Liz Abzug, the founder and
executive director of the Bella
Abzug Leadership Institute, has
led a distinguished career as a national
public affairs and strategic consultant,
professor, lawyer, and former political
candidate. She is the daughter of the
late Congressmember Bella Abzug, who
worked with Ed Koch in 1974 to propose
the earliest version of the Equality Act.
Liz’s work has spanned across many
fields, including politics, economics and
urban development, and human rights.
In 1995, she formed her own national
public affairs and managementconsulting
firm to provide services in the
areas of strategic and business planning,
public affairs, management and political
Liz
Abzug
Bella Abzug Leadership Institute
and health care consulting, marketing,
public relations, and lobbying.
Liz has served in a number of senior
level positions in government. Under
former Governor Mario Cuomo, Liz
was New York State’s chief lobbyist in
Washington for the state’s economic
development agencies. Prior to that,
she served as the vice president
of operations of the Empire State
Development Corporation and was
deputy commissioner of operations for
the state’s Division of Human Rights.
She helped lead the successful effort
to amend the state’s Human Rights law
to ban discrimination against people
living with HIV/AIDS.
Liz has been involved in numerous other
not-for-profit organizations and served
on small corporate boards, such as the
New York State Commission on Domestic
Violence, the Governor’s Gay Rights
Task Force, and the Lower Manhattan
Cultural Council.
Liz serves as a senior adjunct professor
of Urban Studies and Women and
Leadership at Barnard College/
Columbia University, where she teaches
classes pertaining to cities, urban
economic development, and women’s
leadership. She is also a public speaker
at colleges, universities, conferences,
and conventions throughout the United
States.
10 2021 Impact Awards | www.gaycitynews.com
/www.gaycitynews.com
/www.gaycitynews.com
