Winter Pride Journal 2019
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QUEENS PRIDE<br />
CO-CHAIRPERSONS<br />
Good Evening Friends and Supporters,<br />
Welcome to <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>Pride</strong> <strong>2019</strong>! The funds raised this evening support the<br />
Queens <strong>Pride</strong> Parade & Festival in June. Without your support, we could<br />
not hold these events.<br />
Tonight as we gather here together to celebrate 26 years of <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>Pride</strong><br />
success, we take pleasure and pride this year in honoring three amazing<br />
women: Dominique Jackson - Actress and author, LaLa Zannell -<br />
Advocate and Melissa Sklarz - Political Advocate. We are so proud to<br />
honor and celebrate these women of power and award them for their work<br />
that uplifts the LGBT+ community.<br />
Finally, we want to say thank you again, all of you... our members,<br />
business manager, volunteers, sponsors, supporters and Board of<br />
Directors.<br />
Thank you again for being with us tonight and see you all on Sunday,<br />
June 2nd for the 27th Queens <strong>Pride</strong> Parade and Festival...Enjoy!<br />
<strong>Pride</strong> = Love,<br />
Tina Arniotis & Mo George<br />
CoChairs
THE 26TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION<br />
OF<br />
QUEENS WINTER PRIDE <strong>2019</strong><br />
PROGRAM<br />
INTRODUCTIONS & WELCOMES<br />
AWARD PRESENTATIONS TO<br />
MELISSA SKLARZ<br />
presented by Danny Dromm<br />
LALA ZANNELL<br />
presented by Zachariah Boyer<br />
DOMINIQUE JACKSON<br />
presented by Tina Arniotis
MISSION STATEMENT<br />
Queens <strong>Pride</strong> was established to<br />
about the gay, lesbian, bisexual,<br />
promote awareness and<br />
transgender, and queer/questioning<br />
education among and of the gay,<br />
community and shall support efforts<br />
lesbian, bisexual, transgender,<br />
by organizations and individuals that<br />
and<br />
foster pride, education and awareness<br />
queer/questioning community of<br />
for and of gay, lesbian, bisexual,<br />
Queens County, New York.<br />
transgendered, and queer/questioning<br />
QLG PC shall organize a<br />
persons.<br />
Queens <strong>Pride</strong> Parade and<br />
In addition to our core mission to<br />
Multicultural Festival in Queens<br />
organize and host the annual<br />
County in June of each year.<br />
Queens <strong>Pride</strong> parade and multicultural<br />
QLGPC shall also organize<br />
festival, our group works to foster<br />
events, which foster pride,<br />
youth, cultural, and social<br />
awareness and education within<br />
programming and to engage our<br />
and<br />
elected officials on issues pertinent to<br />
the LGBT community.
QUEENS PRIDE <strong>2019</strong><br />
BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />
CO-CHAIRS<br />
TINA ARNIOTIS<br />
MO GEORGE<br />
TREASURER<br />
STEVEN RAJA<br />
SECRETARY<br />
ZACHARIAH BOYER<br />
MEMBER AT LARGE<br />
ANDREW RONAN
THANK YOU TO OUR <strong>2019</strong><br />
TABLE CAPTAINS<br />
LGBT Network<br />
ACQC<br />
AHF<br />
Luis Rivera<br />
Lynn Schulman<br />
Ari & Chip Gershman<br />
Alan Reiff<br />
Melissa Sklarz<br />
Michael Mallon<br />
Allen Roskoff<br />
APICHA Community Health Center<br />
New Visions Democratic Club<br />
NYPresbyterian-Queens<br />
Big Gay Men of NY<br />
Bill Meehan<br />
NYC <strong>Pride</strong><br />
Out Astoria<br />
Brendon Fray & Thomas Multon<br />
Candy Samples<br />
Out Rockaway<br />
Queens Center for Gay Seniors<br />
Danny Dromm<br />
Dirk McCall<br />
Rhoda Dunn<br />
Greg Stein<br />
Rod Townsend<br />
Shekar Krishnan<br />
Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club<br />
Kevin Uhrin& Will Self<br />
Stonewall Democratic Club<br />
UFT
Honoree - Dominique Jackson<br />
Dominique Jackson was born on March 20, 1965 in<br />
Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago. Although<br />
Jackson grew up with her grandmother, she still<br />
experienced a traumatic upbringing that included<br />
bullying and sexual abuse. She fled to the United<br />
States at the age of eighteen due to not being<br />
accepted as transgender by her family.<br />
During her time in the United States, Jackson has<br />
experienced homelessness and turned to sex work<br />
and living off credit cards for survival. It was in<br />
1993, while living in Baltimore, Maryland, that<br />
Jackson was introduced to the ballroom scene. She<br />
then lived in various "houses" and eventually settled<br />
in the House of Sinclair which was stationed in New<br />
York City.<br />
Overcoming memories of a dark childhood, Dominique self-published the hurdles,<br />
hurts, revelations and triumphs of her journey in an autobiography titled “The<br />
Transsexual from Tobago.” Dominique is a LGBT and human rights activist who<br />
wants to encourage those who need hope and inspiration.<br />
Jackson has been open about her mental health struggles. After a thirteen-year writing<br />
process, she released her autobiography The Transsexual from Tobago. She has also<br />
worked for several nonprofit organizations (such as Destination Tomorrow in the<br />
Bronx) that provide outreach and services to the LGBTQ community.<br />
In 2018, Jackson began appearing in the leading role of Elektra Abundance on the FX<br />
series Pose, which is based on the ballroom subculture in New York City of the late<br />
1980s. The first season boasted the largest cast of transgender actors ever for a scripted<br />
network series, with over 50 transgender characters. On July 12, 2018, it was<br />
announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which is set to<br />
premiere sometime in <strong>2019</strong>.<br />
Dominique recently decided to embrace a new chapter in her life and move to Los<br />
Angeles for an exciting opportunity. With vast experience in the industry, Dominique<br />
serves as a mentor to the models at Slay.
Honoree - MELISSA SKLARZ<br />
In 1999, Melissa became the first transgender<br />
person elected to office in New York when she was<br />
elected a Judicial Delegate from the 66th Assembly<br />
District. In 2004, Melissa became the first<br />
transgender person from New York to be part of the<br />
state delegation at the Democratic National<br />
Convention, by being appointed to the Credentials<br />
Committee and again on the Rules Committee in<br />
2008. In 2016,<br />
Melissa became the first New York trans person<br />
elected to be a delegate to the Democratic National<br />
Convention. Later that year, Melissa became the<br />
first trans American to be selected for the Electoral<br />
College.<br />
She helped bring civil rights to transgender people in New York City when INT 24 became<br />
law in 2002, served on the Working Group with the New York Human Rights Commission<br />
to flesh out the law, and has been a lobbying leader for GENDA (Gender Expression Non<br />
Discrimination Act) since the bill was developed in 2002. Melissa was a leader of trans<br />
expansive birth certificate at the local and state level for the last 10 years.<br />
In 2008, Melissa was a co-chair for Obama <strong>Pride</strong> NYC, helping to organize the LGBT<br />
community for the campaign and was one of 250 activists invited to the first LGBT <strong>Pride</strong> in<br />
White House in June 2009 to celebrate the Stonewall Rebellion.<br />
In 2010, Melissa was at the side of Governor Paterson when he announced an executive<br />
order protecting the rights of transgender people employed by New York State and was<br />
with Governor Cuomo when he announced administrative legal amendment protecting trans<br />
New Yorkers in 2015. Currently, Melissa is a member of the Failla Unified Court<br />
Commission, to ensure the New York Court system is fair for all LGBT New Yorkers.<br />
Melissa was the first member appointed.<br />
Melissa moved to Queens in 2005 and has been active in Queens politics, and serving on<br />
the executive board of Northern Regular Democrats in North Woodside. She is also a<br />
member of Powhatan Democratic Club and Taminent Democratic Club.<br />
Melissa had a featured role in the film Transamerica.
Honoree -<br />
LALA ZANNELL<br />
LaLa is an dedicated and passionate advocate, and<br />
Michigan native now residing in New York. Gifted<br />
public speaker, thought leader, and speechwriter<br />
who speaks out on issues related to anti-LGBTQ<br />
violence, and especially the disproportionate<br />
violence that Trans and gender non- conforming<br />
people of color face as a tool for her personal<br />
healing.<br />
LaLa was a member of the National Coalition of<br />
Anti violence Program (NCAVP) Movement<br />
Building Committee. Professionally LaLa is the<br />
Lead Organizer at the New York City Anti-Violence<br />
project (AVP),<br />
LaLa is the face and leads AVP’s public community organizing work, doing advocacy,<br />
outreach, and networking on behalf of LGBTQ New Yorkers who have experienced<br />
violence. LaLa also plays a key role in AVP’s Rapid Incident Response team, which<br />
responds whenever incidents of hate violence, sexual violence or intimate partner violence<br />
impacting LGBTQ and HIV-affected New Yorkers become public and national responses<br />
to hate violence.<br />
LaLa spoke at the White House for the first Women’s history month briefing to include<br />
transwoman and the last Trans women of color briefing under the Obama administration<br />
testified at the first historic Congressional Forum on violence against transgender people.<br />
LaLa continues her part to culture shift as a chair of the policy and working group<br />
committee for Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) were they recently had a<br />
small victory with the passing of Intro 541 which would put an end to unconstitutional<br />
searched by the NYPD. Was a member of the Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC)<br />
New York leadership team anchoring their Healing and Restorative Justice Institute and<br />
made 2015 Trans 100 list for LaLa’s dedicated work with making the lives of Tran Woman<br />
of Color better. Recently LaLa has partnered up with two of her chosen sisters to become<br />
business owners will be launching a jewelry company called “Tx3” owner and operated by<br />
Trans Women of Color proving again we can create and be successful in anything we put<br />
all of our collective power in.<br />
Recently testified to help the passing of the NYC X gender marker on the birth certificate<br />
helped push to get TGNC funding pushed to trans led groups through the city council<br />
office.
JOIN US<br />
QUEENS GAY PRIDE<br />
PARADE & FESTIVAL<br />
SUNDAY, JUNE 2, <strong>2019</strong><br />
JACKSON HEIGHTS, QUEENS<br />
@QUEENSPRIDENYC<br />
WWW.QUEENSPRIDE.ORG<br />
CHAT | TEXT | EMAIL | DOWNLOAD
Address<br />
45-30 23rd Street<br />
Long Island City, NY 11101<br />
Phone<br />
718-392-1222<br />
E-mail<br />
courtdine@aol.com<br />
Order Online<br />
www.courtsquarediner.com
THANK YOU TO OUR<br />
LUXURY RAFFLE SPONSOR<br />
Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya Resort - Mexico
THANK YOU TO OUR<br />
VOLUNTEERS<br />
CHEER NEW YORK<br />
GREG STEIN<br />
MONICA MENENDEZ<br />
NIC CALABRO
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens<br />
is proud to support Queens <strong>Pride</strong><br />
Congratulations to the <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>Pride</strong> <strong>2019</strong> honorees<br />
Dominique Jackson<br />
Melissa Sklarz<br />
and LaLa Zannell<br />
Visit us at www.nyp.org/queens<br />
To find a doctor call: 800-282-6684
Congratulations to Queens <strong>Pride</strong><br />
and all of this year’s<br />
<strong>Winter</strong> <strong>Pride</strong> Gala honorees.<br />
79-01 Broadway, Elmhurst, New York 11373<br />
nychealthandhospitals.org/elmhurst<br />
(718) 334-4000
CONGRATULATIONS<br />
TO THE HONOREES<br />
eTHE JEWISH CENTER OF JACKSON HEIGHTSe<br />
CONGRATULATIONS<br />
TO THE HONOREES<br />
Suzanne & Steve Knobel
Congratulations<br />
to<br />
Ari, Chip<br />
and the entire<br />
<strong>Winter</strong> <strong>Pride</strong><br />
community.<br />
Steven and Ruth<br />
Wimpfheimer<br />
Men Who Brunch is an lifestyle<br />
website/event blog that provides<br />
LGBTQ communities with<br />
brunches and other social events.<br />
The purpose of these events is to<br />
provide safe, enjoyable spaces for<br />
LGBTQ<br />
persons to network and bond.