Advocacy Marketing Group

Dianne Hardy-Garcia

Dianne Hardy-Garcia is a partner with Advocacy Marketing Group, and an experienced political/campaign organizer and lobbyist. She has worked as a key political and marketing strategist and not-for-profit director on the local, state and national level.

Hardy-Garcia is most well-known for her ability to conduct successful legislative campaigns and mass organizing efforts. Through this work, she has honed her skills at incorporating technology and organizing techniques to enhance fundraising capacities, communication and membership plans and marketing efforts for campaigns and organizations.

Hardy-Garcia served as the executive director of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas (LGRL) from 1993 to 2002. Most notably, Hardy-Garcia helped spearhead an anti-hate crime campaign that led to the passage of the James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Act in Texas. Hardy-Garcia also served as the executive director of the Millennium March on Washington, and is the former co-chair of the Federation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered State Organizations, a national coalition of state organizations. She has served as co-chair of the Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus, and led the effort that established domestic partnership benefits for City of Austin employees and established a statewide domestic partnership registry in the state of Texas.

Previously, Hardy-Garcia worked as a legislative aide to State Representative Elliot Naishtat. She has also served as a social worker and organizer on many social justice issues including homelessness, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, women's rights, mental health, criminal justice and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights.

For her leadership and extensive organizing efforts, Hardy-Garcia has been honored by organizations such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Her work has been covered in national media such as Prime Time Live; The Advocate, Out Magazine, Texas Monthly and Vanity Fair. She has been named by The Advocate as one of the gay and lesbian community's best and brightest activists; She is also featured in Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage, authored by longtime activist David Mixner.

Hardy-Garcia received her master's degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. She has her bachelor's degree in psychology and English from Incarnate Word College in San Antonio, Texas.

Hardy-Garcia was born and raised in San Antonio, and currently resides in Los Angeles with her partner and their two children.