Mitchell Draizin, a longtime LGBTQ advocate and the founder of Longview Capital Advisors, received an honorary degree from the City University of New York (CUNY) in recognition of his leadership work to support of the next generation of LGBTQ leaders.
Draizin, whose decorated background includes serving on the forthcoming American LGBTQ+ Museum’s board of trustees, has pioneered several initiatives to help LGBTQ students at CUNY. Most notably, he founded and chaired the CUNY LGBTQ Advisory Council, which is made up of 200 prominent LGBTQ community members across public, private, government, and non-profit sectors who have worked with a donor foundation to establish LGBTQ centers.
Draizin was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at LaGuardia Community College’s commencement ceremony on June 18.
“Today, I have the privilege of awarding an honorary degree to my friend Mitchell Draizin, a passionate champion for equity and inclusion,” CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said at the ceremony, according to LaGuardia Community College. “He’s one of NYC’s most influential advocates for LGBTQ rights. He embodies the values we want our graduates to carry forward — making the world more just.”
Draizin’s leadership roles also include serving on the Founders Council of the Williams Institute of UCLA, which conducts major national research pertaining to the LGBTQ community, and on the National Leadership Council for Lambda Legal, a national legal group fighting for LGBTQ rights across the nation. Furthermore, he is a founding member of the Board of the Equality Caucus Institute, a leadership training nonprofit working in partnership with the Congressional Equality Caucus.
For the last 12 years, Draizin has volunteered his time to serve in leadership capacities at CUNY, where he started as a volunteer teacher of personal finance at Manhattan Hunter Science High School before taking on additional roles.
“As a volunteer of the past 12 years, I have partnered with various CUNY campuses to offer a portfolio of LGBTQ Leadership and Advocacy programs: the David Mixner Fellowship, The CUNY LGBTQ Speaker’s Series at Roosevelt House/Hunter College, and a career mentor program,” Draizin said.
In accepting the honor, Draizin underscored the importance of advocacy work and heaped praise on graduating students.
“I accept this honor with gratitude, pride, and resolve,” he said. “My work has focused on two things — financial empowerment and advocacy. The ability to advocate for yourself, your community, and the causes you believe in.”
Addressing graduates, he said: “You are already role models. You are already advocates.”
With an eye towards the future, Draizin also applauded CUNY’s plan to establish a new Institute for LGBTQIA+ Community Engagement and Public History, describing it as “especially meaningful.”
