CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two LGBT community leaders were appointed last week by Mecklenburg County Commissioners to serve on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee.
Scott Bishop and Sarah Demarest, both of whom have taken leading roles in recent advocacy debates, were among several applicants for five open positions on the board. The board, whose members are appointed by the city and county, oversees a variety of activities for the city and county, including conflict resolution, police-community relations, fair housing/public accommodations, inter-group relations.
Both Bishop and Demarest serve on the steering committee for the Mecklenburg LGBT Political Action Committee (MeckPAC). Bishop serves as chair.
“We are proud to have LGBT community representation on this committee,” the group said in a short statement on Facebook.
The two will join Charlotte City Councilmember LaWana Mayfield on the committee, the most recognizable openly gay or lesbian representative on the body.
Bishop’s term ends in August 2015. Demarest’s term ends this July. Though the term is short, Demarest said she’s excited to serve and hopes to serve longer.
In addition to serving as MeckPAC chair, Bishop is also a member of the national board of directors for the Human Rights Campaign and its related Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Demarest is a staff attorney at the Freedom Center for Social Justice’s LGBTQ Law Center.
Both Bishop and Demarest applied for potential appointment to the committee last year.
[Ed. Note — This article previously identified Bishop as a member of the Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors. This is incorrect. We have updated the story above. We regret the error.]