Welcome from the President

I am honored to take up the mantle of stewarding Q Law NJ, Inc. in the next phase of its development, along with my talented and insightful Board of Directors. Much of Q Law’s first official year as a member-bearing professional organization—during which time I was its inaugural Vice President—was dedicated to the arduous but vital work of formation, establishing procedures and guidelines for the organization’s function, and setting organizational priorities. I am grateful to Derek Demeri, Esq. (he/him or they/them), Q Law’s immediate past President, for their leadership, commitment, and vision in bringing this undertaking to fruition.

 

Before us now is the work of putting our mission, our core principles, and our vision to action. We must act on our collective purpose in real and tangible ways. I know that through our joint commitment to this mission, we can work to become a strong force for LGBTQIA+ advocacy in the State of New Jersey. Though that work will be forever ongoing, I look forward to working with you all to move the needle as much as we can over the next year.

 

Needless to say, over the last few years, the law has regressed dramatically with respect to LGBTQIA+ people, particularly the rights of and protections for transgender and gender nonconforming people. In fact, the law has been used in brutal and often intellectually dishonest ways as a weapon against our community. Though New Jersey is nowhere near the most hostile, it is, unfortunately, no exception to the general trends. In that legal landscape, it is all the more important for us as people with meaningful connections to the law to use our knowledge and skills to advocate for the betterment of the conditions under which LGBTQIA+ people live, particularly those people with other intersecting identities on the basis of which they also face discrimination. 

 

My hope is that we, as a community, can put our rage, frustration, and fear into action by developing both supportive and affirmative advocacy initiatives—internally and externally—that reclaim the narrative around our community. To quote Alok Vaid-Menon (they/them/theirs), “There’s magic in being seen by people who understand—it gives you permission to keep going.” That is what this community has meant to me, and I hope it is what this community can mean to you as well.

 

In solidarity and with Pride,

 

Liz Pudel, Esq.

President, 2026-2027 Term

Honorific/Pronouns: (Mx./they/them)