Brendan Mahoney

Phoenix

Profession: Attorney at Bonn & Wilkins Chartered

Fellowship Track:  Non-Profit Organization Leadership

Motivation: I was not motivated to public service until I personally felt the public slap of the Supreme Court, ruling that the Boy Scouts could lawfully exclude gays.  I got involved out of self-interest, but self-interest did not long remain my primary motivation.  My beliefs compelled me to see a bigger picture in which self-centeredness and self-proclaimed virtue have hijacked public discourse.  Certain religious groups, claiming a monopoly on morality, have successfully persuaded Americans that the past was better.  My own spiritual path convinces me of the opposite.  America is a work in progress, an evolutionary revolution of aspirations. 

Volunteer Highlights: Arizona Human Rights Fund; Arizona State Bar Committee on Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity; Health Education for Latino People, Inc. (HELP); Artworks Children’s Foundation

Leadership Interests: While many public issues profoundly concern me, my primary focus is GLBT equal rights.  While my/this community is full of talent, it lacks cohesion of energy.  I can participate in changing this by working toward a greater leadership position within such organizations as the Arizona Human Rights Foundation and the Human Rights Campaign.

CPL-AZ Mentor: State Representative Robert Meza