As attacks on LGBTQ+ rights continue to escalate across North Carolina and the country, much of the public focus remains on federal courts, national elections and high-profile legislation. But for LGBTQ+ people navigating daily life in the state, the most immediate consequences often come from decisions made closer to home. School boards shape what students are allowed to learn. City councils and county commissioners control access to local resources. State and municipal leaders decide how and whether to respond when communities are under threat.
That is where HRC North Carolina, the state-level leadership body of the Human Rights Campaign, has concentrated its work. With a statewide steering committee, direct access to national leadership, and a growing volunteer base, HRC North Carolina serves as a bridge between national advocacy efforts and the realities facing LGBTQ+ communities across the state.
With over four decades of reporting, Qnotes has documented cycles of progress and backlash across North Carolina. In recent years, that coverage has included legislative efforts targeting transgender and nonbinary people, attempts to restrict LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools, renewed debates around marriage equality and rising fear within immigrant and military-connected communities.
These pressures shape classroom experiences, access to affirming health care, public safety and whether LGBTQ+ people feel visible or protected in their own towns. Against that backdrop, HRC North Carolina has focused on building local power and sustaining a visible presence in an increasingly hostile political climate.
How HRC North Carolina Operates
HRC operates through several interconnected leadership bodies that shape how priorities are set and how work moves from the national level to state and local communities.
At the national level, HRC is led by professional staff – including President Kelley Robinson – who oversee day-to-day operations, advocacy strategy and organizational direction. Governance and fiduciary oversight are provided by a Board of Directors responsible for budgets and long-term stewardship of the organization. According to state leadership, the board includes 37 members. North Carolina is represented by Joy Bowling, placing the state among a relatively small number of Southern states with direct representation at that level.
Supporting both staff leadership and the Board of Directors is the Board of Governors, a national body of just over 100 members representing states and regions across the country. Members serve as a bridge between national leadership and local realities, elevating state-level concerns, advocating for political endorsements and ensuring that regional conditions inform national strategy. North Carolina currently has three representatives serving on the Board of Governors. At the state level, HRC North Carolina is led by a steering committee that oversees organizing, outreach and engagement across the entire state. The committee currently includes about 12 people and operates with a statewide mandate rather than a city-based focus.
Longtime volunteer and steering committee chair Sarah Castleman said that structure has allowed the state group to prioritize outreach and rebuilding rather than internal logistics. “We are very much in a rebuilding era,” she said. “Our goal right now is to spread from the mountains to the coast and make sure people know we are here and that there are ways to get involved.”
A Statewide Presence Beyond Major Cities
Over time, HRC’s organizing structure in North Carolina has taken different forms, including separate committees in Charlotte and the Triangle. In recent years, those efforts were restructured into a single statewide organization.
“People underestimate how big North Carolina is,” said Castleman. “To reach as many people as we can, it made more sense to be one statewide organization again, even though many of us live in Charlotte.”
Although Charlotte hosts HRC North Carolina’s annual dinner, the organization’s leadership and volunteers are active across the state, including the Raleigh-Durham area, Greensboro, Asheville, Moore County and the Fort Bragg region. That statewide emphasis has shaped volunteer recruitment, organizing priorities and how HRC North Carolina shows up in communities far beyond major cities.
The annual dinner, scheduled this year for March 21, serves multiple roles within that strategy. In addition to raising funds that support HRC’s national and state-level work, it functions as a convening space for advocates, volunteers and allies from across North Carolina.
Beyond the dinner, HRC North Carolina maintains a visible presence at Pride festivals and LGBTQ+ community events, including Charlotte Pride, Blue Ridge Pride and other Pride celebrations across the state. That presence can include volunteer engagement, coordination with national HRC resources and relationship-building with local organizers. Pride events are viewed as critical entry points for visibility, education and organizing, particularly in communities where LGBTQ+ resources are limited.
“We really wish we had more amplification to show we exist,” said Brian Femminella, a member of the HRC North Carolina steering committee and a national Board of Governors representative. “That visibility matters for people who feel isolated and don’t always see themselves reflected or supported where they live.”
That sense of isolation is not evenly distributed across the state. In smaller, under resourced areas, LGBTQ+ people can experience heightened invisibility as political rhetoric and policy proposals increasingly target LGBTQ+ communities. HRC North Carolina has paid particular attention to LGBTQ+ issues affecting the military community, including the long-term consequences of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy as part of its broader statewide organizing work.
Local Elections and People Power
While federal policy battles often dominate headlines, HRC North Carolina has increasingly emphasized local elections where small margins can shape daily life. These include school boards, county commissions and municipal offices that influence education policy, public services and local protections.
“People sleep on school boards,” Femminella said, indicating that most potential voters pay scant attention to local politics. “People sleep on county boards.”
The organization works to identify and support candidates in these races, particularly in communities where LGBTQ+ representation and allyship can make an immediate difference. Volunteer-driven canvassing plays a central role in this work.
Although the steering committee itself includes about a dozen people, HRC North Carolina works with nearly 100 recurring volunteers statewide. Some participate in specific efforts, such as election canvassing or the annual dinner, while others engage more consistently throughout the year. Castleman said maintaining that volunteer infrastructure is essential to sustaining the organization’s work beyond a single election cycle.
Recent local election outcomes are evidence of this approach. Beyond winning races, HRC North Carolina emphasizes accountability. Engagement with elected officials continues after campaigns end, with a focus on ensuring commitments to LGBTQ+ communities are reflected in policy and practice.
Holding Space in a Hostile Moment
Across its work, HRC North Carolina treats community building as both a political and cultural necessity. In a region where LGBTQ+ people face sustained legislative pressure and social isolation, the organization aims to function as a visible point of connection as well as a force for advocacy.
As North Carolina approaches the 2026 election cycle, HRC North Carolina’s priorities include continued voter engagement, support for local and state candidates, and expanding people power so no one feels isolated while navigating an increasingly hostile political environment.
“All the people who came before us fought so we could have this voice,” Femminella said. “So we better use it.”