LGBTQ+
The 2025 Pride Trailblazers
LGBTQ+ New Yorkers fighting for equality and inclusion.
City & State presents the 2025 Pride Trailblazers. Related Companies; Janet DiPiazza, Anna Rose Photography; Brandon R. Nicholas
After years of making remarkable progress in winning public support and securing policy changes, the LGBTQ+ community is now on defense. The Trump administration is slashing spending on research into LGBTQ+ health care and seeking to cut resources for an LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline. With the White House actively opposing diversity initiatives of any kind, corporations are backing away from supporting annual Pride events. Courts are chipping away at LGBTQ+ protections. And while New York remains a bastion of support and safety, elected officials in many other states – even California – are advancing measures that strip safeguards and services for transgender people.
City & State’s Pride Trailblazers list highlights the LGBTQ+ advocates and executives who are fighting back. The list, written and researched in partnership with journalist Tim Murphy, features leaders of nonprofits that ensure medical care and other services remain accessible for the community. It includes business leaders emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and acceptance. And it recognizes activists who are staying on the offensive as they lobby for LGBTQ+ legislation.
We’re pleased to present the inaugural Pride Trailblazers.
Troy Boyle
Troy Boyle is a leader at the Institute for Community Living, a nonprofit providing supportive housing and services for New Yorkers with behavioral health challenges, HIV and other chronic conditions. Boyle, who joined the organization in 2023 and became chief operating officer last year, oversaw the nearly 40-year-old nonprofit's launch of a $2.3 million program for clients who are improving and don’t need as many services. Boyle began his career in New York City in the 1990s working in the city’s shelter system and supportive housing and other programs.
Samuel Buchbauer
Samuel Buchbauer is chair of the LGBTQ+ Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, which aims to support the legal rights of LGBTQ+ people and combat antigay and transphobic laws and regulations. He spearheaded the creation of a judicial bench card on inclusive courtroom language and the promotion of amicus briefs in major LGBTQ+ rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Fulton v. City of Philadelphia and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. In March, he joined the New York office of the New Jersey law firm Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, where he specializes in estate planning and administration and real estate issues primarily in New York.
Rob Byrnes
As the longtime leader of the East Midtown Partnership, a business improvement district that aims to enhance the Manhattan neighborhood’s quality of life and commercial activity, Rob Byrnes has emphasized community partnerships and programming, most recently this year’s successful Mardi Gras celebration. The organization has a morning Clean Patrol, contracted through The Doe Fund, and a nighttime homeless outreach team that connects people in the area experiencing homelessness to programming and housing. He also helped launch The Publishing Triangle’s OUTspoken LGBTQ+ Reading Series, featuring more than 100 authors and poets.
Louis Cholden-Brown
The well-connected political and legislative strategist Louis Cholden-Brown joined Moonshot Strategies last fall, following a stint as special counsel of the United Federation of Teachers. Cholden-Brown also is first vice president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, a progressive LGBTQ+ political club. He previously held senior positions at the Office of the New York City Comptroller, the New York City Council and the 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission. He has helped advance legislation on climate justice, health inequities, workers’ rights and tenant protections.
Rose Christ
At Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, a top-tier lobbying and communications firm affiliated with the law firm Cozen O’Connor, Rose Christ is an effective representative for clients including cultural institutions, trade associations and providers of health care, housing and mental health services. Christ has also secured funding for LGBTQ+ nonprofits and community centers in New York and provided pro bono legal support to Drag Story Hour NYC. She is a former vice president of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, a noted LGBTQ+ political club, and continues to serve on its board.
Jason Cianciotto
An advocate of more than two decades for LGBTQ+ people and those affected by HIV/AIDS, Jason Cianciotto first came to GMHC in 2013 and has served as director of public affairs and policy, as well as managing director of special events and major gifts. After leaving to be executive director of the Tyler Clementi Foundation and a vice president at Harlem United, he returned to GMHC in 2019 to oversee institutional development and strategy, coming into his current role in 2021. He is also president of the board for the Art House Astoria Conservatory for Music and Art.
Anthony Crowell
At the helm of New York Law School for 13 years, Anthony Crowell also serves as the faculty director of the school’s Center for New York City and State Law. His teaching, which he began at the law school in 2003, focuses on state and local government law, civics education and engagement, and leadership. At NYLS, he has created several new academic centers, institutes and leadership programs. A first-generation college student, Crowell was a senior executive in New York City government for more than a decade, serving as counsel in the Bloomberg administration.
Yanery Cruz
An Afro-Latina transgender woman, Yanery Cruz joined the New York Transgender Advocacy Group in 2023 as community engagement coordinator, a role in which she spearheaded development of the curriculum for NYTAG’s Youth Advocacy Fellowship and Community Advisory Board. Last year, she became director of advocacy and programs, and she is responsible for co-developing and overseeing all programs. Youth advocates who she trained helped pass New York City legislation that requires tracking of racial and LGBTQ+ identities to improve foster youth placement. Cruz is also a recipient of the Defiant Award from the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City.
Eileen Della Volle
Eileen Della Volle is an out lesbian and a stalwart supporter of the LGBTQ+ community both in the construction industry and in the political arena. An executive with two decades of experience in business development in the architecture, engineering design and construction industry, she leverages her wide network of business leaders, government officials and trade organizations in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She has served on boards for several organizations, including the Southern New Jersey Development Council and the Women Builders Council.
Brian Ellner
In February, Brian Ellner took a new job leading the New York office of APCO, a global advisory and advocacy firm. The New York native brings to the role a lifetime of knowledge of New York City, its institutions and its players. He previously held key positions at One Strategy Group, WPP and Edelman. He has been a proponent of LGBTQ+ equality in the corporate sector. Ellner also helped shape the strategy for the Respect for Marriage Act, the state’s Equal Rights Amendment and legalizing same-sex marriage in New York and other states.
Jared Fox
At Microsoft, Jared Fox is focused on diversity as he supports employee resource groups and community experience for women, LGBTQ+ individuals and families. Previously, he served as the first associate director of LGBTQ+ equity with the New York City Department of Education, a role in which he built the framework for transgender and gender-nonconforming student guidelines. In his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, he helped launch citywide racial equity training. He serves on the board of PFLAG NYC, which is focused on family support for young LGBTQ+ people.
Ben Garcia
Ben Garcia worked his way up in museums from a gallery guide and educator to exhibition development to upper management. By 2022, he was named executive director of New York City’s American LGBTQ+ Museum, which will open in 2027. Its 2024 groundbreaking was attended by many political figures, including the governor, state attorney general and mayor. Garcia previously worked at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Skirball Cultural Center and the Hearst Museum of Anthropology. He is a board member of Equality Ohio, with which he worked to pass LGBTQ+ antidiscrimination legislation.
Ethan Geto
Since forming his powerhouse public affairs firm in 1980, Ethan Geto has advised corporations, advocacy groups, nonprofits and industry associations. He has served in government, including as New York City assistant buildings commissioner and as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill. He also has worked on presidential campaigns spanning from Robert F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. The native New Yorker joined the Gay Activists Alliance in 1971 and has advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and HIV/AIDS issues ever since. He’s also a founding board member and backer of both The American LGBTQ+ Museum and the New York City AIDS Memorial.
Rasheed Gonga
Rasheed Gonga drives legislative priorities for clinics and affiliate groups of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, working with the AIDS Center of Queens County, Iris House and Thursday’s Child. Gonga, a Jamaican immigrant, has expanded the global organization’s presence to nearly 10,000 patients across New York City, providing wraparound services like case management, housing, syringe exchanges and mental health services. He has worked on several campaigns, including Justice for Renters, Housing is a Human Right, “Medicare for All” and Let 340B.
Nathaniel Gray
In the three years since Nathaniel Gray took the reins of the Pride Center of the Capital Region, he has launched an Out Here, Proud Here campaign to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ voices, advocated for mental health care funding as well as expanded training and community programs. Before he became executive director of the Albany-area LGBTQ+ community center, Gray was in New York City interning at the Hetrick-Martin Institute and the Ali Forney Center and then became a diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator in the state Office of Children and Family Services.
Liana Douillet Gúzman
As the leader of Folx Health, a telehealth platform for LGBTQ+ people, since 2022, Liana Douillet Gúzman has expanded talk therapy services to 16 states, supporting mental health care for more than LGBTQ+ individuals each year. Folx comprises a network of LGBTQ+-affirming providers in areas including primary care, family planning and hormone therapy for transgender clients – serving over 50,000 queer and trans people across all 50 states. Gúzman was previously the chief marketing officer at Skillshare and chief operating officer at Blockchain.com.
Anthony Hayes
Anthony Hayes has a long track record of LGBTQ+ advocacy, including campaigning for same-sex marriage, opposing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and challenging a federal ban on blood donations from gay people. He recently advised the National Center for Lesbian Rights on its communications strategy following a settlement scaling back Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. He’s also supporting the Ali Forney Center in combating LGBTQ+ discrimination in the foster care system. As leader of the public affairs firm he founded in 2017, Hayes has also advised clients such as Airbnb and Google.
Gennifer Herley
Gennifer Herley, a longtime transformational life coach, founded the nonprofit TransNewYork in 2018 during her own gender transition. The organization provides services for transgender and nonbinary people and their families, including counseling, social outings, workforce readiness and works with employers to hire and integrate trans people into the workplace. TransNewYork aims to draw attention to issues facing the transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals and to support them and their families.
Crystal Hudson
New York City Council Member Crystal Hudson became one of the first out LGBTQ+ Black women elected to the city’s legislative body in 2021, and she has continued to be a trailblazer in elected office. Hudson, who previously co-chaired the City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus, has been a prolific lawmaker and co-authored the Marsha & Sylvia Plan, an innovative agenda to support LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. She now chairs the Aging Committee and is co-chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus – and is seen as a potential contender to be the next council speaker.
Brian Hwang
Brian Hwang is a champion of the LGBTQ+ community, advocating through his roles as board chair of the community-building nonprofit The Pride Network, as a member of the Gay Real Estate Group of New York and as a speaker at the Reaching Out MBA Conference. He also seeks inclusivity in his professional banking career, including his current role leading a commercial real estate underwriting team at M&T Bank, a Buffalo-based bank with offices in New York City and in states along the East Coast.
Joseph Kerwin
Since 2023, Joseph Kerwin has led the state’s AIDS Institute, which directs statewide HIV, sexually transmitted disease and hepatitis C programs. Previously, Kerwin was a deputy director overseeing several of the AIDS Institute’s programs. Earlier, he oversaw AIDS services at Catholic Charities and was also the program administrator for HIV/AIDS at Albany Medical Center. At the state Department of Health, he has prioritized the integration of health equity principles to advance ending the epidemics of HIV, hepatitis C, congenital syphilis and opioid overdose, as well as strengthening LGBTQ+ services.
Jacquelyn Kilmer
Before becoming CEO of Harlem United, a longtime HIV/AIDS organization, in 2015, Jacquelyn Kilmer was its chief operating officer, chief compliance officer and vice president of compliance and legal affairs. A graduate of the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, she now leads an organization that, according to her testimony to state lawmakers last year, conducts 20,000 medical visits, provides housing for over 800 formerly homeless people and provides 24,000 meals and pantry boxes to low-income New Yorkers annually.
Andrew Kirtzman
Public Relations powerhouse Andrew Kirtzman channels his experience as a communications consultant and veteran political reporter for NY1 into his advocacy on behalf of companies, nonprofits, elected officials and more. He previously led his own firm, Kirtzman Strategies, which was acquired by Actum, and also was a vice president at Global Strategy Group and senior adviser to the New York City schools chancellor during the Bloomberg administration. He is the author of several books, including the acclaimed “Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America’s Mayor.”
Editor’s note: Andrew Kirtzman is a member of City & State’s advisory board.
Ken Louie
Ken Louie has spent nearly four years on the marketing team at MetroPlusHeath, the low-cost health plan affiliated with NYC Health + Hospitals that covers over 700,000 New Yorkers. In that time, he has moved up the ladder to become deputy chief marketing and brand officer, a role in which he has boosted MetroPlusHealth’s visibility through corporate communications and digital strategy. He previously held marketing positions at Optum Care, DaVita Medical Group, Nuveen, TIAA and MetLife. His work has been recognized by AdAge and others.
Patrick Malloy
In one of New York City’s most iconic churches, the Rev. Patrick Malloy is ensuring that the LGBTQ+ community is not only welcomed, but celebrated. Malloy, who was named the cathedral’s dean in 2023, has spearheaded the Iconic Pride event, which will be held for the third time this year. Last year, Malloy, who is gay, wrote in an op-ed: “We in the Episcopal Church … believe that the love queer people have for one another is a manifestation of the divine love that burns for the world in the heart of Jesus the Christ.”
Patrick McGovern
In 2023, Patrick McGovern became CEO of the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, a LGBTQ+ health provider serving 22,000 people annually. McGovern has shored up Callen-Lorde’s finances, kept services accessible and ensured ongoing care amid defunding threats. He was previously at Amida Care, a nonprofit health plan serving people with HIV/AIDS, transgender people and those experiencing homelessness that he helped found while serving as CEO of Harlem United. He has also been vice president of government affairs at drugmaker Gilead, where his focus was on expanding HIV testing.
Luis Freddy Molano
Dr. Luis Freddy Molano was a doctor in South and Central America before joining Community Healthcare Network in 1989. He led the nonprofit’s Bronx Health Center for 12 years while also serving as project coordinator for the Adolescent Mobile Program and HIV Testing Program. He later served as associate executive director for Women’s Health and HIV Prevention Programs and assistant vice president and then vice president of HIV Programs and Services. He has also served on the state’s Health Equity Council.
Priya Nair
Priya Nair ensures that LGBTQ+ equity is a top priority in New York. Nair, who is queer and nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, has spearheaded LGBTQ+ initiatives and helped shape the state’s collection of demographic data on sexual orientation and gender identity. They also are responsible for overseeing operations in the Governor’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and have supported gender identity training for state workers. Previously, Nair was the inaugural Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Edie Windsor LGBTQ+ fellow.
Anthony Nicodemo
Anthony Nicodemo finds countless ways to support the LGBTQ+ community in education. A gay special education social studies teacher and athletics director in the Greenburgh-North Castle Union Free School District, he chairs Yonkers’ LGBTQ+ Advisory Board and is education chair of the Sports Equality Foundation, president of the Hudson Valley Stonewall Democrats and vice chair of both the Yonkers Democratic Committee and the Westchester County Democratic Committee. A high school basketball coach, Nicodemo organized the first inclusion clinic at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio. Nicodemo also sits on the board of New York State United Teachers, the influential labor union.
Charles O’Byrne
As a well-connected executive for the Related Companies, Charles O’Byrne advises the real estate giant on government affairs, labor issues, litigation matters and overall strategy. The Manhattan native and attorney is a former Jesuit priest who served as a chaplain and teaching fellow at Columbia University and Harvard University, as well as associate general counsel for the Archdiocese of New York. He was an attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights and secretary to then-Gov. David Paterson, the highest appointed office in the state’s executive branch.
Raffy Regulus
Black, Boricua and nonbinary, Raffy Regulus cofounded NYC Gaymers to use video games to increase advocacy and education for various marginalized communities. Regulus leads monthly Gaymers Against Violence workshops at City College that combine gaming with workshops on community-related topics. Through the organization, Regulus holds events such as Gaymer Pride. Formerly, they were the supervising manager of hotline and training programs with the NYC Anti-Violence Project. They’ve also been an HIV testing counselor and a health educator with a focus on HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention.
Ronald Richter
Ronald Richter has helped transform the nonprofit JCCA into a provider of wraparound child and family services and children’s behavioral health, expanding access to community-based mental health care for all youth, including those who identify as LGBTQ+. A former family court judge and New York City commissioner, he’s an outspoken advocate for safe and inclusive spaces in the child welfare system. Previously, as the leader of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, he spearheaded initiatives to support LGBTQ+ youth in foster care. He’s set to retire from JCCA at the end of the year.
Aurelio “PJ” Rivera
A key executive in Deloitte’s Government and Public Services Practice, Aurelio “PJ” Rivera serves as the strategy and growth leader for human capital, in addition to serving as the lead business partner for New York state. Rivera guides a team that works across four sectors: civilian agencies; defense, security and justice; federal health; and state, local and higher education. Prior to joining Deloitte in 2023, Rivera led Marriott International’s global business advisory and communications services organization.
Allen Roskoff
Allen Roskoff is a veteran LGBTQ+ advocate, and he’s not slowing down. The outspoken activist has repeatedly called out New York City Mayor Eric Adams, boycotting his Pride events in recent years in response to mayoral appointees with a history of antigay stances. He leads the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, which offers sought-after endorsements and hosts events featuring the likes of Robert de Niro, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and many New York political heavyweights. Roskoff also serves on the New York City Nightlife Advisory Board.
Alexis Ruiz
Alexis Ruiz plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between the needs of the Bronx’s LGBTQ+ community and access to essential resources. In her role as co-chair of the office’s LGBTQIA+ Task Force, Ruiz has held numerous LGBTQ+ social gatherings, job fairs, flag raisings and mental health events. Ruiz, who’s also borough president’s deputy director of community boards, works tirelessly to support and elevate the voices of those who have been marginalized and overlooked in the Bronx.
Luis Scaccabarrozzi
As a gay man originally from Peru, Luis Scaccabarrozzi understands the need to support fellow LGBTQ+ immigrants in New York – and he has committed his 25-year career to doing so. Scaccabarrozzi is now at Amida Care, a nonprofit community health plan serving many individuals with HIV and AIDS, where he led a task force to help serve transgender and nonbinary immigrants living with HIV. He had previous stints at the Latino Commission on AIDS, the Hispanic Health Network, Aid for AIDS and Aid for Life.
Matthew Şenız-Cheng
At New York City Pride, which hosts major Pride events each June, Matthew Şenız-Cheng makes the city’s business community and overall population aware of how much the festivities contribute to the local economy – and not just during Pride Month, but all year. He manages a $3.3 million portfolio in role as associate director of corporate partnerships and has been instrumental in diversifying the event organizer’s revenue streams, reducing reliance on corporate funding. He also created NYC Pride’s Corporate Summit and instituted regular calls with the organization’s partners.
Carla Smith
The first person of color to lead the venerable Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, Carla Smith succeeded Glennda Testone as CEO early last year after the venerable social services organization conducted a five-month national search with almost 200 applicants. Smith was previously the deputy chief executive officer at Urban Resource Institute, the largest provider of domestic violence shelter services in the U.S. She was also director of finance and administration at the NYC Anti-Violence Project, an LGBTQ+ organization.
Christopher Smith
In his role finding and recruiting top-notch executives for the architecture, engineering and construction firm STV, Christopher Smith puts a premium on talent retention through the company’s employee resource groups – including the Pride ERG he helped launch, which has paved the way for corporate Pride Month events, including drag bingo, trivia contests and panel discussions. He also served on the firm’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Council. The longtime LGBTQ+ activist was on the front lines of the fight to legalize same-sex marriage in New York and nationally.
Doug Spring
Since he joined Kasirer, New York City’s top lobbying firm, Doug Spring has worked closely with The New York Historical to help with its expansion, powered by nearly $70 million in city, state and federal funding. Recently, the museum’s Tang Wing for American Democracy, which will provide additional classrooms and new exhibition galleries, had its topping-off ceremony. The museum’s top floor will soon be the home for The American LGBTQ+ Museum. Prior to his current role, Spring was a resident director at Fordham University.
Danny Stewart
Since 2001, Danny Stewart has transformed how HIV prevention and other services are delivered to LGBTQ+ homeless youth through Safe Horizon’s Streetwork Project. As the social services nonprofit’s director of HIV and AIDS services, he integrated the New York Peer AIDS Coalition into Streetwork. He also made Streetwork one of the first youth programs in the city to offer onsite rapid HIV testing. Apart from work, his greatest accomplishment was taking in an infant he found abandoned in the subway and becoming a father – the subject of his poignant 2020 children’s book, “Our Subway Baby.”
Ace Sutherland
In their current role since early this year, Ace Sutherland has spearheaded such efforts as the New York Immigration Coalition’s involvement in New York City’s massive May Day March from Foley Square down Broadway to support workers’ rights and protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies. A strong advocate for Black, Indigenous and people of color and transgender or gender-expansive individuals, Sutherland previously was a support group facilitator at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, an AIDS research project manager for Northwell Health and director of community organizing for Equality New York.
Nadia Swanson
At the New York City-based Ali Forney Center, Nadia Swanson formed a citywide coalition of 30 organizations to combine forces and advocate for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. Swanson, who is queer and uses they/them pronouns, also handles operations for the organization, the largest provider of housing for LGBTQ+ youth in New York. They helped pass legislation giving homeless or runaway minors the right to consent to their own medical care. Swanson has also been a therapist at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.
Felicia Tucker
Felicia Tucker is the office managing partner in the Long Island office of the global accounting firm KPMG. Tucker also co-leads company Pride initiatives, helping KPMG earn a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Tucker has also served on an African ancestry business resource group board. She obtained her law degree from Hofstra University, is a retired officer of the New York City Police Department and is a licensed practical nurse.
Austin Tylec
At 32, Austin Tylec is not only one of the youngest mayors in New York but also the first openly gay mayor of North Tonawanda, a heavily Catholic and conservative Niagara County community. Tylec is the only Democrat to hold office in North Tonawanda, a Republican stronghold. He has presided over improvement to the city’s downtown, the renovation of the historic Riviera Theatre, development on Tonawanda Island and major fiscal gains. He also announced plans to reimagine Twin Cities Memorial Highway, a major roadway dividing the city. Tylec is seeking a second term in November.
Kei Williams
In April, Kei Williams became only the second leader of the New Pride Agenda, a New York LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. Williams, a queer transmasculine community organizer, artist, and historian who uses they/them pronouns, had previously served as the organization’s director of programs since 2022. They succeeded Elisa Crespo, who left to head up the Stonewall Community Foundation. The organization drives initiatives such as the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund, and Williams recently secured an additional $500,000 in state money for the fund.
Clark Wolff Hamel
Helming PFLAG NYC, New York City’s leading organization that supports the families of LGBTQ+ young people, Clark Wolff Hamel is a proud transgender man who has increased the reach and cultural responsiveness of the group’s support meetings. In his former role as the PFLAG NYC’s director of education programs, he fostered collaborations with schools and community organizations, in addition to creating and implementing workshops for students, families, teachers and administrators citywide. He began his journey at PFLAG as a volunteer.
Tucker Woods
Earlier this year, Dr. Tucker Woods took on a new role helping to lead the Emergency Department at Staten Island University Hospital, a 668-bed teaching hospital with two campuses in the borough. Woods, a Northwell Health veteran who was previously at the health care system’s Lenox Health Greenwich Village facility, has demonstrated a long-standing focus on LGBTQ+ health care. He has helped expand access to care in the community and also has served as executive sponsor of Northwell’s LGBTQ+ Subcommittee for Emergency Medicine Services.
Ron Zacchi
Ron Zacchi is a stalwart defender of LGBTQ+ rights in New York, from their leadership of Marriage Equality New York leading up to the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York to their work inside state government. Since September, Zacchi has overseen efforts to support New Yorkers facing discrimination. Previously the governor’s director of LGBTQ+ affairs and director of external relations for the state Division of Human Rights, Zacchi also helped pass a ban on conversion therapy and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act and established the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund.
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