Josh Coleman
Josh Coleman (born June 7, 1989 in Cullman) is a political activist and public official for the City of Birmingham where he serves as the Mayor's LGBTQ+ Liaison, deputy director of the Office of Social Justice and Racial Equity, and program director for the city's Academy of Civic Engagement.
Coleman is the president of Central Alabama Pride, a chief of staff for the Young Democrats of America and an active member of the Democratic National Committee. He has also served as president of the Alabama Young Democrats, as a member of the Alabama State Democratic Party's executive board, and as an assistant to former Governor Don Siegelman.
Coleman was appointed to the newly-created position of LGBTQ+ Liaison by Mayor Randall Woodfin in June 2018. He works alongside the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board to maintain and improve Birmingham's public policies and programs for the security and benefit of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer residents, employees and visitors. In 2019 he was asked to lead the Academy of Civic Engagement which aims to educate residents about government operations and to cultivate qualified appointees for public boards and authorities.
In 2022 Coleman announced his candidacy for chair of the Alabama Democratic Party following Chris England's decision not to run for re-election. Randy Kelley won the position with the backing of Joe Reed. Coleman has served as a political advisor and strategist, and chaired the campaigns of Neil Rafferty's re-election to Alabama House District 54 in 2022 and Travis Hendrix's successful bid to fill the Alabama House District 55 seat left vacant by the resignation of Fred Plumb in the 2024 special election.
Coleman completed a bachelor of arts in political science at Miles College in 2023 and a master's in public administration at UAB in 2024. He was part of the inaugural class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative on civic engagement.
References
- Chambers, Jesse (August 2018) "Treating Everyone Fairly: City's first LGBTQ Liaison said his hiring 'reaffirms' Mayor Randall Woodfin's 'goal of inclusion.'" Iron City Ink. Vol. 3, No. 3, p. 16
- Cason, Mike (July 17, 2022) "Alabama Democratic Party changes: Josh Coleman, Tabitha Isner to run for chair." The Birmingham News
- Glenn, John H. (August 15, 2022) "Randy Kelley elected chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party." Alabama Political Reporter
External links
- Josh Coleman on Linkedin.com