HEROES AND ENGENDERED SPIRITS TO BE HONORED AT THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY BY CAPITAL PRIDE ALLIANCE

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Award Recipients Have Advanced LGBTA Rights

Washington, D.C., May 11, 2016 – The Capital Pride Alliance is proud to announce the recipients of the 2016 Capital Pride Heroes Award, Engendered Spirits, and the award named for the late founding board member, Bill Miles. The recipients are nominated each year by members of the community, based on the criteria of having advanced the causes of LGBTA rights. A committee of Capital Pride’s Board of Directors recommends nominees to the full Board, which then approves recipients, along with the Engendered Spirits, who were recommended by the Trans Pride Committee. The recipients will be honored at the Capital Pride Heroes Gala presented by Hilton, and generously hosted by the Historical Society of Washington, DC, on Wednesday, June 1, at 7:00 PM, in the iconic Carnegie Library, 801 K Street NW.

“The Capital Pride Alliance is extraordinarily fortunate to have a community with so many individuals, leaders, and activists dedicated to fighting for and successfully advancing LGBTA rights for all of us.” said Bernie Delia, President of the Board of Directors of the Capital. “This year was a particularly difficult selection process, with so many outstanding individuals from whom to choose. We are truly grateful and honored to announce and celebrate these individuals.”

The following awards are being presented:

Capital Pride Heroes are dedicated individuals whose body of work has had a positive, significant, and lasting impact on the LGBTA community.

  • Bishop Allyson Abrams – presiding bishop Pneuma Christian Fellowship, founder of the Empowerment Liberation Cathedral, social justice advocate
  • Kathleen Matthews – LGBTQ advocate, human rights activist, journalist, TV news anchor, VP Global Communications at Marriott International, Congressional candidate
  • Rayceen Pendarvis – HIV/AIDS activist, host of “The Ask Rayceen Show,” emcee of multiple DC Black Pride festivals and events, volunteer, equality advocate, openly gay ANC commissioner
  • Peter Rosenstein – LGBTA rights activist, racial justice champion, CEO of national associations in healthcare and education, member of multiple nonprofit boards

Engendered Spirits are those individuals who have made significant contributions to the transgender community. They will also be honored at the 2016 Capital Trans Pride on May 21.

  • Julius Agers –two-spirited, transgender activist, volunteer for numerous nonprofit organizations and political campaigns, staff member at D.C. Fire and EMS Department
  • Jeri Hughes – human rights advocate, volunteer, marriage equality and DADT repeal activist

The Bill Miles Award The Bill Miles Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service acknowledges exemplary contributions to the annual Capital Pride celebration.  Dr. Miles was a dedicated volunteer, an active member of the DC LGBT community, and a founding member of the Capital Pride Alliance.

  • Chelsea Bland – labor union and LGBTQ rights activist, volunteer co-producer at Capital Pride for Volunteers
  • Michael Creason – volunteer sign language interpreter for Capital Pride and multiple LGBTA organizations, producer at Capital Pride for Accessibility

For more information on the Capital Pride Heroes, Engendered Spirits, and Bill Miles award recipients, please visit the Capital Pride Alliance website at capitalpride.org, or contact Peter Morgan at (202) 719-5304, Ext. 703.

 

Learn more about the 2016 honorees, click here.

Learn more about the 2016 Heroes Gala and purchase tickets, click here.

ABOUT CAPITAL PRIDE ALLIANCE

The Capital Pride Alliance, located in Washington, DC, is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the LGBTA community and allies through educational events, entertainment, community outreach, and celebrations of diversity, including the annual Pride Parade and Street Festival in our Nation’s Capital. The Capital Pride Alliance produces one of the largest Pride Celebrations in North America with more than 350,000 attendees in 2015. As the LGBTA Pride Celebration representing the Nation’s Capital, they strive to be a beacon of hope and solidarity for cities and communities around the country and the world. Facebook (facebook.com/CapitalPrideDC), Twitter (twitter.com/CapitalPrideDC), YouTube, and Instagram (instagram.com/CapitalPrideDC).