[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 25, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 WILLAS MILLER HONORED FOR ACHIEVEMENTS

                                 ______


                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 1994

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues an important event which took place on Wednesday, 
December 1, 1993, in Queens. At this event, the Queens Chapter of 
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays [P-FLAG], the Queens Lesbians 
and Gay Pride Committee [QLGPC], and Queens Gays and Lesbians United 
[OGLU] will honor Queens Assistant District Attorney D. Willas Miller 
as he receives P-FLAG's first annual Morty Manford Award.
  Mr. Miller, who has served as Queens District Attorney Richard 
Brown's liaison to the gay and lesbian community, was recently promoted 
to supervisor, special victims bureau of the office of the Queens 
district attorney. His leadership in the Queens community and his 
tremendous work in the district attorney's office have been recognized, 
and, at 31, Mr. Miller is now the youngest supervisor in that office.
  Mr. Miller was born in upstate New York and graduated cum laude from 
Boston University. Thereafter, he distinguished himself at Duke 
University Law School, from which he received his degree in 1988.
  Mr. Miller worked in the legal field in both Boston and North 
Carolina before obtaining a position in the Brooklyn district 
attorney's office. There he served 4 years with distinction as a felony 
trial attorney in the sex crimes specialty unit, before accepting a 
felony trial attorney position in the Queens district attorney's sex 
crimes/special victims bureau in January 1992. At that time, he became 
the first liaison to the gay and lesbian community in the Queens 
district attorney's office history, and the only district attorney gay 
liaison citywide who is also an attorney. Mr. Miller also serves as a 
member of the mayor's police council on gay and lesbian concerns.
  Mr. Miller received an award in memory of Morty Manford, a former 
assistant attorney general for New York State. A founder of Gay 
Activists Alliance [GAA], Mr. Manford died of AIDS at his home in 
Flushing in 1991.
  Mr. Manford was an early leader in the gay rights movement. From his 
days as an undergraduate at Columbia University, Mr. Manford showed his 
commitment to the cause of equal rights for gays and lesbians. In 
addition to GAA, Mr. Manford founded Gay People of Columbia University, 
one of this Nation's first gay campus groups. His mother, Jeanne 
Manford also founded P-FLAG, which has grown into a national 
organization.
  In giving Mr. Miller the inaugural Morty Manford Award, P-FLAG 
recognized Mr. Miller's similar commitment to the rights of gay and 
lesbians, as well as to the rights of all New York City residents. I am 
also pleased that his dedication and drive have been recognized in the 
form of his promotion, and I hope that my colleagues will join with me 
in congratulating Mr. Miller for his achievements and wish him the best 
in his new position.

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