The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) is a left-of-center think tank that oversees several projects including an “Equality Map” and “Democracy Map,” which purport to rank U.S states based on their policies regarding LGBT interests and election legislation. ¹

Activity

The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) is a think tank that conducts research and advocacy on left-of-center policies including those concerning LGBT interests within the United States. Every two years, MAP publishes reports on LGBT-related topics including a 2017 study on the demographics of those within the U.S who identify as “bisexual transgender” while in both 2009 and 2010 it wrote reports on LGBT-focused grantmaking organizations within the U.S. ^{2 3 4}

MAP also provides research and reporting on election-related legislation and voter access. In 2024, MAP published a report on alleged restrictions to youth voting. ⁵

Equality Map

MAP’s “Equality Map” lists and tallies LGBT-based legislation within U.S states based on their impact towards LGBT people. As of December 2024, Washington, D.C. and 15 states have a “high overall policy tally” (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Minnesota, Illinois, Maine, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and Colorado, which has the highest rating) and 15 states have a “negative policy tally” (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee, which has the lowest rating). ⁶

Democracy Map

MAP’s “Democracy Map” lists and ranks legislation within individual states based on alleged pro or anti-democratic activity. As of December 2024, four states have “high overall tallies” (Michigan, Colorado, Washington, and California, which has the highest rating) and 11 states have a “low overall policy tally” (Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Mississippi, which has the lowest rating). No states have a “negative policy tally.” ¹

Leadership

Irene Mushovic is a co-founder of the Movement Advancement Project. She initially served as a strategic and communications consultant until she left the organization in 2006. Mushovic returned to MAP in 2009 to serve as executive director until March 2024. In 2021, she also became the executive director of consulting firm Wide Angle Research, Prior to this, Mishovic was a business analyst at McKinsey and Company. ^{7 8}

Naomi Goldberg is the executive director of MAP, serving in the role since March 2024. She has worked at MAP since June 2010, starting as an LGBT movement and policy researcher. From 2008 to 2010, Goldberg worked as a public policy fellow at the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. ^{9 10}

Sean Lund has been the managing director of MAP since January 2024 and has worked at the organization since 2010. Lund previously worked as the director of messaging at the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD. ¹¹

Funding

The Movement Advancement Project’s listed “major funders” include the David Bohnett Foundation, the Gill Foundation, The Impact Project, the Johnson Family Foundation, The Palette Fund, the Ronald W. Naito MD Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the Tzedek Social Justice Fund, the Wild Geese Foundation, the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, Zillow, David Dechman and Michel Mercure, Ineke Mushovic, MacKenzie Scott, and Weston Milliken. ¹²

Past donors have included the Ford Foundation, the Palatte Fund, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the David Geffen Foundation. ^{13 14 15}

1. “Snapshot: Democracy Ratings by State.” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.lgbtmap.org/democracy-maps/ratings_by_state.
2. “A Closer Look: Bisexual Transgender People.” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.lgbtmap.org/bisexual-transgender.
3. “LGBTQ Community Center Survey Report.” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.mapresearch.org/2024-lgbtq-community-center-survey-report.
4. “LGBTQ Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations.” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.lgbtmap.org/lgbt-movement-overviews/lgbtq-grantmaking-by-us-foundations
5. “A Silenced Generation: How the Power of the Youth Vote Collides with Barriers to Voting.” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.mapresearch.org/2024-youth-voting-report.
6. “Snapshot: LGBTQ Equality by State.” Movement Advanced Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps.
7. “Ineke Mushovic Named New Executive Director of the Movement Advancement Project (MAP).” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.lgbtmap.org/news/ineke-mushovic-named-new-executive-director-of-the-movement-advancement-project#:~:text=Ineke%20Mushovic%2C%20co%2Dfounder%20of,Monday%2C%20February%208%2C%202010.
8. “Ineke Mushovic.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/inekemushovic/.
9. “A Letter from Naomi Goldberg, MAP’s Incoming Executive Director.” Medium. March 1, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://lgbtmap.medium.com/a-letter-from-naomi-goldberg-maps-incoming-executive-director-50270546dbff.
10. “Naomi Goldberg.” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-goldberg/.
11. “Sean Lund.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/seandlund/.
12. “Our Major Funders.” Movement Advancement Project. Accessed November 27, 2024. https://www.lgbtmap.org/about-map/our-major-funders.
13. “2016 National LGBT Movement Report.” MAP Research. December 2016. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.mapresearch.org/file/2016-national-lgbt-movement-report.pdf.
14. “Movement Advancement Project.” Haas Jr. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.haasjr.org/grants/grantee/movement-advancement-project.
15. “Movement Advancement Project.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://hewlett.org/grants/movement-advancement-project-for-the-winning-jobs-narrative-project/.