Joseph Duggan Lyons Email & Phone Number

Brussels, Belgium

In October 2019, I was elected Vice-President of Rainbow Rose with support of 95% of the voting delegates at the General Assembly in Madrid. My platform focused on growing training and educational opportunities, strengthening our European-wide campaigns, and increasing the vital role of activists within the organization.Quickly it became apparent in early 2020 that many of these goals would only be successful if carried out online given the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spearheading the organization's programming during this time, I organized various online meetings, trainings and seminars for the membership.

Brussels Area, Belgium

In October of 2017, I ran for the board of Rainbow Rose at the General Assembly in Stockholm, and I was elected with the highest vote total of all candidates. Other board members then chose me to be treasurer. During my term, I focused on increasing both the member and activist fees as well as outside grants to increase the funding for the organization. From the beginning to end of my term, I was able to increase total funding by 533%, which allowed us to increase programing, including trainings, conferences, and more across Europe.During my time as treasurer, I also did much of the general longterm planning and logistical work for the organization. I organized events, designed and led trainings, and overhauled our IT infrastructure. In addition, I attended Party of European Socialists (PES) leadership meetings to ensure that the larger political family considered LGBTI rights when developing policy and when holding member parties accountable.With the board, I organized meetings during our two-year mandate in countries like Romania and Bulgaria where the PES member parties have not been supportive historically on our issues. In some cases, meetings we organized were the first time that these parties met with any LGBTI NGO.I also attended European and international conferences on behalf of Rainbow Rose during this mandate including IDAHOT 2018 in Lisbon, ILGA-Europe 2018 in Brussels, and ILGA World 2019 in Wellington.

Brussels Area, Belgium

In preparation for the European Elections in 2019, I strategized, proposed, and managed an LGBTQIA+ voter election outreach campaign for the Party of European Socialists (PES) that comprised of field, digital, trainings and media relations to urge queer voters to "come out and vote" for social democratic PES member party candidates.This work began in February 2019 when I prepared a detailed campaign proposal for PES leadership to get financial and institutional support for the endeavor. After receiving approval, I worked with volunteer activists across the continent, trained them and brought in experts on canvassing and digital campaigning so that they could take materials that we prepared and use them locally, given that messages needed to coincide with local candidates and national parties. We also planned several actions with PES Common Candidate Frans Timmermans and had a few Europe-focused actions including Belgian Pride and Eurovision to draw media coverage.I coordinated our field and digital campaigning in 18 countries, with our social media presence active in more than 15 languages. In total we reached more than 750,000 European voters with our pro-LGBTQIA+ voter activation message. In addition — and more importantly for the longterm effects — activists returned to their home countries prepared to train local activists in field work and digital campaigning. Following the campaign, I also completed analyses of the work and presented them at PES leadership meetings.In addition, I attended the International Progressive Campaign Forum in July, in Washington, D.C. — co-hosted by Australian Labor International, Global Progress, and PES — to discuss the campaign and exchange ideas with progressive campaign leaders from around the globe.

New York, New York

At Bustle, I started as an overnight news writer — covering breaking news from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST. — when I was the only writer online and would self-publish aggregated breaking pieces and update them using the WordPress CMS. From the fall of 2015, until Election Day 2016, any non-breaking coverage largely focused on the presidential election and Hillary Clinton. We covered everything from debates to election night — with a lot of SEO explainers in between. When President Trump was projected the winner that night, I was one of the first writers online to start reworking all the prepared coverage (which had assumed Clinton would be the winner).Starting in May 2017, following editorial changes, the news section changed from mostly aggregated coverage, in which an active — and sometimes opinionated — feminist voice was encouraged, to a mixture of reported pieces, breaking pieces, and longer Buzzfeed-style lists that minimized sarcasm or irony. I changed my tone to match.This meant no more opinion pieces, for example on the Pulse LGBTQ nightclub shooting — nor first-person essays, like my recap of a SOGI human rights conferences in Malta. But it did open the door for more original stories and angles, made stronger with expert interviews.In January 2018, the role of an overnight newswriter was eliminated as part of a reworking of the section's schedule, and I was able to better report and interview sources on Eastern Time. That bore fruit as the Trump administration began separating families at the border and throughout the midterm election, when I interviewed candidates from what was later described as the Women's Wave and the Rainbow Wave of newly elected officials. I then covered progressive legislation in 2019 such as the Equality Act introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who I interviewed as part of the bill's launch.I left Bustle in 2019 when the news section was closed and all the writers and majority of editors were laid off.

As a freelancer, I have written reported journalistic pieces but also penned opinion articles, done some corporate ghostwriting and even prepared copy for props in movies. Topics have ranged from travel destinations in Europe and the Caribbean to foreign media and governments confronting Google News. I've also been contracted to prepare trainings in Spanish. I have created content for The Daily Dot, Condé Nast España, Hippo Reads, IFM-SEI, Tornado Films, and the United Methodist Church - Northern Illinois Conference.

Brussels, Brussels Region, Belgium

Starting at the yearly Rainbow Rose General Assembly in Paris in November 2016, I began working on the organization's communications, starting with press releases and social media at various events including that year's GA, a ministerial LGBTI conference hosted by the Government of Malta, and more.From there, together with a fellow consultant, I helped devise a communications strategy and plan to be put in place by the organization's board that would further drive the goals of advancing LGBTI rights in Europe more broadly but specifically within the network of social democratic political parties belonging to the Party of European Socialists. Our goals were to raise the organization's profile, reach more people, and tell powerful stories.Through video, social media, a newsletter, press releases and an updated website, and empowering our members, we presented the board with a document that could be put in action on day one and then grow steadily for years to come as resources and staff increase.

Madrid Area, Spain

Madrid hosted the WorldPride in 2017, the global celebration of LGBTQIA+ rights and Pride, and I oversaw the Madrid Summit Human Rights Conference, one of the main pillars of the weeks-long event. As program director, I led on content for the conference, strategizing to find topics and speakers that would best highlight issues facing all members of the community on all six inhabited continents. This resulted in more than 140 speakers being brought from around the world to speak in more than 50 gender-balanced workshops, panels, and plenaries; 1,500 attended the three-day conference held at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. We also held a fourth day solely for elected LGBTQIA+ leaders at the Spanish Senate.Beyond strategizing for the program, I cultivated relationships with speakers; supervised the team in charge of logistics including travel, visas, and accommodation; oversaw the development of the website, printed program, signage and all branded materials; project managed the online registration process with a team at Ticketea; created, tracked, and successfully managed the 150,000€ budget while responding to institutional funder-imposed budget cuts; and I also led meetings with our international adviser committee from around the world.This work meant Madrid was able to host the largest truly international LGBTQIA+ conference to date with a special focus on the Global South. Every panel, workshop and plenary was simultaneously translated to and from Spanish and English at a minimum, allowing greater exchange among speakers and the audience — and giving activists from Latin America, Africa, and Asia a voice equal to that of Spanish and Europeans. Notable speakers included out lesbian former Prime Minister of Iceland Johanna Sigurðardóttir; out trans Taiwanese minister Audrey Tang; Ugandan activist Kasha Nabagesera; and out trans Venezuelan Assembly Deputy Tamara Adrián.

Alcalá De Henares, Spain

At Dulcinea, an elementary school in a small city outside of Madrid, Spain, I taught English, natural science, social studies and art to 4th, 5th and 6th grade students in English. My position paired me with Spanish teachers who were teaching in English. I filled in the gaps with pronunciation and vocabulary help in the instruction. I also prepared and taught lessons flying solo, particularly in 5th grade science and social studies, preparing interactive lessons and activities using PowerPoint and other programs supported by the digital smart boards in each classroom. I also worked with 6th graders in preparing for the speaking portion of their Cambridge KET and PET exams, British language proficiency exams. Most importantly at Dulcinea, I coached 80 fourth graders in preparation for the 5th level Trinity English exam, a London-based placement test, that includes a general conversation and a 5-minute presentation on a topic of their choice. All of the kids passed.

Rock Island, Illinois

During the big push for marriage equality legislation in Illinois, I worked in a blue collar community on the border with Iowa. As the only organizer for the 400,000-strong Quad Cities, I organized supportive community members to volunteer and express their support for marriage equality legislation. The local state representative, a Democrat, was on the fence about the issue and our goal was to get him on the record as a supporter. I recruited volunteers to work phone banks, petition drives and canvasses to reach area voters using election software like NGP VAN. We asked voters to either leave a message of support at the representative's office or to sign a petition urging him to support the marriage equality bill, SB10. I also identified and targeted community and political leaders and worked with them to become vocal allies on the issue. One of the most significant was the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union and the area Federation of Labor. I worked with their president to have a resolution of support passed. Other groups that I worked with were local religious communities (I met with the representative's priest), universities and the Democratic Party of Rock Island. Our target, the Rock Island state representative voted in favor of the bill.I also worked toward the end of the campaign in Galesburg, Illinois, targeting a moderate Republican state representative. In Galesburg I brought together a mix of religious leaders, officials from the local university, Knox College, the fire chief, the police chief and business owners to have a meeting with the representative. They spent several hours speaking with him directly in a private setting, sharing why marriage equality was an important issue for the community. He unfortunately did not support the bill, but — thanks to the organizing work — everyone who was anyone asked him to.

Washington, Iowa

Joining my loves of Italian food and Quickbooks, I reworked accounting software and processes to better inform capital outlays for the business’ expansion and manage cash flow better. Dodici has a restaurant, coffee shop and hotel suites, a complex operation with more than 20 employees. I managed payroll, filed taxes, evaluated business owner's insurance policies, managed unemployment and payroll tax payments to the state and more. I also participated in decisions about advertising expenditures and loyalty programs.

Chicago, Illinois

Joining Chicago Phoenix as a new-media start-up in January, 2012, I worked as a multimedia reporter covering LGBT issues in Chicago and Illinois politics, advancements in HIV treatments and local gay organization. I have interviewed Illinois state legislators, CEOs of Chicago NGOs like Howard Brown and Equality Illinois and famous activists such as Iowa's Zach Wahls, whose YouTube video in which he defended his two lesbian moms went viral. During Illinois' push for marriage equality, I provided detailed analysis of poll numbers as well as updates on the current court case challenging the state-level marriage ban. In addition to reporting, I have used a CMS system for filing stories and photos and used social media, particularly Twitter, to draw readers to the site.

Iowa City, Iowa Area

As an organizer with the president's reelection campaign, Obama for America — Iowa, I registered new voters in four counties, focusing on remote, untapped communities in the Southeast of the state. Working with the field organizer in Washington County, I mobilized Obama supporters to vote early, exceeding voter outreach goals in a rural setting. I recruited volunteers to fill door-to-door and phone canvassing shifts. I also utilized campaign softwares VoteBuilder and MiniVAN to cut lists, register new voters and maintain data efficiently.

Chicago, Illinois

At Power of 3, I worked to expose more consumers to the Duggan Sisters brand with digital marketing, namely through Google Adwords and Facebook advertising. I also concepted and created semi-monthly eNewsetters with the management team. I managed the customer database for these digital email marketing campaigns and ensured that they were heavy with creative and engaging content. To that effect, I shot, edited and produced product webisodes for the Duggan Sisters eNewsletter and online store. We were also able to push this content through social media outlets. Also during my time with Power of 3, I was able to translate our invoicing and accounting system to Intuit's Quickbooks, tackling specific challenges of a web store-wholesale joint business using Webgility eCC software. I also provided logistical support during both retail and wholesale shows in Chicago and ran the wholesale and web store operations when the management team was away on business. In addition to these responsibilities, I engaged with customers daily, using social media, email and the telephone to ensure satisfaction.

Chicago, Illinois

At MARC USA, I worked on the General Growth Properties social media account. I wrote copy for 15 malls across the country, updating both Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts. I also read, tracked and analyzed consumer-generated media for more than 40 malls. Our team then prepared quarterly and six-month reports to share with GGP. Working with our clients, we used this data to brainstorm interactive marketing campaigns that were fresh and engaging. In addition to my work on GGP, I oversaw the development and testing of banner ad campaigns for True Value Hardware. Also at MARC, I organized our work with Chicago-area non-profit BUILD to provide the signage and branding for their annual fundraising dinner.

Evanston, Illinois

Working with the LGBT Resource Center staff program coordinator, I organized events like film screenings, diversity trainings, yearly receptions and delegations to Midwestern and national LGBT conferences. I maintained the Resource Center’s Facebook page and listserv, building interest in events on campus and in Chicago. During my senior year, I pioneered the center’s Twitter, @nulgbtcenter, to connect and collaborate with students, faculty and peer institutions.

Bremerton, Washington

At the Sun I reported on community news and feature stories, designed the front page, news and arts sections. While in the field, I reported, photographed, and shot video simultaneouslyworking as an all-in-one multimedia journalist, producing several video packages for the web. In addition to these main roles I edited the national and international wire news section. My first three months at the Sun were spent on my journalism residency in conjunction with the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern and the final three were spent as a paid freelancer.

Washington, Iowa

At Optimae I assisted individuals with mental disabilities to fulfill their goals and reach a higher quality of life by providing support in day-to-day activities, administering medications and handling finances. As part of a team of service providers I ensured consistent care and proper documentation for funding services.

Master'S Degree, Economic Development And Public Policy

Taught in Spanish, the UAM Master's in Economic Development and Public Policy combined theory and practical application of statistics.

Bachelor Of Science, Journalism, History

Activities and Societies: The Daily Northwestern, The Weekly, University Christian Ministry, Rainbow AllianceMy undergrad studies.

Study Abroad

One of a select group of Northwestern students selected by the Office of International Program Development, I studied the impact of bank.

Study Abroad

As part of an IFSA-Butler program, I studied audio journalism and communications in Spanish. Also during my time in Buenos Aires, I.

Education record

Activities and Societies: The Daily IowanDuring my senior year of high school, having topped out of math classes offered locally, I.

Valedictorian