Federal GLOBE--Biographies

Leonard Hirsch, President Federal GLOBE Smithsonian Institution

Dr. Hirsch is International Liaison at the Smithsonian Institution. His responsibilities include articulation and support of the scientific programs of the Smithsonian. He is also a well-known political economist, whose teaching and work includes global environmental economics and politics; natural resources and development; and institutional development. He also teaches in the International Transactions Master's program at the George Mason University in Virginia.

Dr. Hirsch is a member of the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership working group on biodiversity; the working group for international coordination and development of the Global Change Research component of the USG Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Hirsch is one of the founding members of the Federal Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Employees (GLOBE) and served as its President until 1997. He is also the coordinator of the Smithsonian Institution Lesbian and Gay issues Committee. He has been active in Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual policy, education, and advocacy for over a decade. While in Tampa, Florida, he was active in the Tampa Bay Human Rights Taskforce, and worked with the Office of the Mayor to develop early non-discrimination policies. He was also founder of the lesbian and gay caucus of the American Political Science Association, and served as the President of the Network of Gay and Lesbian Alumni/ae Associations.

Dr. Hirsch received his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations in 1976 from Pomona College; his Masters of Arts in 1978, and his PHD in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1980.

Kitti Durham Federal Aviation Administration

Ms. Durham is a Command Staff Advisor for the Civilian Personnel Division, U.S. Coast Guard Personnel Command. Ms. Durham has been employed by the U.S. Coast Guard since 1974 where she served as Chief, Position and Pay Management Section, Headquarters Civilian Personnel Branch until transferring the U.S. Coast Guard Personnel Command in March 1996. She was detailed to the position of Civilian Personnel Officer for Coast Guard Headquarters where she served from July 1995 until March 1996.

Ms. Durham has been a member of the Federal GLOBE Board of Directors since 1994. She is one of the original Board Members of the Department of Transportation Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Employees Organization; and, has founded the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Employees Organization of the U.S. Coast Guard. She also volunteered for the Campaign for Military Service.

Ms. Durham received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. in 1968.

Diane Herz U.S. Department of Labor

Diane Herz is an economist with the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. She is a cofounder of Labor GLOBE (www.geocities.com/laborglobe) and currently serves as one of Labor-GLOBE's co-chairs. Diane has served on the Federal GLOBE board for a total of 4 years since 1992.

Ed Horvath General Accounting Office

Mr. Horvath is a Human Capital Specialist at the U.S. General Accounting Office. His current responsibilities include serving as GAO’s senior employee relations staff member. Prior to this position he held other human resources management positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. His areas of focus in those organizations were staffing, recruitment, and process analysis in human resources operations. He has also held public sector positions at the U.S. International Trade Commission, the General Accounting Office, and the U.S. Army. His private sector positions include AT&T and EG&G. He also held long term contract positions with the American Federation of Teachers, Fannie Mae, and the National Academy of Science.

Mr. Horvath has been active in Federal GLOBE (Federal Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trangender Employees) since 1994 and has held the positions of Secretary and Treasurer. He also served as chair of an issued committee. Mr. Horvath devote most of his efforts to administrative and support operations for Federal GLOBE. He is an active member of the GLEA, the Gay and Lesbian Employees Association of GAO. He is also the President of The Blagden Alley Association - a neighborhood association located in a downtown historic district in Washington, D.C. In that capacity he is involved in gathering information, representing interests, and focusing resources related to urban development, residential concerns, and public safety issues.

Mr. Horvath received his Bachelors of Arts Degree from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. He and his Fiance, Richard Neidich, have been together since 1979. They reside in an historic home in Washington, District of Columbia.

T.J. Myers U.S. Department of Agriculture

Dr. T.J. Myers received his VMD degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983, and his PhD in avian virology from Cornell University in 1989. He has been employed by the USDA since 1989 in a variety of positions. He has served as a Research Microbiologist for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, as a Licensing Specialist for the USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics, and as a Poultry Disease Specialist for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. While at USDA, T.J. has served 2 terms as President of USDA GLOBE (1996 and 1999) and was a member of the Second USDA Task Force on Sexual Orientation from 1999-2000. T.J. currently works in the USDA Administration’s Office of Human Resources Management as the Department’s Gay and Lesbian Employment Program Manager.

Eric Stults Chief Financial Officer, Bureau of Transportation Statistics U.S. Department of Transportation

Eric Stults replaced Ed Horvath as Federal GLOBE's treasurer in December 2000. Eric has been a budget and program analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation since 1993, where he began as a Presidential Management Intern. He co-founded DOT GLOBE in 1993. Eric received his bachelor's degree in government from Dartmouth College and his master's degree in planning from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Before graduate school, for seven years he was on the legislative staff of openly gay Minnesota State Senator Allan Spear. An Ohio native, Eric now lives in Washington DC.