Chris Sgro

Chris Sgro
Born Christopher Michael Sgro
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation Political strategist
Title Executive Director, Equality NC
Term August 20, 2013 – present
Board member of
 Equality Federation[1]
Spouse(s) Ryan Butler (m. 2006)

Christopher Michael Sgro is an American political strategist best known for his work advocating for LGBT rights in North Carolina. He is executive director of Equality NC and its affiliate the Equality NC Foundation. He was appointed to this position on August 20, 2013.[2] A native of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania,[3] Sgro graduated from American University with a bachelor's degree in political science.[4]

Sgro was formerly director of economic development for US Senator Kay Hagan and a member of the senator's senior staff, a position which he held for more than four years and which took him to 97 of the North Carolina’s 100 counties. Prior to that, he was one of the first staffers hired by Hagan to work on her successful 2008 U.S. Senate campaign.[4]

Prior to his work with Hagan, Sgro worked in the Washington, D.C. headquarters for America Votes, a 501 (c)4 organization that aims to coordinate and promote progressive issues, and CARE, a national anti-poverty organization. Additionally, Sgro managed Don Vaughan’s successful N.C. Senate campaign in 2008.[4] Sgro also worked extensively on Jamie Raskin's successful primary bid to defeat the then president pro tem of Maryland State Senate in 2006.[5]

Sgro lives in Greensboro, North Carolina and is married to Ryan Butler. The couple had a marriage ceremony in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2006, but became legally married in North Carolina on October 10, 2014, where they were the second same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in Guilford County, North Carolina.[6][7][8]

References

  1. ↑ "Board of Directors". Equality Federation Website. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  2. ↑ Fain, Travis (20 August 2013). "Hagan's Sgro headed to Equality NC". News and Record. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Gibbons, Margaret (5 May 2002). "Committee members are your eyes and ears". The Reporter. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ladd, Susan (16 February 2014). "NC group continues fight for gay rights". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Marimow, Ann (16 August 2007). "The Real Democrat". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Same-sex couple marries in Greensboro, N.C.". News and Record. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Davis, Jonnelle (10 October 2014). "'This trumps anything in my life'". News and Record. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  8. ↑ DeVane, Steve (10 October 2014). "Federal judge strikes down same-sex marriage ban in N.C.". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 12 December 2014.