighted to bring her expertise
to the national ACLU during this critical time for civil liberties in America's
history."
In her role as Deputy Executive Director -- a newly
created position -- Ehrlich will work closely with Romero to coordinate the
organization's legal, legislative and public education work. The Deputy
will also serve as a member of the ACLU's senior management team, participating
in setting program priorities and overall direction for the ACLU, and will
provide day-to-day leadership and management.
The need for the
position, the ACLU said, arose from the organization's phenomenal growth over
the past five years. Since 2001, when Romero took the helm, the ranks of
members and supporters has swelled by 85 percent to over 550,000, the budget has
doubled, and the full-time staff of the National Office has doubled to almost
380 employees, including 49 new attorneys.
"I am deeply honored to
take on this challenging new position with the national ACLU, and to have the
opportunity to work with Anthony Romero and his superb staff. I am very
fortunate that I will continue to be a part of the ACLU family, and to
know that I leave the ACLU of Northern California in the hands of a remarkably
talented staff, and a dedicated and effective board of directors," said
Ehrlich.
Ehrlich has directed the 72-year-old Northern
California affiliate during a similar period of extraordinary growth, overseeing
the work of 50 staff members, including nine attorneys and three lobbyists in
Sacramento. Before becoming the Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern
California, she served as its Development Director, was the editor of the ACLU
News, and served as the liaison to 15 local ACLU chapters and helped establish
the Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter. Prior to that she worked for the ACLU
of Southern California.
Ehrlich has led civil
liberties campaigns around reproductive rights, opposition to the death penalty,
censorship, and civil rights, launched projects focused on youth, racial justice
and reproductive rights. She is the driving force behind the affiliate's
vigorous response to the federal erosion of civil liberties since September 11,
2001.
Ehrlich also plays a leadership role in the national
ACLU, recently ending a six-year term as chair of its Executive Directors'
Council.
An accomplished spokesperson and writer, Ehrlich has been
a frequent contributor to KQED Radio's Perspectives Series, the Daily Journal's
"Taking Liberties" column, the San Francisco Chronicle's "Open Forum," and other
publications. Ehrlich has received civil rights leadership awards from the
Asian Law Caucus and Equal Rights Advocates and was also honored with the Mario
Cuomo Acts of Courage Award from Death Penalty Focus. She was awarded a Gerbode
Fellowship in 1992.
The ACLU of Northern California is
launching a search for a new executive director. The ACLU has two other
affiliates in the state: the ACLU of Southern California and the ACLU of San
Diego and Imperial Counties.
Headquartered in New York City, the ACLU has 51
staffed affiliates and more than 300 chapters nationwide, and a legislative
office in Washington, D.C. The combined annual budget of the ACLU and the ACLU
Foundation is approximately $93 million.
Founded in 1920 by Roger
Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Albert DeSilver, Jane Addams, Felix Frankfurter, Helen
Keller and Arthur Garfield Hayes, and others, the ACLU celebrates its 86th
anniversary this year.