Preston Mitchum

Preston Mitchum is a Black queer attorney, advocate, and activist who hails from Dayton, Ohio and now lives in Washington, D.C. He is the chief executive officer of PDM Consulting, LLC, a multi-purpose consulting firm focused on the power of Black people, LGBTQ+ people, and young people.

In his decade of legal and policy experience, Mitchum has served in multiple roles at nonprofit organizations, working to center the voices of historically oppressed communities. Prior to launching his own venture, Mitchum served as the director of federal advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project. He has also dedicated years of service to URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, Advocates for Youth, the Center for Health and Gender Equity, Center for American Progress, and the National Coalition for LGBTQ+ Health. In addition, as an adjunct professor of law, Mitchum has taught LGBTQ health law & policy at Georgetown University Law Center and sexuality, gender identify, and the law at American University Washington College of Law.

Mitchum currently serves on the board of directors for SPARK Reproductive Justice Now and True Colors United, and he previously served on the National Women’s Health Network’s Policy Advisory Council. He is also serving his second year as president of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Omicron Eta Lambda Chapter. Mitchum recently served as the co-chair of collective action for the Safe Spaces board of directors and the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s Social Justice Committee. In the summer of 2021, Mitchum helped lead a 10-week protest against Nellie’s Sports Bar, a popular bar in the nation’s capital, after a video revealed a security guard dragging a Black woman down the stairs by her hair.

Mitchum has been featured in The Washington Post, BET, MTV, The Root, The Grio, The Atlantic, Buzzfeed, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, The Guardian, and other media outlets. He has earned many accolades including being listed on Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s inaugural 40 Under 40 list; being named a Rockwood Fellow for Leaders in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice; and being voted D.C.’s LGBTQ “Most Committed Activist” by the Washington Blade in 2021. He was also named one of the 2020 Best LGBTQ Lawyers Under 40 by the LGBTQ Bar Association. Mitchum was the first openly LGBTQ chair of the Washington Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and was a featured author in the 2022 book, The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System.

Mitchum holds a Law Master of Laws in Law and Government from American University Washington College of Law, a Juris Doctorate from North Carolina Central University School of Law, cum laude, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Kent State University, cum laude.

You can find Mitchum on your television screens as a cast member on Bravo’s reality TV show, Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard.