United States Department of the Interior
Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees Association

Interior GLOBE Awards New Millennium Human Rights Award to
Assistant Secretary John Berry

Interior GLOBE recently awarded its first annual New Millennium Human Rights Award to former Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, John Berry.  The Award honors an individual who has shown outstanding leadership and commitment in his or her efforts to significantly benefit gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered employees of the Department of the Interior.

Assistant Secretary Berry, this year’s recipient and inspiration for the award, first arrived at the Department in the fall of 1997 and was the first openly gay Assistant Secretary.  During those three years, the Department, through Assistant Secretary Berry’s efforts, took significant steps towards improving the working environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered employees.  As a result, the Department is now recognized as one of the leading federal departments with regard to gay and lesbian rights.

The highlights of Assistant Secretary Berry’s accomplishments include:

• Overseeing the creation of the Office for Equal Opportunity’s 1998 Grievance Procedures for Complaints of Discrimination Based on sexual orientation.
  

• Extending to the entire Department the Dual Career/Relocation Assistance Policy which authorizes bureaus to provide relocation assistance to domestic partners of Departmental employees.
  

• Extending the Department’s Employee Assistance Program to domestic partners of Departmental employees.
  

• Directing the Department’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Businesses to begin a national outreach effort to gay and lesbian businesses and chambers of commerce to alert them to procurement opportunities at the Department.
  

• Initiating a policy of notifying prospective contractors and lessors of the Department’s sexual orientation non-discrimination policy.
  

• Authorizing the creation of a new position in the Office for Equal Opportunity - the Departmental Liaison to gay and lesbian employees.
  

• Working to correct discriminatory practices still found in certain polices, such as aspects of the National Park Service law enforcement standards, and the refusal to provide security clearances to gay and lesbian employees.
  

• Supporting the Office for Equal Opportunity’s sponsorship of June Pride programs, and working for greater coverage of GLOBE events and other diversity programs in the Department’s newsletter People Land and Water.
  

• And providing invaluable support to GLOBE in its efforts to have the Stonewall Inn recognized as a National Historic Landmark, and then listed on the National Register of Historic places.

The New Millennium Human Rights Award will be given annually in Assistant Secretary Berry’s honor, and will be known as The Berry Award.

For further information, contact Maria Wiseman, President, United States Department of the Interior Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees Association at (202) 208-7227.