Paul D. Lerner and Stephen Reis have been together for 25 years. (photo courtesy of Paul D. Lerner)

Paul D. Lerner and Stephen Reis have made a transformative gift of $2.5 million to ONE Archives at the USC Libraries to name and endow the ONE Archives director position. That post has been held with distinction for many years by Dr. Joseph Hawkins, who has held leadership roles at ONE Archives since 2002.

“We feel that we are fortunate people who have benefited from the blood, sweat, and tears of early LGBTQ+ activists who opened up opportunities we enjoy today,” Lerner and Reis said. “It’s important for us to give back, and we hope our gift will inspire others to support ONE Archives so it can reach its full potential.”

Lerner’s ties with ONE Archives date to 1992, when he was completing a master’s degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and was asked to give a talk at ONE about his research on LGBTQ+ media. He has been a supporter ever since.

Together as a couple since 2000, and married since 2014, Lerner and Reis have focused on supporting LGBTQ+ organizations with their philanthropy. Reflecting on their decision to invest in ONE, the couple said, “So often our history has been denied, forgotten or erased – but there are many fascinating historical records of LGBTQ+ people and communities in the archives just waiting to be discovered.”

Lerner is widely known for his marketing communications and public relations work on health care issues, as well as his LGBTQ+ activism since the early 1980s. While a volunteer on the first communications committee supporting same-sex marriage rights, organized in 1995 by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, he coined the phrase “Freedom to Marry.” The rallying cry echoed across the country over the next twenty years, until the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalized marriage for gay and lesbian couples nationwide. Lerner also won awards for his work in the 1990s with AIDS Project Los Angeles and Los Angeles Shanti. He later donated archival materials from the Freedom to Marry Coalition and Los Angeles Shanti to ONE.

“We hope our gift is the first of many major gifts to ONE Archives,” said Reis.

Through its celebrated arts and cultural programs, ONE Archives engages artists, community members, educators, and the public and adds to the wealth of stories in its collections. The transformative gift by Lerner and Reis will extend the reach of LGBTQ+ history preserved at ONE through its support for the director position, which oversees curatorial, archival and general operations at ONE and serves as primary liaison with the USC Libraries and USC leadership.

For information, visit one. usc.edu.