C. Dixon Osburn is the director of Human Rights First’s Law and Security Program, which advocates for national security policies that respect the rule of law and human rights. Dixon has an extensive background in legal and policy advocacy, having spent 14 years as Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, one of the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights advocacy organizations. In that role, he is credited with significantly changing public opinion and reframing the debate over the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He has had great success working in coalition with high-level military leaders. Dixon is also author of Making Giants Dance: Strategies for Social Change (publication pending), has published op-eds in The New York Times and USA Today, and has appeared extensively on national television and quoted in the press. Dixon earned his JD/MBA from Georgetown University and an AB with distinction from Stanford University. He is a member of the bars of Pennsylvania and District of Columbia.

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