Woodhull Freedom Foundation & Federation

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Woodhull Freedom Foundation & Federation
Founders	Mary Frances Berry, Melinda Chateauvert, Richard O. Cunningham, Judy Guerin-Cunningham and Ricci J. Levy
Type	501(c)(3) for the Foundation and 501(c)(4) for the Federation
Founded	February, 2003
Headquarters	Washington, DC
Staff	Executive Director, Ricci J. Levy
Area served	United States
Focus	human rights sexual expression sexuality civil rights issues freedom of speech social and political change
Method	research, advocacy, public education, social change
Slogan	Affirming Sexual Freedom as a Fundamental Human Right
Website	www.WoodhullFederation.org
Named after suffragist Victoria Woodhull

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation & Federation (WFF), is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC named in honor of early American suffragist Victoria Woodhull.^[1] WFF works through research, advocacy, and public education campaigns to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.

WFF believes that people’s sexual identity and sexual orientation have positive personal, social and moral value. WFF envisions a world where all individuals enjoy personal liberty, freedom of expression, and societal acceptance, and where compassion for others and the right to privacy are embodied in our policies and attitudes toward sexual practices, orientation and expression, a as confirmed in the recent Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas.^[2]

"The only time the minority can control the majority is when the majority are silent."^[3] "Those who believe in sexual freedom as a fundamental human right are the majority, and Woodhull is working with allies and individuals across the country to give that majority both a voice and the words to use to be able to speak about sex and sexuality in a positive, healthy way."

Woodhull’s primary strategies for building and fostering a sexual freedom movement are to:

Be the resolute national voice that consistently raises the interconnections between various identities, communities, and the issue of sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.

Act as the movement’s primary convener and coalition builder, working with activists, organizations and coalitions both within and outside of the human rights/sexual freedom framework.

Believing in each individual’s unique sexuality as a positive personal, social and moral value, Woodhull envisions a world where all individuals are free to engage in consensual sexual expression without external intervention. There should be no barriers to inclusion and no excuses for exclusion of anyone based on the choices they make about their personal sexual expression. Woodhull works in partnership with activists, advocacy organizations and coalitions across the United States fighting the political, social and economic forces driving and expanding sexual repression.

1 Mission Statement
2 Vision
3 Goals
4 Organizational structure
5 Executive Director
6 Partners, allies and coalitions
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Mission Statement

To affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right by creating a world where all individuals are free to engage in consensual sexual expression without societal or government intervention.

Vision

Woodhull envisions a world which recognizes sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.

Goals

To build a sexual freedom movement
To reshape the national dialog around sex and sexuality
To effect social change
To be the resolute national voice that consistently raises the interconnections between various identities, communities, and the issue of sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.

Working as a convener and coalition builder, Woodhull addresses laws, government policies, and corporate practices that restrict sexual freedom and discriminate against people on the basis of their consensual sexual expression.

The Foundation addresses these issues through research and public education, while the Federation conducts strategic advocacy campaigns.

The global perspective of the Foundation and Federation relies on research and analysis of laws, judicial decisions and enforcement]] practices.

Through education, we seek to mobilize diverse communities, write model legislation, build alliances, and change public attitudes to advocate for the sexual rights and responsibilities of all.

Specifically, Woodhull works to:

educate the public on the importance and value of sexual freedom and counter the arguments of groups seeking to restrict sexual rights;
advocate for decriminalization and social acceptance of consensual sexual expression;
seek to change antiquated, repressive and discriminatory sex laws and enforcement practices;
advocate for freedom of speech and artistic expression on sexual themes;
promote the empowerment of people to take control of their bodies and their sexuality;
support legal action to overturn court decisions adverse to sexual freedom and privacy rights, and work to affirm and expand decisions, like Lawrence v. Texas, that support sexual freedom and privacy;
oppose abstinence-only sex "education" and endorse an age-appropriate, comprehensive approach to sex education; and
seek to protect and foster scientific research on sexuality.

Organizational structure

WFF comprises two separate corporate entities, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation and the Woodhull Freedom Federation. Both the Foundation and the Federation are part of the same overall organization, but it is necessary to have two separate organizations in order for Woodhull to do a broad range of work in affirming sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. Its website collectively refers to the two organizations under the name "WFF". There is some overlap in the work done by each organization, but lobbying can only be done by the Federation, not the Foundation. Federal law limits the extent to which the Foundation, as a 501(c)(3), may engage in lobbying activities and so most of the lobbying activity is done by the Federation, a 501(c)(4). The work of the Foundation is research, education, legal advocacy and public speaking, activities that are essential to achieving the goal of sexual freedom for all.

The organization is governed by a Board of Directors[^[4] and is run by its founding Executive Director, Ricci J. Levy.^[5]

Executive Director

Ricci J. Levy has been engaged in sexual freedom activism for more than a decade. After a successful career in business consulting, serving as Senior VP, Director of Operations of CAP Index, Inc. and as President of R. J. Levy Consulting Inc., Ms. Levy formally entered the world of non-profit advocacy work. In 2002, she helped found The Woodhull Freedom Foundation and Federation. As the Executive Director and President of both the Foundation and the Federation, she has been instrumental in Woodhull's growing leadership in the sexual freedom movement. In partnership with The Task Force,^[6] Levy was a driving force in establishing a sexual freedom track at Creating Change,^[7] the largest annual LGBT political conference in the world. In 2006, under Levy's direction, the first Sexual Freedom Institute was offered at the conference and is now an annual event. Levy serves on the Steering Committee of the Free Expression Network,^[8] and is on the Advocacy Advisory Committee of AASECT.^[9]