Tiffany Joslyn – In Memoriam

Loss of anyone is difficult.  Loss of a young, passionate, activist is devastating.  Over the weekend the LGBT community lost a young, passionate, activist, leaving us all grieving.

Tiffany Joslyn was a former President of the Virginia Partisans, the predecessor organization of the LGBT Democrats of Virginia.  She helped the transition from Virginia Partisans to the LGBT Democrats of Virginia by serving as the President when the Virginia Partisans existed as the PAC of the LGBT Democrats of Virginia.  It was tumultuous time of change for both organizations and we will be forever grateful to her for her dedicated and passionate work.  Tiffany led fundraisers, interviewed and evaluated candidates, and generally allowed us to seamlessly support LGBT and LGBT friendly candidates during the transition.

Tiffany also used her expertise as an attorney to be a force behind the writing of a resolution supporting marriage equality that many local and district Democratic committees passed in or before 2012.  The support garnered at these levels lead to the introduction of the resolution by the LGBT Democrats of Virginia for consideration at the 2012 Democratic Party of Virginia Convention.  The resolution passed unanimously without one voice in dissent at that convention.  This added marriage equality as a plank of the 2012 Democratic Party of Virginia Platform as follows:

The Democratic Party supports the full inclusion of all families in the life of our nation, with equal respect, responsibility, and protection under the law, including the freedom to marry. Government has no business putting barriers in the path of people seeking to care for their family members, particularly in challenging economic times. We support the Respect for Marriage Act and the overturning of the federal so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” and oppose discriminatory constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny the freedom to marry to loving and committed same-sex couples.

Tiffany had also been deeply involved with the Arlington Democrats and had been a former Steering Committee member.  She was also very active in the Arlington Young Democrats and the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance.  Additionally she served as campaign manager for Sally Baird’s successful run for School Board in 2010. Tiffany was a graduate of the Sorensen Political Leaders Program Class of 2011.  Sorensen’s memoriam can be found here – http://www.sorenseninstitute.org/newsroom/sorensen-mourns-tiffany-joslyn.

Tiffany was an attorney by trade having graduated from George Washington University Law School in 2007.  She clerked for a year at the D. C. Court of Appeals before spending seven years at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.  A memoriam by the NACDL is available here – http://www.nacdl.org/tiffany_may_joslyn/.  In 2015, she had a chance to work in what she called her dream job as Deputy Chief Counsel of the Crime Subcommittee (Democratic staff) for the U. S. House of Representatives.  They also have a memoriam available at http://democrats.judiciary.house.gov/press-release/goodlatte-conyers-and-jackson-lee-passing-tiffany-joslyn.

Tiffany was killed in a car accident while visiting her family in Rhode Island over the weekend.  Her brother, Derrick Joslyn, also died in the crash.  Derrick’s wife was severely hurt in the crash as was Tiffany’s beloved cat, Ella.  More about Tiffany and the crash can be found here –  http://wpri.com/2016/03/07/friend-of-pawtucket-crash-victim-she-was-focused-on-the-positive/.  Ella has several injuries including a broken leg and hip and will need ongoing care to recover.  The family is hoping to get assistance so that they can properly care for Ella.  If you would like to find out more about Ella’s condition or if you would like to donate you can go to https://www.gofundme.com/frsww88k.  Tiffany had gotten Ella from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, and as fate would have it, her last post to Facebook was an appeal for donations to AWLA.  She wrote, “Even when money was tight, I always gave to AWLA — the Animal Welfare League of Arlington — my local animal rescue. Anyone who knows me knows how important my kitty Ella is to me and AWLA brought her into my life. I encourage you to give what you can to AWLA or, if you’re not in the area, to your local animal shelter.”  If you would like to give to the AWLA in Tiffany’s honor you can do so at https://www.awla.org/donate/33-cents-a-day-saves-lives/?givalanche=7yFp7xl.   For more about Tiffany as a person and to see the glowing comments about Tiffany you can visit her Facebook page at – https://www.facebook.com/TiffTiff82.