Brad Pritchett Is the Leader Equality Texas Needs Now

By Jack McBride, Board Member Equality Texas

Equality Texas board member Jack McBride delivered these remarks during a “Save Public Schools” press conference organized by the Texas Freedom Network on March 15, 2025, and at the annual Equality Texas gala event in Austin on November 15, 2025.

Equality Texas has been fighting anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation for nearly 50 years. It’s been a long, strenuous fight. We’re battling restrictions on basic human rights, harassment from state officials, and an army of vigilantes eager to drive trans people out of this state.

For the past six years, I’ve been honored to support the work of Equality Texas as a member of the Board of Directors. I’ve seen the organization, its incredible staff, and network of thousands of Texans achieve progress, fight against hateful legislation, and spread joy across the state in the face of hardship; yet queer Texans still face an uphill battle.

Tonight, however, we had a beautiful moment of joy and celebration as we came together at our annual gala in Austin. Equality Texas isn’t just resting on its laurels, remembering fights from days gone by. Together, we’re charting a path to a better future. It’s difficult work to keep moving forward at a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are being rolled back, but it’s the hope of our collective future liberation that drives the work at Equality Texas.

The queer movement in Texas took a major step on Saturday when we officially announced Brad Pritchett as the permanent CEO of Equality Texas. Brad’s been knocking on doors from Montrose to the State House for decades, and we’re excited about what the future looks like under his leadership.

Brad’s Houston roots run deep. From his early days with the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats to working with the Harris County Democratic Party, Brad has been fighting for equality in Houston for decades. As his career has grown, so has his impact. At the ACLU of Texas, Brad was driving political and electoral strategy, and then when he joined Equality Texas as Field Director, he launched an ambitious plan to reach constituents in every corner of the state.

Organizing is where his heart is. In 2014 Brad Pritchett was knocking on doors to push through Houston’s first nondiscrimination ordinance. Up till that point LGBTQIA+ Texans in Houston had no protections, no safeguards. When Brad joined the Equality Texas team as Field Director in 2021, he knew what he was up against. Houston is a perfect microcosm of our state—bustling, busy, diverse, enterprising—breaking through all that noise requires some real force. Brad brings that experience, drive, and force to our fight. Earlier this year, in his leadership at Equality Texas, Brad and his team successfully organized a massive advocacy effort that defeated 94% of the 200+ anti-LGBTQIA+ proposed bills in the Texas legislative session. 

As a leader in Texas’s equality movement,  Brad inherits a major challenge. The climate in Texas has never been exactly welcoming to queer and trans people. In Texas private gay relationships were illegal until 2003, the Republican platform labels queer people unnatural, and since 2021 there has been a consistent escalation of attacks on life-affirming healthcare and freedom of movement for trans Texans.Not only are threats to the safety and wellbeing of trans and queer folks on the rise, pressure from the Trump administration has major corporations second guessing their support of organizations like ours. Texas has always been on the frontlines of the LGBTQIA+ movement, but the fronts seem to be growing. But in the face of such pressure and high stakes, I am so grateful to know Brad, his team, his network of allies, and Equality Texas have my back. 

Whatever fight we have to face next, the Board of Equality Texas is grateful that Brad will lead us through.

For more information, visit equalitytexas.org