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POLITICAL PUZZLE
Chrisler to head Family Pride
BY ADAM REILLY
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When Cheryl Jacques resigned as president of Human Rights Campaign, the Washington, DC–based gay-rights organization, late last year, there was immediate speculation — in these pages and elsewhere — that she might return to Massachusetts and resume her political career. Now comes word that Jacques’s spouse, Jennifer Chrisler, has just been named executive director of the Family Pride Coalition, another DC-based group that lobbies for gay and lesbian parents and their children. In an interview Tuesday with the Phoenix, Chrisler said her main goal will be to expand the Family Pride Coalition’s membership base, its financial resources, and its institutional reach. "It was a great opportunity for me to be able to combine something I’m very clearly passionate about, as the mother of twin three-year-olds, with my skill set," Chrisler said. "I’m very excited. It was the right thing at the right time for me and for the Family Pride Coalition." Asked if Jacques would be staying in DC, Chrisler offered a remarkably open-ended response. "Like many families, we make these decisions on a case-by-case basis," she said. "She won’t rule anything in or out.... But I’ll be here, doing this job." Jacques — after predicting that Chrisler will take the Family Pride Coalition to "new heights" — was equally ambiguous about her plans. "I’ve been traveling all over the country, giving speeches on the importance of full equality for all Americans, including gay and lesbian Americans," she said. "I’ve been having fascinating conversations with folks from the corporate arena, the nonprofit arena, and the academic arena, as well as with folks from the political arena. We, like most couples, will figure out both our careers and what’s best for our children and juggle it all." In other words, a future Jacques candidacy — for some unspecified office — may still be in the cards.
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