Hal Gunn leaves ACLU/SC for KCET
Hal Gunn vividly recalls that day in 1990 when he sat down to interview for a job with the ACLU of Southern California. He was inside the gone, but fondly remembered, tea room at the very top of Bullock's Wilshire Department Store. Across from him sat Ramona Ripston and Sandy Graham-Jones. And surrounding them, beauty.
"Models strutted from table to table displaying the latest fashions," Gunn said, laughing. "It was quite a bizarre experience trying to concentrate on the job interview with these models spinning around."
Gunn got the job, and for the next 18 years he worked at building the ACLU/SC's gift planning program from a kernel to a powerhouse.
Now Gunn is moving on to a new challenge with public television station KCET, which recently started a similar program.
The ACLU/SC's gift planning program was the first of its kind at the ACLU, established even before the national office began its program. Conceived by then-board member Laurie Ostrow, it had been up and running for a scant two years before Gunn joined the team. There are now more than 400 members of the DeSilver Society, making it one of the most successful programs of any ACLU affiliate in the nation.
"Gift planning is not about death," Gunn said. "It is about how one can support the principles one values beyond one's lifetime. Civil liberties are always going to be under attack, as there will always be those who want to abuse their power. Our program provides donors with opportunities to defend these precious rights well into the future."
Gunn said he has enjoyed working with a wide range of donors over the years, from Japanese-Americans held in internment camps during World War II, to those blacklisted during the McCarthy Era, to celebrities and everyday folks.
"There are no donors like ACLU donors. They have such interesting stories to tell."
In addition to running the gift planning program, Gunn has served as the ACLU/SC director of investments and has helped raise money for the LGBT Rights Project.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Gunn worked in trusts and estates for a large law firm in New York City before going in search of change. He moved into gift planning programs for New York University and the Metropolitan Opera, then relocated to the West Coast. Soon after, he saw a newspaper ad for the ACLU/SC position. "What a wonderful opportunity to be able to work for such a principled organization," he remembers thinking. "With any luck, I'll get the job."
After so many years with the ACLU, the thought of changing jobs is a little scary, but with the help of his longtime partner, Kelly Strader, a law professor at Southwestern Law School – coincidentally located in the former home of Bullock's Wilshire – Gunn is ready for the challenge. Still, he remains deeply committed to the ACLU. "The people who work here are such an inspiration," Gunn said. "It really is quite remarkable that Ramona has gathered together such a dedicated and talented team."
