Joey McDonald joined Equality Illinois in 2005, and has been Operations Manager since April of 2006.  Joey is responsible for office management, facilitating event planning, volunteer recruitment, and keeping Equality Illinois members updated via e-blast correspondence.  Joey was the Volunteer Coordinator for the annual Equality Illinois Justice for All Gala in 2004 & 2005, as well as other volunteer work in the early days of the Illinois Federation for Human Rights.

Prior to Equality Illinois, Joey was General Manager and Head Designer for Van Vechten Furniture, Rugs & Textiles. He worked directly with showrooms and interior designers across the US, Canada, India and the UK to design and create custom goods for the high-end interior design market. His responsibilities included the training of weavers, coordinating the production of hand-woven fabrics and bench-made furniture in Chicago, mill-loomed textiles on the east coast, and rugs in India.

McDonald’s background in community service goes back to 1980 when he helped distribute information on the hepatitis vaccine in bars and at social events. In 1985, he co-produced “BLOW-OUT”, working with Thom Dombkowski to hold the first benefit for the organization that would become Chicago House. From 1988-1992, Joey was a Names Project volunteer, helping to create and design panels for people who had succumbed to AIDS. He also volunteered doing community outreach with Stop AIDS Chicago from 1993-1995.

Other community involvement includes being active in Chicago’s gay recovery community since 1991, and was a member of the planning committee for Chicago’s annual 12-Step Recovery Round-Up (1992-1995). An IML staff volunteer from 1979-1992, Joey moved into departmental supervision in 1993. Since 2001, Joey has been a member of the IML Executive Planning Committee. Current duties also include Contestant Coordinator and IML Assistant Coordinator. Joey received the Pantheon Lifetime Achievement Award in May 2009.

A proud U.S. Navy veteran (1974-1980), Joey served as the Lead Petty Officer for the Guided Missile System aboard the U.S.S. California (CGN-36). While known to both officers and fellow crewmembers as an out gay man, Joey maintained excellent unit cohesion, receiving high performance marks and excellent military bearing status throughout his active duty career.