Publisher's Section
The 2026 Pride Trailblazers
New York’s LGBTQ+ leaders
City & State presents the 2026 Pride Trailblazers. Spencer Gallop; JCCA; Drew Brown
As Harvey Milk once said, “Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.”
While the gay rights leader uttered those words decades ago, they remain true today. Milk became one of the country’s first out gay elected officials when he joined the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Then, within a year of taking office, he was assassinated.
The LGBTQ+ movement has made great strides since, but it is also facing great challenges. The federal government has been antagonistic toward transgender individuals, slashing funding, restricting access to care and barring them from military service. Earlier this year, the Trump administration took down the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument, though it was put back up in April. Meanwhile, corporations are dropping support for Pride celebrations.
City & State’s Pride Trailblazers features dozens of LGBTQ+ leaders in New York who are standing up for their rights and making their voices heard. This list, written and researched in partnership with journalist Cris Seda Chabrier, includes the first director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, a newly elected queer Assembly member from Queens and many other activists, advocates and executives on the front lines of the movement.
Louisa Benarbane
Louisa Benarbane coordinates the New York State LGBT Health and Human Services Network, a coalition of 62 nonprofits that provide mental and physical care for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. Benarbane manages the coalition through her work at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, widely known as The Center. She’s also a passionate advocate of LGBTQ+ Muslim communities and hosts an annual iftar event for the community. Last year, the state health commissioner bestowed upon Benarbane the Leanna Thornton Rising Star Award.
Sundeep Singh Boparai
Sundeep Singh Boparai helped establish and currently manages Northwell Health’s LGBTQ Transgender Health Program, Long Island’s first dedicated center to serving patients who are transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary. Outside of work, Boparai recently became the first queer Sikh to serve on the executive board of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, a notable LGBTQ+ political club. Boparai, who completed a doctorate in healthcare administration at the Medical University of South Carolina, was a 2025 recipient of a Health Advocacy Award given by the national publication Health.
Derrick Brazill
Derrick Brazill is a champion of students and campus diversity in his role as a top academic affairs official at York College. In 2023, he was named provost and vice president of academic affairs at the CUNY school in Queens, where he has secured over $5 million in federal funding for research infrastructure and faculty scholarship. As interim provost from 2020 to 2023, he obtained funding for the York STEM Academy and helped establish accelerated pathways to graduate degrees. Last year, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards recognized Brazill for “championing our LGBTQIA+ community.”
Taylor Brown
Attorney Taylor Brown is blazing a trail as the first director of the brand-new New York City Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs – and the first transgender person to lead a city office or agency. Brown was previously an assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Bureau under state Attorney General Letitia James and led transgender civil rights litigations at Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union. The new mayoral office builds on the NYC Unity Project, which was launched in 2017, and coordinates initiatives for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers across city agencies.
Rob Byrnes
Rob Byrnes is the longtime leader of the East Midtown Partnership, a business improvement district that spearheads quality-of-life efforts and commercial improvements in the bustling Manhattan neighborhood. The organization provides sanitation, beautification, local business development and homeless outreach, and it recently partnered with Art on the Ave NYC to wrap trash cans with local art. Byrnes is the author of novels, short stories and essays – his novella “A Streetcar Named Shenanigans” is out this summer – and he helped launch The Publishing Triangle’s OUTspoken LGBTQ+ Reading Series, featuring more than 100 authors and poets.
Pia Carusone
Pia Carusone is a sought-after campaign consultant in New York and across the nation. Raised in Saratoga Springs, Carusone worked for Gabrielle Giffords in Congress and was the lead strategist for Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, in his successful U.S. Senate campaign. Now living in New York City, Carusone is advising Rep. Josh Riley’s reelection bid and supporting Chris Gallant, a gay Black Hawk pilot and Army veteran challenging Rep. Nick LaLota on Long Island. She has helped support other LGBTQ+ candidates too, including Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Irak Cehonski-Rivas
Irak Cehonski-Rivas’ LGBTQ+ advocacy is rooted in his experience facing criminalization of his queer identity as a youth in Tijuana, Mexico. In partnership with other advocates, the Queens-based immigrant helped repeal the “walking while trans” law that had targeted transgender New Yorkers and locked in funding for LGBTQ+ health navigators at public hospitals in New York City. The former legislative staffer now focuses on downstate policy issues for the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, a nonprofit that advocates for the affordable housing industry.
Terence Cho
Terence Cho handles the Battery Park City Authority’s real estate portfolio, working with private developers and community members to add affordable housing and manage commercial, residential, retail and park space in Manhattan’s Battery Park City. Driving BPCA’s real estate strategy, Cho helped close Brookfield Place’s ground lease extension, which will generate an estimated $1.5 billion for affordable housing development over the lease term. He was part of the Gateway Plaza transaction that will preserve rent protections for hundreds of residents. Cho is also committed to increasing LGBTQ+ representation in real estate.
Chris Coffey
Tusk Strategies’ Chris Coffey has had a hand in a number of major campaigns lately, from New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin’s winning leadership bid to Steve Cohen’s successful push for a casino in Queens to a super PAC backing U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas. Coffey has advised prominent LGBTQ+ officials in New York, including Rep. Ritchie Torres and former City Council Speakers Corey Johnson and Christine Quinn – whose nonprofit, Win, Coffey now chairs. Coffey also served on the board of the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youths.
Jose Cotto
Jose Cotto is the chief program officer at Urban Pathways, a nonprofit battling homelessness by offering housing and support services. He is responsible for the organization's programming and operations, supporting Urban Pathways’ housing first approach. His most recent achievement was the opening of a 79-unit building in the Bronx for older adults and people with a history of homelessness. Cotto, an out gay Puerto Rican, teaches social work courses at NYU and serves as a New York City regional director on the Association for Community Living board.
Carlyn Cowen
Carlyn Cowen is a key official at the Chinese-American Planning Council, the nation’s largest Asian American social services organization. They oversee public policy, advocacy, government affairs and community engagement and have helped build an advocacy program that engages over 2,000 staff and community members each year. Cowen, a Filipinx American advocate and activist, also helped secure state funding for Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations. They also serve as a co-chair of the board for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.
Yanery Cruz
Yanery Cruz recently took on a new role as the New York City Council LGBTQIA+ Caucus’ inaugural executive director. An Afro-Latina transgender woman and a native New Yorker, Cruz drives the caucus’ fiscal, policy and advocacy agenda. She previously worked with the New York Transgender Advocacy Group and developed programs that contributed to improving foster care for LGBTQ+ youth of color. Cruz is also a vice president of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City and received the political club’s Defiant Award last year in recognition of her leadership and impact.
Jon Del Giorno
Jon Del Giorno has been with the top 10 government relations firm Pitta Bishop and Del Giorno since it began two decades ago. He has vast experience in government relations and advocacy and has been an LGBTQ+ rights advocate for decades. Most recently, he helped secure full capital funding for the new American LGBTQ+ Museum in Midtown and increased funding for the NY LGBT Network’s youth services and gender-affirming care programs. Del Giorno was a recipient of Project Hospitality’s Catherine & Pearse O’Callaghan Memorial Award for Social Justice last year and the Stonewall Community Development Corp.’s Cornerstone Supporter Award.
Matthew Di Taranto
Matthew Di Taranto last year took on a new challenge as vice president at Avoq, a strategic communications, government relations and advertising firm with a growing footprint in New York. He has 15 years of corporate communications experience, including senior roles at Foot Locker and the New York City Economic Development Corp. Di Taranto was previously senior director of public relations and communications at Out & Equal, where he led storytelling and community engagement for this group of LGBTQ+ and allied professionals. At Avoq, he founded the firm’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group.
Jacqueline Jamin Drohan
Jacqueline Jamin Drohan is a partner at Drohan Lee, a law firm representing investment advisers, financial institutions, government agencies and other clients. Drohan serves on the New York State Bar Association’s Executive Committee and co-chaired its Task Force on the Treatment of Transgender Youth in Sports. She has authored or co-authored amicus briefs on matters ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to bank fraud. She is also president of ACI America, a financial markets trade association. Drohan is author of the LGBTQ+ historical novel “The Seas Come Still.”
Stephanie Fox
Since Stephanie Fox became president of the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, she has sought to boost gender and racial representation while collaborating with other LGBTQ+ political clubs and organizations to increase their collective political power. Fox, the first transgender woman to lead the Lambda Independent Democrats, recently led a rally in support of healthcare for trans youth amid opposition from the federal government and moves by local hospitals to curtail gender-affirming care.
Ben Garcia
Ben Garcia is the inaugural executive director of the American LGBTQ+ Museum, where he leads the Manhattan institution in preserving and celebrating LGBTQ+ culture. For 25 years, he has helped transform museums into places of acceptance and belonging. Garcia led efforts to create structural equity in museums and to return Indigenous ancestral human remains and belongings at museums in California and Ohio. Under his guidance, the American LGBTQ+ Museum launched the Queer Justice exhibition, developed the Queer Legacies Project and collaborated with the Up Until Now Collective on the Lavender Names Project.
Ethan Geto
Ethan Geto is a principal of Geto & de Milly, a public affairs firm that specializes in public policy, community relations and government affairs. His firm helped advance the Willets Point, Queens, redevelopment that will provide 2,500 affordable apartments, a hotel, public school, retail, open space and a soccer stadium. Geto previously served at the city, state and federal government levels and has been involved in seven presidential campaigns. He has also helped launch LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, such as PFLAG and the Human Rights Campaign, and helped pass legislation to protect gay people from discrimination in the 1980s.
Mar Henriquez
Mar Henriquez is an active defender of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, both through their work at The Legal Aid Society and through various outside campaigns and advocacy organizations. The Legal Aid Society’s LGBTQ+ Law and Policy Unit provides inclusion training for the organizations’ staff members, advocates for incarcerated transgender people, and helps advance policy and legislative reform efforts. Henriquez is also active with the Trans Prisoners’ Rights Coalition of New York and has served on the executive board of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.
Omar Herrera
At the Columbia Climate School, Omar Herrera spearheads outreach and helps orchestrate events that communicate the urgency of the climate crisis via large-scale, engaging programs. Herrera has a career spanning public relations, event planning, advising and government. The longtime LGBTQ+ advocate has also organized and promoted Pride commemorations at Columbia Climate School to celebrate inclusion. He previously served on Equality New York’s board and also was a social media manager for the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Winter Party Festival.
Jordyn Jay
Jordyn Jay is the founder and executive director of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, a nonprofit focused on providing resources for Black transgender femme artists. Her mission is to promote Black trans liberation through art. Jay has raised $1 million from prominent artists – such as Neil Patrick Harris, Janet Mock and Indya Moore – and distributed more than $500,000 in funding. Her organization recently received one of Brooklyn Org’s $100,000 Spark Prizes.
Tim Johnson
When state or federal policies get in the way of bolstering New York’s healthcare workforce, Tim Johnson is often on the front lines advocating for changes. Johnson, a longtime official at the influential Greater New York Hospital Association, has recently been raising alarms about the federal government’s limits on visa-holding physicians and other healthcare workers. He also focuses on graduate medical education, working with government and private partners to support medical training. Johnson has helped develop curricula to support immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities.
Corey Johnson
Former New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson left elected office at the end of 2021, but the political insider hasn’t gone far. Through his consulting firm Cojo Strategies, Johnson represents clients such as DoorDash, Bally’s Corp. and Vornado Realty Trust. Johnson, the first HIV-positive person to have led the City Council, represented a district on Manhattan’s West Side long held by gay lawmakers – with his former staffers Erik Bottcher and now Carl Wilson succeeding him in the seat. He serves on the board of the New York City AIDS Memorial.
Nicholas Koster
Nicholas Koster is the vice president for design at the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that manages Manhattan’s iconic Central Park. He is also executive co-chair of the organization’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group. Koster has two decades of experience in New York City, focusing on public projects such as the transformation of Times Square during a previous job. With his help, the Central Park Conservancy received the 2026 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Organization Award for excellence in restoration and stewardship.
Dirk McCall de Palomá
Dirk McCall de Palomá runs the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District, which brings together businesses, nonprofits and residents in support of the Sunnyside neighborhood in Queens. He has served over three decades in government, nonprofits, political clubs and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, most recently as director of civic awareness for Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. McCall de Palomá served as president of the then-Stonewall Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club, is on the board of the New Pride Agenda, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, and is active with Out Astoria.
Diana Moreno
Last fall, Assembly Member Diana Moreno jumped into the special election for the open Queens seat vacated by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and she coasted to victory with support from a notable trifecta: Mamdani, the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Queens Democratic Party. Moreno, who now represents Astoria and Long Island City, was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, and got her start in community labor organizing as an intern with Make the Road New York. Moreno, a queer woman, has introduced state legislation that would allow New York City to raise corporate taxes.
Priya Nair
A seasoned LGBTQ+ advocate, Priya Nair has led the New York City Commission on Gender Equity for the past year. Nair, the first queer, nonbinary and South Asian person to head up the city commission, previously served as deputy chief diversity officer in the Hochul administration, leading initiatives to strengthen equity and inclusion in the workplace and communities. Nair was the lead author of New York state’s guidance on collecting sexual orientation and gender identity demographic data. They were also associate director of gender equity at NYC Health + Hospitals.
Charles John O’Byrne
Charles John O’Byrne is executive vice president for policy at Related Companies and also supports EnergyRe, an energy company launched by Related executives. O’Byrne has helped Related navigate regulatory, labor and community concerns to advance major development projects that will provide thousands of affordable housing units in Willets Point, Queens, and Hudson Yards West. His experience spans politics, government, academia and religion. O’Byrne, a former Jesuit priest and a trained attorney who was secretary to Gov. David Paterson, also serves on the Citizens Budget Commission board.
MJ Okma
As New York’s Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Edie Windsor Fellow, MJ Okma has some legendary LGBTQ+ names to try to emulate. But Okma, a public affairs strategist, is already well on his way, with over a decade of experience with the major LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations like SAGE and GLAAD. He led a coalition that pushed successfully for New York’s bill of rights for LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive long-term care facility residents, supported the creation of a $20 million initiative to incentivize affordable housing for LGBTQ+ older adults and helped pass legislation to prevent death records from misgendering transgender New Yorkers.
Terence Pleasant
Terence Pleasant oversees community prevention services at Trillium Health, a community health center based in Rochester with a focus on delivering care to LGBTQ+ individuals. He also runs the organization’s Mocha Center, a health and wellness hub in the city’s Susan B. Anthony neighborhood. Pleasant has spent more than 15 years in human services and is passionate about supporting marginalized communities, such as people impacted by HIV/AIDS. He was honored by the New Pride Agenda last year and the Mocha Center was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign two years ago.
Roona Ray
Dr. Roona Ray is a family and public health physician who’s currently vice chair of the New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates for universal, comprehensive, single-payer healthcare and supports the proposed New York Health Act. Ray and her wife were named a 2025 Grassroots Champion for Child Care by New Yorkers United for Child Care, where they are parent leaders. She serves on the New York City Gender and Racial Equity Advisory Board and has been an attending physician at NYC Health + Hospitals, Callen-Lorde and NYU Langone Health.
Michael Rich
Before Michael Rich became an executive assistant at the United Way of New York State, he spent a decade owning and operating a salon and spa in Albany County – honing an entrepreneurial and relationship-building approach that serves him well in the nonprofit sector. At the United Way of New York State, which advocates for policy changes in Albany and supports local United Way chapters, Rich has helped advance initiatives to make the local resource hotline 211 more inclusive, responsive and culturally competent and to increase its awareness in the LGBTQ+ community.
Ron Richter
After a distinguished career in government, in the courts and in the nonprofit sector, Ron Richter in February launched his eponymous firm, Ron Richter Consulting, which advises nonprofits focused on youth development and education. Richter, who’s also a strategic adviser at BTQ Financial, previously oversaw a $120 million budget as CEO of JCCA, which provides child welfare and mental health services to children and families. Richter was also a family court judge and commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, where he implemented the Close to Home law.
Aurelio “PJ” Rivera
Aurelio “PJ” Rivera is a New York-based principal at Deloitte, where he is the advertising, marketing and commerce leader for the firm’s government and public services practice and leads the culture, experience and belonging team that supports inclusive leadership development. Rivera is currently leading a pro bono effort for NYC Pride and supports various national nonprofits for free as well. Earlier in his career, Rivera worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as Marriott International.
Allen Roskoff
As president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, Allen Roskoff brings together LGBTQ+ members, allies and Democratic officials to advocate for progressive policies and candidates. Roskoff was part of early LGBTQ+ organizing victories and co-authored the nation’s first gay rights bill. More recently, Roskoff spearheaded a successful effort to elect Carl Wilson to the New York City Council, ensuring District 3 would continue to be represented by a gay officeholder. Last year, he openly opposed mayoral candidates Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo – and neither one won.
Justin Sanchez
First-term New York City Council Member Justin Sanchez serves as co-chair of the legislative body’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus, a post he shares with Council Member Chi Ossé. Sanchez, who represents District 17 in the South Bronx, mounted a youth-focused campaign last year noted for its grassroots organizing. He previously served in staff roles in city government and was director of Latino outreach for the state Democratic Party, president of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City and chair of the LGBTQ+ Caucus of the Young Democrats of America.
Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese is a top official overseeing federal and state government relations and communications at the academic health system Montefiore Einstein. He has advanced public funding and capital support to projects aligned with Montefiore’s priorities and helped navigate labor negotiations with the New York State Nurses Association. Solmonese served as the CEO of the 2020 Democratic National Convention Committee, was a partner at Gavin/Solmonese and chaired a leadership transition at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Solmonese also led the LGBTQ+ rights organization Human Rights Campaign and Emily’s List, which supports women candidates who back abortion rights.
Nadia Swanson
Nadia Swanson oversees advocacy and global programs at The Ali Forney Center, which supports young LGBTQ+ people at risk of being homeless. Swanson has secured additional shelter beds, pushed for legislation to help unhoused youths and worked with New York City Administration for Children’s Services on more inclusive policies. In 2025, Swanson helped secure $13.7 million to aid transgender New Yorkers and also co-authored Zohran Mamdani’s LGBTQIA+ platform during his successful New York City mayoral campaign. They also lead The Ali Forney Center’s Global Model Replication Program as a worldwide template for serving LGBTQ+ youth facing homelessness.
CeCe Szkutak
CeCe Szkutak is the director of data and research at The Parkside Group, a top campaign and government relations firm where she oversees cutting-edge polling operations and advanced political analytics. The queer politico has been a survey researcher for a number of political and advocacy campaigns in New York state, with a track record of supporting progressive politics and values. She recently served as the primary pollster for state Senate Democrats, completed a detailed analysis of the New York City mayoral race and conducted off-cycle research on evolving voter attitudes.
Winnie Varghese
Last year, the Rev. Winnie Varghese made history as the first woman to become dean of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, a storied cathedral known for its massive edifice in Upper Manhattan. The queer Episcopal priest’s leadership promoting equality and diversity – including welcoming the LGBTQ+ community – spans more than two decades. She previously was rector of St. Luke’s Atlanta and St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery. In December, she officiated a special evensong honoring the first out gay Episcopal bishop, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson.
Harry Voulgarakis
Harry Voulgarakis is a psychologist, behavior analyst and assistant professor of child study at St. Joseph’s University. His research focuses on the assessment and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. Voulgarakis has worked with children and families in clinical, educational and legal matters. He has authored over a dozen peer-reviewed scientific papers and has a forthcoming book on ethical documentation in behavioral health. Voulgarakis has earned distinctions from the New York State Psychological Association and was recently promoted to associate professor with tenure, effective this fall.
Kim Watson-Benjamin
Kim Watson-Benjamin is the LGBTQ and health coordinator in New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ office. She is a transgender rights activist who came to the United States to escape discrimination in Barbados. Watson-Benjamin supported Williams in passing trans rights legislation in the City Council, including a bill requiring medical providers to publicly post information on trans health services. Watson-Benjamin was a founding member of political advocacy program TransJustice and later co-founded CK Life to expand economic opportunities for trans New Yorkers in the South Bronx.
Laura Westengard
Laura Westengard is an English and queer studies professor at New York City College of Technology and the CUNY Graduate Center. Westengard, who’s also the co-creator, coordinator and inaugural faculty member of the Advanced Certificate in LGBTQ Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, has examined how gothic queer culture challenges systems and practices while also recognizing trauma in queer communities. She created and chairs the LGBTQIA+ Collective at the New York City College of Technology and has served on the board of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Joe Westmacott
One of the major initiatives at the victim services nonprofit Safe Horizon is the Streetwork Project, which provides youth facing homelessness with short-term shelter and other services. This program is overseen by Joe Westmacott, who has worked at Safe Horizon for 21 years and is dedicated to supporting vulnerable youths and ensuring they find safe housing. Westmacott also worked with Streetwise and Safe, a community organizing and legal peer education program for LGBTQ+ youth of color, and he has served on the New York City Continuum of Care’s Youth Committee.
Kei Williams
Last year, Kei Williams was named executive director of the New Pride Agenda, a top LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in the state. In the role, the Black queer transmasculine organizer and artist has helped boost funding for the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund. And as co-lead of the NYC Trans & Queer Coalition, Williams helped secure $14 million for LGBTQ+ communities. They have more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and strategist, including as a national organizer at the Marsha P. Johnson Institute and a community organizer for the People’s Climate Movement.
Doug Wirth
Doug Wirth has spent two decades helming Amida Care, a major Medicaid special needs health plan in New York City. Amida Care provides HIV/AIDS and gender-affirming care to vulnerable New Yorkers. Over Wirth’s tenure, Amida Care’s services have helped thousands of people living with HIV thrive, and he continues to see improved health outcomes year to year. He served on then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s task force to end the AIDS epidemic and was a senior health policy adviser to the Dinkins and Giuliani administrations in New York City.
Wolf
Wolf is a champion of LGBTQ+ visibility and engagement at the New York City Department of Buildings, leading the agency’s Pride employee resource group, coordinating participation for the annual NYC Pride March and forging partnerships with community institutions like the Stonewall National Monument Visitors Center. Wolf dropped their first name and now goes by a single name but is in the process of a legal name change to Callan Wolf. The construction inspector also supports career recruitment at high schools to help build a public sector that better serves LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.
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