New CEO Joins Out & Equal

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, which works to achieve workplace equality for LGBTs, has announced the hiring of a new CEO.

Erin Uritus, who has a long relationship with the nonprofit, will start in her new post January 15.

"I am deeply honored to have been chosen as the next CEO, and I'm eager to get down to the important work of ensuring everyone - no matter who you love or how you identify - finds inclusion, belonging, and equality at work," stated Uritus in a news release.

Uritus wasn't available for interviews, but Out & Equal board chair Michael Cox, senior vice president for Comcast, stated, "Erin joins Out & Equal with unparalleled domestic and international experience as an executive in the corporate, government and nonprofit sectors - a critically important combination to us at Out & Equal. ... As the chair of the board of directors and as a major sponsor of the organization, I have full confidence Erin will lead all of us to a future where our country's largest companies and governments around the world embrace diversity, prioritize inclusion, and enact equality."

Out & Equal started in San Francisco in 1996 and also has staff in Washington, D.C., where Uritus will be based. The nonprofit partners with Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies to provide development, consultation, and networking opportunities, among other services.

The group's founder and former CEO, Selisse Berry, left the top job in August.

Uritus' background includes years of international work, including opening the African Women's Media Center in Dakar, Senegal. She first became involved with Out & Equal in 2002 when she was an employee resource group leader at the Booz Allen consulting firm and attended her first Out & Equal Summit. Eventually, she joined the nonprofit's board and co-founded Out & Equal's chapter affiliate in Washington, D.C.

From 2007 to 2011, Uritus worked for a Middle Eastern government to support its modernization and restructuring efforts during the economic crash, subsequent "Arab Spring" revolutions, and nationalization programs.

Spokespeople for Out & Equal wouldn't say which government in the Middle East Uritus had worked for. They also declined to share her age, sexual orientation, or salary.

According to an online biography from a previous job, Uritus at one time worked for the government of Abu Dhabi. Out and Equal's biography said that she has two daughters with her former spouse, Amira and Haneen.

According to the group's tax forms for 2016, Berry's total compensation was approximately $331,000, and the organization's budget was about $5.5 million.