Staff Spotlight: Scott Davenport, Chief Operating Officer

Freedom to Marry has a dedicated and diverse staff working each day to secure the freedom to marry nationwide. Over the next several weeks, we'll be helping you get to know each of them a little bit better. This week, we hear from Scott Davenport, Freedom to Marry's Chief Operating Officer. Before coming to Freedom to Marry, Scott worked as an executive for Oliver Wyman Consulting and Capitol One. He has a long history as an activist for LGBT rights, having served as board co-chair for the Family Equality Council; the co-founder of Family Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts; and the board president for Equality Maryland. Scott has two children, one who is now in college and one who graduated this year. 

Where are you from, and what brought you to New York City?
I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs - Lansdowne, to be exact - but spent most of my adult life in Washington, D.C. I moved to New York to work for Freedom to Marry.
 
What is your favorite place in the world?
It's almost too hard to pick one - so I'll share my top five - and you can see the theme: Ptown; Hawaii; London; Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef; and Sydney, Australia.  

What do you like to do in your free time?
My answer to that has changed over time, but these days it has to do with music. I'm either singing in the NYC Gay Men's Chorus or going to a Broadway musical! 

What has been your favorite "freedom to marry" moment - a time in the movement that has particularly resonated with you?
Again, another hard question - there really isn't one. I was really moved at the first weddings in Massachusetts many years ago, and I was just as moved when marriage came to New York. And since I have kids, seeing Zach Wahls stand up in the Iowa House to defend his moms' freedom to marry got me verklempt, too! But frankly, the most moving moments for me have been the weddings of my friends, and my own wedding in 2007. 

Why does the freedom to marry matter to you?
I want to see my family treated with all of the dignity and respect afforded to all other families.   

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