PRESS STATEMENT
October 13, 2009
San Francisco Pride
Announces Executive Committee Election Results
Diverse
Leadership Reelected to Positions
San Francisco, CA –
13 October
2009 –
The
San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee
announced today the reelection of four incumbent
members of its executive committee of the board of
directors. Board President Mikayla Connell, Vice
President Nikki Calma, Secretary Lisa Williams, and
Treasurer Belinda Ryan were all returned to their
posts. The executive committee constitutes the most
senior decision-making body of the board and is
responsible for working closely with the executive
director in guiding the organization in the
fulfillment of its mission.
Executive
Director Amy André:
This newly
reelected executive committee and board of
directors, lead by President Mikayla Connell, is an
exceedingly enthusiastic team with a strong and
unified vision. Pride is well positioned to make
the fortieth anniversary Celebration and Parade a
truly memorable commemoration of this movement’s
beginnings. This is an exciting time to celebrate
who we are as LGBT people and our ongoing struggle
for full equality.
The full
executive committee was seated on October 6, 2009,
at the October board meeting. The board of
directors is currently accepting applications for
community leaders interested in joining the board.
The primary criteria in board member selection are a
thorough understanding and commitment to the mission
and core values of San Francisco Pride in addition
to a strong record of excellence in involvement with
community and professional organizations. Below is a
summary of some of the board’s activities.
Board
President Mikayla Connell:
Having
worked with Pride for almost five years now, I am
deeply honored to be returning to this leadership
role. San Francisco Pride is an outstanding
organization with a rich history built by the
community over forty years. I look forward to
working with our talented staff including our new
Executive Director Amy André, our dedicated board of
directors, our general members, volunteers, and
community members to continue the legacy of
community involvement, inclusion, and diversity as
we move forward.
The executive
committee is composed of:
· Mikayla
Connell, president
Mikayla is an attorney with the Administrative
Office of the Courts and presently serves as
secretary for the board of directors of the Alice B.
Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. She
is a former chairperson of the board of directors
for the Transgender Law Center and former vice-chair
for the California State Bar Committee on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination. Her
favorite job, however, is being a parent for her
nine year-old son.
· Nikki
Calma, vice president
Known to many, especially in the Asian and Pacific
Islander LGBT community, as Tita Aida, Nikki is an
HIV Prevention Program supervisor for the A&PI
Wellness Center. She is also one of the esteemed
"Ladies of Asia SF" at the three-star tourist
landmark/restaurant, Asia SF. Additionally, Nikki
is co-owner of New Guard Production Company which
puts on transgender pageants like CATWALK and
Goddess of the World Beauty Pageant. Her alter
persona, Tita Aida is recognized for her work in
assisting members of the A&PI LGBT community access
HIV/AIDS services for the past twenty years. She is
a popular local personality for community events in
the Bay Area.
· Belinda
Ryan, treasurer
A Welsh native, Belinda is an LGBT immigration
activist and is president of the board of
Out4Immigration. She was a key member of the San
Francisco chapter of Immigration Equality when they
were voted by the community to serve as the
community organization grand marshal of the 2004
Pride Parade. Her family is one of the lucky
California families able to get married prior to the
passage of Proposition 8, and she continually works
to educate neighbors, friends, and anyone who reads
her truck's window paint about equal marriage
rights.
· Lisa
Williams, secretary
Lisa is the president and owner of One Source
Consulting, a firm which does political
consulting and community advocacy. She served
as Northern California deputy political director for
the “No on 8” campaign and organized
satellite offices for the Obama campaign. She has
also worked on campaigns for Senator Mark Leno,
District Attorney Kamala Harris and Mayor Gavin
Newsom. She is vice president of the
African-American Democratic Club, PAC co-chair of
the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, and PAC chair
of the Bayard Rustin LBGT Coalition.
Current board
members are:
· Kelly
Rivera Hart
Kelly is a San Francisco native. He is an openly-bi,
interfaith minister and lifelong HIV and civil
rights activist.
· Joshua
Hardwick
Joshua has worked in LGBT politics lobbying Congress
on issues of education and rights, serving as a
student voice on the California Teachers'
Association LGBT Caucus and having been elected in
2006 as the student representative alternate to the
National Education Association’s LGBT and Gender
Issues Committee.
· Todd
Torr
Todd joined the board in the spring of 2008. He is
an avid traveler and is interested in expanding SF
Pride’s cooperation with international partner
organizations.
Community
members and stakeholders are invited to meet the
board and executive committee members at the
upcoming membership meeting on Tuesday, November 10th
at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at Pride’s
new office location at 1841 Market Street at the
corner of Pearl. The primary focus of this meeting
will be for members, volunteers, and community
stakeholders to provide input for the fortieth
anniversary Pride Celebration and Parade and for the
editorial content of San Francisco Pride’s annual
publications.
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About San
Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee (SFLGBTPCC):
The San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee (SFPride.org)
is a non-profit membership organization founded to
produce the annual San Francisco Pride Celebration &
Parade. San Francisco Pride is dedicated to
education, commemoration of LGBT heritage and
celebration of LGBT culture and liberation. A world
leader in the Pride movement, San Francisco Pride is
also a grant-giving organization through its
Community Partners Program. Since 1997, SFLGBTPCC
has granted over $1.6 million dollars from proceeds
of the Pride Celebration and Parade to local
non-profit LGBT organizations and those
organizations serving the HIV/AIDS and breast cancer
communities.
About the 2010 San Francisco Pride Celebration &
Parade:
2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the San Francisco
Pride Celebration and Parade. The theme for the 40th
anniversary event will be, “Forty and Fabulous.” The
Pride Celebration & Parade will be held over the
weekend of June 26 and 27, 2010. With over 200
parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and more than
twenty community-run stages and venues, the San
Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade is the
largest annual gathering of LGBT people and allies
in the nation. The two-day celebration is free and
open to all. For more information please visit our
website at
SFPride.org.
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