WorldPride Washington, D.C. Human Rights Conference 2025

Professor Paula Gerber combines a razor-sharp legal intellect with passionate activism, to fight for the dismantling of discriminatory systems around the globe.She is a law professor at Monash University, which is not only the largest university in Australia, but also has a significant... Read More →

Anna DeShawn is an Ambie award-winning Chicago podcast host, producer, and digital media entrepreneur. She founded E3 Radio in 2009 to spotlight Queer news and music. Expanding her impact, Anna co-founded The Qube, a podcast production company that amplifies podcasts by BIPOC and... Read More →

Bukola (she/her/hers) is a first generation Nigerian-American who was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She grew up attending youth group and Pioneer girls in Baptist and nondenominational churches. As a young adult, she was also a member at Pentecostal and Presbyterian churches... Read More →

As the voice of a new generation of liberation theologians, a feminist with a unique calling, and a political facilitator with the life experiences and credentials for ministering and leading historical congregations, Bishop Allyson Nelson Abrams, founder, prelate, and pastor of Empowerment... Read More →

Mariann Edgar Budde serves as spiritual leader for 86 Episcopal congregations and ten Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties. The first woman elected to this position, she also serves as the chair of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation... Read More →

Charley Beal is a lifelong social activist who attended his first civil rights demonstration in Lansing, Michigan in 1962. He is also an award-winning art director for film and television, working with renowned directors including Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, Ridley Scott, and Gus Van... Read More →

Monica Helms is an activist, author, and veteran of the United States Navy. She is the creator of the Transgender Pride Flag and the founder of the Transgender American Veterans Association. Monica lives in Atlanta with her wife Darlene where she continues her advocacy for the trans... Read More →

AJ Hikes (they/them) is a social justice advocate, community organizer, TED Talk Speaker, and is unapologetically queer and Black. As Deputy Executive Director for Strategy & Culture at the ACLU National Office, AJ serves as chief counselor and principal partner to the executive director... Read More →

Cathy lives with her wife, Sheila and daughter Jacqueline. Sheila and Cathy have been together 32 years. The family lives in Queens, New York.Cathy spent many years as a Buddy in the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) Buddy Program visiting people afflicted with HIV/AIDS and assisting... Read More →