Bill Harrison is the executive director of Diversity Richmond, Central Virginia’s LGBT community center. Since 1999, through the profits of Diversity Thrift and other revenue streams, the organization has awarded over $1 million to local nonprofits.
Prior to joining Diversity Richmond, Bill was the Government and Public Affairs Director for the American Red Cross, Central Virginia Chapter. He served at Ground Zero the month of October following the terrorists’ attacks of September 11th, as liaison between the National Red Cross offices and media. He was the development director for Health Brigade (Fan Free Clinic) during the height of the HIV epidemic and was the first public information officer for the Virginia Department of Health’s HIV program.
Bill was a 2016 finalist in the Richmond Times Dispatch’s Richmonder of the Year and was a recipient of the 2017 Humanitarian Award presented by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. In 2016 he received the Nationz Foundation Humanitarian Award. His editorial “Gay Marriage, the Civil Rights Movement of Our Generation,” received Best in Show during the 2014 Public Relations of America, Richmond competition. Under his leadership, Diversity Richmond was named “Foundation Philanthropist” by the Central Virginia Chapter of the Association of Professional Fundraisers, the first LGBT organization to receive that recognition.