Human Rights Campaign adds senior leaders as 2026 midterm fight intensifies

The Human Rights Campaign is expanding its senior ranks ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, bringing in experienced operatives in strategy, policy, litigation, communications and state advocacy as the organization positions itself for another high-stakes political year.

On Wednesday, the group announced a series of appointments: Kate Childs Graham as chief strategy officer, Sharon McGowan as senior vice president of policy and litigation, Laura MacCleery as vice president of policy and law, Densil Porteous as vice president of volunteer leadership, Ramiro Sarmiento as national press secretary, and Mo Jenkins as Texas state director.

The hires reflect how LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations are preparing for battles that now play out in school boards, state capitols, federal agencies, courtrooms, corporate settings and on next year’s ballot.

“As attacks on LGBTQ+ people continue across the country, HRC is investing in the experienced leadership needed to meet this moment,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “These leaders bring decades of expertise across public policy, advocacy, communications, electoral strategy, and coalition building. Together, they will help accelerate our work to defend our community, expand equality, and build the power needed to create lasting change.”

The personnel changes follow Brandon Wolf’s recent departure from HRC. Wolf, a Pulse survivor and gun violence prevention advocate who had been the organization’s national press secretary, left to return to Equality Florida as senior director of communications strategy. In May, Wolf told The Advocate that he was going back to Florida’s “front lines” ahead of the 10th commemoration of the Pulse nightclub massacre, adding, “I’m not headed back to the front lines in spite of my time at HRC. I’m headed back there because of it.”

That transition has highlighted how national LGBTQ+ groups and state organizations are treating the coming months as a test not only of ideology but of infrastructure. After years of Republican-led attacks on transgender rights, inclusive education, health care access and LGBTQ+ visibility, movement leaders are adding staff to respond to crises and to influence the political landscape before voters head to the polls in 2026.

McGowan previously served in the Justice Department and the Office of Personnel Management during the Obama administration and later held a leadership role at Lambda Legal during the first Trump administration.

Graham led West Wing Writers and worked in political communications for Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, campaigns and progressive organizations. She will oversee strategy and storytelling across HRC.

MacCleery most recently worked at UnidosUS and brings experience in civil rights, democracy, privacy, technology and economic justice policy.

Porteous previously led Stonewall Columbus and will oversee volunteer leadership.

Jenkins, a Texas native and former executive director of the Texas House LGBTQ+ Caucus, will direct the organization’s work in Texas, a state that has become one of the most aggressive laboratories for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Sarmiento most recently served as press secretary for Kat Abughazaleh’s congressional campaign in Chicago. HRC said he will help the organization reach audiences in English and Spanish.