Geoff Kors was born on April 30, 1961 in New York City, the grandchild of Eastern European immigrants. His father was a lawyer and his mother was very politically active, working on campaigns on Long Island, NY. From a young age, his parents instilled in him the importance of education and political engagement. Much to his peers’ surprise, his family would talk openly about controversial political topics with one another.

When Geoff was 12, his family closely followed the Watergate Hearings, which piqued his interest in politics. He became involved in his community throughout high school, organizing park clean-ups, helping with local political campaigns, and running for the school board when he was just 17. He also realized he was attracted to guys. As he witnessed the rise and assassination of Harvey Milk during this time, he became apprehensive about entering politics as a gay man.

Geoff studied political science at Union College, then moved across the country to attend Stanford Law School, where he lived as openly gay for the first time. He became involved with the LGBTQ+ student groups on campus and had his first relationship with another man. Upon graduating SLS, Geoff moved to DC to work for a year representing Suffolk County, New York to shut down a nuclear power plant. In DC, Geoff got involved in the local AIDS activism and LGBTQ+ social scenes. However, he stayed closeted at work; both Geoff and his peers lost jobs and job offers when employers found out about their sexuality.

After DC, Geoff worked for 5 years in litigation as the Assistant Regional Counsel of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco. He then moved to Chicago to take a job as Director of the ACLU of Illinois Gay and Lesbian Rights and AIDS and Civil Liberties projects. Through the ACLU, Geoff sued the Chicago Police Department for non consensually testing recruits for HIV and then not hiring anyone who tested positive. He also sued the Boy Scouts for denying an employee a job for being gay, and collaborated with Lambda Legal to advocate for the first co-parent adoption for a lesbian couple. Geoff then returned to California, working for a member of the SF Board of Supervisors and as a civil rights attorney.

In 2000, Geoff’s friend, Jean Harris, was the executive director of California Alliance for Pride and Equality (CAPE) and invited him to put together a fundraiser for CAPE in Palm Springs. Soon thereafter, he joined the board, and by 2002, Geoff was the executive director of CAPE. During his leadership, he rebranded CAPE to Equality California (EQCA), secured their first office space in Sacramento, and collaborated with NCLR, Lambda, and ACLU on bills and legislation for LGBTQ+ rights in California. 

During his ten years at EQCA, Geoff lead the organization’s work to pass over 70 LGBT bills, most that had never been passed and signed into law anywhere else at the time including the first laws requiring LGBT history be taught equally in schools, ensuring equal healthcare for transgender individuals, and banning conversion therapy for minors as well as the first marriage equality bill to pass a state legislature in the country. Geoff went on to serve 4 years as the Legislative Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In 2015, he fulfilled his deferred teenage dream of being elected to political office when he was elected to the Palm Springs City Council where he served until 2022, including as Mayor from 2019 through 2020.

During his interview, Geoff tells rich stories about his LGBTQ+ legal advocacy, ranging from partnering with the first elected gay judge of SF to keep a protest peaceful, to leading 12 Days of Equality — a campaign of daily events aimed at changing Governor Schwarzenegger’s stance on marriage equality. He also reflects on the important next steps in LGBTQ+ legal advocacy: the importance of having LGBTQ+ representation in politics, the necessity of employment discrimination protections, and the pressing need for legislation ensuring healthcare for trans people. Geoff wraps up the interview with advice for the upcoming generation of LGBTQ+ activists, reminding them to connect with their passion, to seek out mentorship, to expect losses but celebrate the victories, and to take care of themselves.