Now retired, Paul D. Lerner was a Beverly Hills-based marketing communications and public relations consultant who specialized in health care issues. He was also a health writer and co-author of the book Lerner’s Consumer Guide to Health Care, for which he was featured in a five-part series on NBC’s Today Show.
Paul’s clients included City of Hope, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, On-Site Dental, and many others. Paul received many awards in the 1990's for his work as Communications Director of AIDS Project Los Angeles and Director of Marketing & Outreach for Los Angeles Shanti.
He appeared as a spokesperson in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, VH1, Health, U.S. News & World Report, Real Simple, Redbook, Bottom Line/Health, WebMD, Child Magazine, “SoCal Connected,” “Good Day New York,” and many other media outlets.
Paul is also a longtime LGBTQ rights activist, having been involved in the community since 1981, when he came out while a college student in New York City. In 1987, he was arrested in a civil disobedience action on the steps of the United States Supreme Court to protest its infamous Bowers v. Hardwick decision. In 1995-96, Paul served as a volunteer on the first communications committee in support of marriage for gay and lesbian couples, which was created by the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center at the request of pioneering LGBTQ rights lawyer Evan Wolfson. Paul coined the term "Freedom to Marry," which became a rallying cry across the country. He also contributed to pro-marriage messaging that was utilized over the following two decades, until the Supreme Court's 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges legalized marriage for gay and lesbian couples nationwide.
Paul earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia University, a Master’s degree in Communications Management from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, and an MBA from the Health Care Executive MBA program in The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.
Paul’s clients included City of Hope, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, On-Site Dental, and many others. Paul received many awards in the 1990's for his work as Communications Director of AIDS Project Los Angeles and Director of Marketing & Outreach for Los Angeles Shanti.
He appeared as a spokesperson in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, VH1, Health, U.S. News & World Report, Real Simple, Redbook, Bottom Line/Health, WebMD, Child Magazine, “SoCal Connected,” “Good Day New York,” and many other media outlets.
Paul is also a longtime LGBTQ rights activist, having been involved in the community since 1981, when he came out while a college student in New York City. In 1987, he was arrested in a civil disobedience action on the steps of the United States Supreme Court to protest its infamous Bowers v. Hardwick decision. In 1995-96, Paul served as a volunteer on the first communications committee in support of marriage for gay and lesbian couples, which was created by the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center at the request of pioneering LGBTQ rights lawyer Evan Wolfson. Paul coined the term "Freedom to Marry," which became a rallying cry across the country. He also contributed to pro-marriage messaging that was utilized over the following two decades, until the Supreme Court's 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges legalized marriage for gay and lesbian couples nationwide.
Paul earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia University, a Master’s degree in Communications Management from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, and an MBA from the Health Care Executive MBA program in The Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.
