Actor Sophia Bush and soccer player Ashlyn Harris join Human Rights Campaign's board of directors

Actor Sophia Bush and soccer player Ashlyn Harris have joined the board of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.

“This is not just a role; it’s a commitment to fight for LGBTQ+ justice and equality with everything I’ve got,” Harris, who was a goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national soccer team, said in a statement on social media. “Let’s get to work!”

Bush and Harris quickly became a fan-favorite queer power couple after Bush came out and announced her relationship with Harris in an emotional essay for Glamour magazine in April. 

“I think I’ve always known that my sexuality exists on a spectrum,” the “One Tree Hill” star wrote. “Right now I think the word that best defines it is queer. I can’t say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great.”

Bush hasn’t publicly addressed joining HRC’s board. However, she noted in her Glamour essay that the increasingly hostile political climate toward LGBTQ people influenced her decision to come out. 

“I sort of hate the notion of having to come out in 2024,” she wrote. “But I’m deeply aware that we are having this conversation in a year when we’re seeing the most aggressive attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community in modern history.” 

She noted that state legislatures considered more than 500 bills targeting LGBTQ people last year. Of those, 75 became law, according to an NBC News analysis. So far this year, state lawmakers have introduced more than 520 such bills, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. 

The Human Rights Campaign described Bush as a “dedicated activist and philanthropist who passionately supports projects empowering girls and women,” in a news release about the new board members. The organization noted that Bush is a general partner and investor in Union Heritage Ventures, a majority Black- and women-owned capital firm and that she also co-founded and sits on the board of I am a voter, a nonpartisan voting and civic engagement organization. 

The Human Rights Campaign noted that Harris was one of the plaintiffs in the case suing U.S. Soccer for equal pay for women, demonstrating “her courage and unwavering dedication to fostering fairness and driving meaningful societal change.” Harris and the other plaintiffs settled with U.S. Soccer in 2022. Harris also serves on the board of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a nonprofit founded by American tennis icon Billie Jean King that is dedicated to advancing women’s opportunities in sports.

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