PRIDE
NYC Pride Appoints New Executive Director
Sandra Pérez wants organization to spotlight LGBTQ youth, trans community
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Heritage of Pride (HOP),
which produces the
annual New York City
Pride March and related
events, has appointed out
Latinx lesbian Sandra Pérez to
serve as the organization’s next executive
director.
Pérez, who is of Puerto Rican
descent, is joining HOP, or NYC
Pride, after working as a non-profi t
executive and carrying out other
positions pertaining to special
events, resource development, and
philanthropy. She worked in development
related roles for the Ms.
Foundation for Women and has
also worked as a consultant in the
private and public sectors.
HOP interim executive director
David A. Correa will continue as
the organization’s director of entertainment
and events.
Sandra Pérez previously worked as a non-profi t executive.
“The extensive search and subsequent
choice of our next executive
director were incredibly important
for us as we look to the future
of NYC Pride,” Sue Doster, HOP’s
co-chair, said in a written statement.
NYC PRIDE
“After a challenging period
for us and our community, we are
thrilled to have chosen a leader
who will help pave the way for our
next era.”
In her new role, Pérez said she
hopes to highlight LGBTQ young
people through HOP’s Youth Pride
initiative and put the organization’s
focus on aligning “front and
center” with the transgender community.
As a woman of color, Pérez
said she wants to use her platform
to bring attention to the issues facing
LGBTQ individuals who are
last to be heard in the movement.
“My fi rst job is to see where
we’ve been, really to listen and engage
with stakeholders who have
or haven’t been at the table for a
while,” Pérez told Gay City News.
“As someone who comes from a
working class background and
has done a lot of fi rsts, I would like
to see us ensure that some of the
gains the movement has made are
set and fi nalized.”
She added, “This is where having
people apply a BIPOC lens to
the challenges that lay ahead is going
to be important… It’s not just
looking at one issue, but looking at
all the different issues that are impacting
our right to exist.”
Pérez’s appointment comes as
HOP has faced criticism for the
large corporate presence at their
march as well as for their lack of
diverse leadership. Amid growing
pressure from activists, HOP
organizers announced a controversial
policy in May prohibiting
uniformed police offi cers from participating
in the Pride March and
other events until at least 2025.
The Gay Offi cers Action League
(GOAL) went on to rip the ban as
“demoralizing” and slammed HOP
for taking the “low road.”
Pérez said the ban on police contingents
is on track to remain in
place, at least for now.
“I know it was a decision that
wasn’t taken lightly, and I know
there’s a lot of pain on both sides,”
Pérez said. “However, I don’t see
the ban being lifted this year, and
again, I do hope that we’ll be able
to engage in dialogue with all of
our community members.”
While that policy is likely to
remain in place, it remains to be
seen, for now, what other changes
could be forthcoming at HOP under
Pérez’s leadership.
“I don’t think anybody at HOP
is looking to maintain the status
quo; certainly I’m not, and I think
my hiring is part of that,” she
added. “We have a lot of external
challenges… so, in my mind, one
of the things we need to do is minimize
the discord… So fi guring out
where the pain points are and how
we can responsibly address them
is the real task.”
Pérez, who now lives in New Rochelle,
New York, grew up in NYCHA
housing and in Co-Op City
in the Bronx. Pérez recalled her
mother working as a paraprofessional
and her father working in a
factory during her childhood.
“I know what it’s like to have
people discount you the minute
you walk in the door because they
are not familiar with who you are
or your culture or where you come
from, and they make assumptions.”
Outside of her work, Pérez has
volunteered for various causes and
organizations, such as the LGBTQ
Giving Circle at the Chicago Foundation
for Women and the YMCA
Young Achievers Program, which
provides youth of color with support,
training, and leadership opportunities.
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