CANOGA PARK, Calif. — The Board of Directors of the Free Speech Coalition on Friday announced that Diane Duke has accepted a new three-year contract to be the chief executive officer of the adult industry’s trade association.
"Duke’s tenure with the organization is marked by extraordinary achievements,” said FSC Board president Sidney Grief. “She has brought fiscal discipline and transparency to the Free Speech Coalition, impressing long-time critics of the organization’s operations, leading to important industry figures recommitting to our trade association.”
In the announcement, FSC said that some of the highlights of her leadership include "directing the battle against ICM Registry’s failed .XXX top-level domain; opposing the efforts by the State of California to enforce emergency room standards to adult film shoots; establishment of an effective replacement for AIM database; providing a valuable range of anti-piracy tools for studios; and organizing a broad-based coalition of business groups, HIV activists and industry leaders to fight the misguided and industry-hostile L.A. County mandatory condom initiative on the ballot this November."
FSC added that Duke’s "poise and professionalism have helped to convey a pro-industry message to media and the public, bringing wide recognition to the organization."
“In addition to her accomplishments as the industry’s chief policy executive, her administration of FSC itself has been spectacular,” said Grief, owner of AAA News, a successful Texas adult retail chain. “She has recruited extraordinary staff, people committed to the mission of improving the lives of the people who make up the adult industry. She has dramatically improved every aspect of the operation.”
Board Chair Jeffrey J. Douglas noted, “Duke has also brought the entire industry credibility in her relationships with non-adult interest groups and legislatures. Whether in Sacramento, Washington, D.C. or the international stage of ICANN, she is respected and admired. Diane has nurtured successful relationships long needed for the industry to thrive, including chambers of commerce, health care providers, the MPAA and financial institutions.
Douglas continued, "She has inspired some of the nation’s finest lawyers to provide free or substantially discounted services to benefit the industry as a whole. She is esteemed by the widest possible range of the disparate and often contentious leaders of the contemporary adult industry. The adult industry is privileged to have her as its principal — and principled — voice.”
The Board of Directors offered its heartiest congratulations and deepest appreciation to Duke.
