GLAAD National Board of Directors announces new members Hannah Hart, Rebecca Heineman, and Ranjan Goswami

Today GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, announced that entertainer Hannah Hart, video game programmer Rebecca Heineman, and Delta Air Lines executive Ranjan Goswami will join the organization’s National Board of Directors. Members of GLAAD’s Board of Directors oversee the organization’s work to accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ people and raise funds to support and grow GLAAD.

The three new members, experts in digital media and innovation, join GLAAD as the organization grows its digital media capabilities. GLAAD recently hired Jim Halloran as GLAAD’s Chief Digital Officer, who previously worked for Twitter as the Head of Global Content Management and the company’s advisor on LGBTQ issues. Halloran’s team at GLAAD creates online campaigns that mobilize LGBTQ people and allies, build bridges with a diverse array of intersectional communities, and inspire real change. The department recently ran successful campaigns to advocate that US Ambassador Nikki Haley speak out against anti-LGBTQ violence in Chechnya and to pressure President Trump’s anti-LGBTQ nominee for Secretary of the Army Mark Green to withdraw from consideration. The department has also worked with Instagram, TeenVogue.com, Seventeen.com, and others, on recent video content featuring LGBTQ youth that count over 16 million views.

With more than 4.5 million followers across social media, Hannah Hart is one of pop culture's most influential LGBTQ voices, consistently using her platforms to advance acceptance. In her video series, “Coming Out,” which has amassed millions of views, Hart features candid conversations about LGBTQ issues and personal stories about her own experience as part of the LGBTQ community. Hart is also an performer, producer, philanthropist, and best-selling author. She co-produced and starred in the feature film ‘Dirty 30’ and her books "My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking, and Going with Your Gut,” and “Buffering: Unshared Tales Of A Life Fully Loaded," each spent several weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Hart was recognized by the White House for her impact through her international initiative "Have A Hart Day" and was invited to lead a discussion about millennial engagement with President Obama. Hart will next host ‘I Hart Food,’ a series she co-produced with the Food Network that launches on August 14.

Rebecca Heineman is CEO and CTO of game studio Olde Sküül, Inc., as well as a veteran of the computer game industry. A founding member of Interplay Productions, Logicware, and Contraband Entertainment, she has also worked with industry giants like Amazon, Electronic Arts, Bloomberg, Microsoft and Ubisoft. While at Amazon, Heineman was an active member of Glamazon, the company’s LGBTQ employee group, where she fought for transgender health care. She was also recently named to LGBTQ Nation’s list of the ‘top 50 successful transgender Americans you should know.’ Heineman has consulted for GLAAD, served as volunteer facilitator at Ingersoll Gender Center, and is a member of PressXY.com, a speakers group where gaming industry professionals discuss topics at the intersection of gaming and trans issues.

Ranjan Goswami is Delta Air Lines’ Vice President – Los Angeles and Sales, West Region. Based in L.A., Ranjan oversees Delta’s commercial strategy and growth for the West Coast, including the airline’s $1.9 billion investment at LAX, the second-largest private infrastructure investment in the L.A. basin. He has also managed merger integrations, established Delta's customer experience strategy after its merger with Northwest Airlines, and has overseen innovative projects designed to fuel growth. Goswami also supports the airline’s Pride and HIV and AIDS initiatives and was a speaker at the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association Global Convention. He currently sits on the board of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and previously served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, Junior Achievement of Southern California, and the LA Chamber of Commerce.