| 2 | 3 | | |
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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, LGBTQIA+ communities across the state have greatly |
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| 6 | 7 | | benefited from the dedicated efforts of Ricardo Martinez, who |
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| 7 | 8 | | currently serves as chief executive officer of Equality Texas; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, A native of Mexico, Mr. Martinez became the first |
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| 9 | 10 | | Latinx man to lead Equality Texas in 2019, and he has since worked |
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| 10 | 11 | | tirelessly to advance the organization's mission of ending |
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| 11 | 12 | | discrimination against LGBTQIA+ communities; in performing his |
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| 12 | 13 | | duties as chief executive officer, he has drawn on a wealth of |
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| 13 | 14 | | experience with nonprofit fundraising, organizing, advocacy, and |
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| 14 | 15 | | leadership; and |
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| 15 | 16 | | WHEREAS, Prior to joining Equality Texas, Mr. Martinez |
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| 16 | 17 | | helped countless students through his work with PENCIL and Summer |
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| 17 | 18 | | Search; he went on to become senior manager of field services at |
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| 18 | 19 | | GLSEN before being named president of the organization's chapter in |
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| 19 | 20 | | Phoenix, Arizona; in that role, he contributed significantly to a |
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| 20 | 21 | | movement that resulted in the repeal of an Arizona law prohibiting |
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| 21 | 22 | | LGBTQIA+ representation, content, and history in school |
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| 22 | 23 | | curriculum; he further distinguished himself as national director |
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| 23 | 24 | | for constituent engagement at Stand for Children; and |
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| 24 | 25 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Martinez has been honored for his leadership in |
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| 25 | 26 | | the LGBTQIA+ community by the Barack Obama administration, and he |
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| 26 | 27 | | was awarded a 40 Under Forty award from Stony Brook University in |
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| 27 | 28 | | 2019; he holds a bachelor's degree in political science and history |
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| 28 | 29 | | from Stony Brook and a master's degree in nonprofit management from |
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| 29 | 30 | | the New School; and |
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| 30 | 31 | | WHEREAS, Ricardo Martinez has demonstrated a deep commitment |
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| 31 | 32 | | to building a better future for LGBTQIA+ communities in Texas and |
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| 32 | 33 | | beyond, and he may indeed reflect with pride on his many noteworthy |
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| 33 | 34 | | accomplishments; now, therefore, be it |
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| 34 | 35 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 35 | 36 | | Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby commend Ricardo Martinez |
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| 36 | 37 | | for his service to LGBTQIA+ communities and extend to him sincere |
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| 37 | 38 | | best wishes for continued success in his important work; and, be it |
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| 38 | 39 | | further |
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| 39 | 40 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 40 | 41 | | prepared for Mr. Martinez as an expression of high regard by the |
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| 41 | 42 | | Texas House of Representatives. |
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