TORIE OSBORN is executive director of the Liberty Hill Foundation, one of the nation's most admired social change foundations, recently described by the L.A. Times as "LA's most imaginative philanthropic organization". Liberty Hill funds grassroots community organizing for social, racial, and economic justice in Los Angeles County. Since Ms. Osborn joined Liberty Hill in the fall of 1997, grantmaking has nearly quadrupled, grantee leadership development and donor education programs have been added, and special initiatives have been launched in environmental justice, criminal justice and grassroots voter mobilization. Two years ago, the L.A. Weekly recognized her dynamic leadership by naming her "L.A.'s best all-round coalition builder."

Before joining Liberty Hill, Torie Osborn was a leader in the gay and lesbian movement, most recently serving as executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington DC, in 1993, and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center from 1988 to1992. Under her leadership, The Center experienced remarkable growth, achieved racial and gender parity for the first time, and became the world's largest organization serving gay and lesbian communities.

Ms. Osborn has been a social activist for 30 years, beginning with the civil rights, anti-Vietnam war and women's movements of the 1960s. Her passionate commitment to social justice has roots in her childhood when, as the daughter of a State Department employee, she witnessed food riots in Franco's Spain.

Ms. Osborn has made featured appearances on The MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, Good Morning America, National Public Radio and CNN's Crossfire. Major profiles about her, as well as op-ed pieces written by her, have appeared in The New York Times and The Los Angeles Time, La Opinion and other media outlets. Torie is also author of Coming Home to America (St. Martins: 1996), about the LGBT community's contributions to the American dream of democracy.

Ms. Osborn holds her B.A. from Middlebury College and her MBA in Finance and Marketing from UCLA's Anderson School of Management. She serves on the board of the Los Angeles Urban Funders, a longterm collaborative project of the Southern California Grantmakers.

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