[9] In 2003, DeFilippis founded Queers for Economic Justice, a non-profit organization in New York City that works with low-income lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
[21] Other founders or board members of QEJ include seasoned LGBT activists Terry Boggis, Kenyon Farrow, Felix Gardon, Monroe France, Reina Gossett(Tourmaline), Amber Hollibaugh, Ignacio Rivera, Jessica Stern, and Jay Toole; anti-poverty activists Ricky Blum, Aine Duggan and Maureen Lane; and noted scholars and authors Ann Cammett, Martin Duberman, Lisa Duggan, Richard Kim and Dean Spade.
[1] The Queer Economic Justice Network primarily focused on the impact of the welfare reforms of 1996 on LGBT people,[22][23][24] but also addressed other progressive causes.
[26] During his tenure at Queers for Economic Justice, DeFilippis spearheaded the development and release of a document called Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision For All Our Families and Relationships.
QEJ and DeFilippis regularly criticized the national gay rights organizations for failing to address poverty in the LGBT community.
[41][42] For those reasons, in 2009, while still under DeFilippis' leadership, QEJ was one of five organizations to voice opposition to the New York State Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA).