At the beginning of Pride Month 2024, Vince Tripi founded Expanding Horizons, a social-purpose business that offers traveling exhibits, talks, and curricula designed to celebrate diversity and foster pride in LGBTQ+ heritage. Vince is a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, dedicated to preserving its history and promoting a sense of belonging.

A double-alum of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Vince holds a master’s degree in administrative leadership and a bachelor’s degree in middle and high school education. In 2011 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the UWM LGBT Resource Center for campus and system-level diversity leadership.

Vince knows the power of volunteerism: he’s an Eagle Scout, provides HIV counseling at a free clinic, and trains adult leaders of non-profit youth programs. He’s spoken at universities across the country (and at Google’s New York HQ) on queerness in the media and how LGBTQ+ people can cultivate career success.

As Director of Education & Outreach for Milwaukee Pride, the organization that puts on PrideFest, Vince programs and organizes engaging participatory community education presentations and events on LGBTQ+ history, culture, and advocacy; and develops the vision, strategy, and operations for public history exhibits. In 2023, the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce named Vince Advocate of the Year.

Before Vince founded Expanding Horizons, he was a corporate learning & development manager specializing in complex software systems. Vince was named among the Top 25 Emerging Training Leaders by Training magazine in 2021.

Lasalle is a Mixed Media Artist, Coordinator , Curator, and Muralist based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through his passions for art and design, he has provided creative art events, bright artworks, and supplied thought-provoking murals. As a black queer artist, he explore the the concept of life through storytelling and depth of his identity. Lasalle received his bachelors of Fine Arts from Valdosta State University and plans to further his education. Currently, Atlanta is where he calls home building his portfolio and helping local communities.

Camille Williams, a Chicago native and multidisciplinary artist, has been creating art for over two decades across various forms, including poetry, music, visual arts, performance, and activism. Her work often delves into themes of social justice, identity, and the experiences of marginalized communities. Williams began her artistic journey in the culturally rich South Shore neighborhood, honing her craft at Bryn Mawr Elementary and Morgan Park High School. After earning a full athletic scholarship to the University of Illinois at Chicago, she initially pursued a successful career in corporate accounting before fully embracing her artistic passions.

In 2005, she co-founded Spoken Existence Inc., a non-profit aimed at empowering marginalized black women, and formed the activist-performance duo AquaMoon. Their acclaimed choreopoems, including "Love Does Not Hurt," led to performances worldwide, and Williams continued to expand her artistic pursuits with acting, music, and visual arts. After relocating to Atlanta in 2011, she gained recognition for her roles in film and theater while preparing for solo exhibits that showcased her paintings and poetry. With her upcoming 2024 solo exhibit, "Sometimes I Feel," Williams remains dedicated to evolving her artistic journey and using her talents to inspire and uplift her community.

Tim’m T. West (he/they) is an award-winning educator, poet, hip-hop artist, and advocate whose three-decade career bridges classrooms, concert stages, and community movements. A graduate of Duke, The New School, and Stanford, he has transformed personal narrative into public service at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and social justice. Living openly with HIV since 1999, Tim’m has led national efforts to dismantle stigma through art, education, and mentorship—holding leadership roles with AID Atlanta, Houston’s St. Hope Foundation, and Chicago’s Center on Halsted. A former faculty member at The New School and Cal Poly Humboldt, he also launched Teach For America’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Initiative, shaping inclusion across 50+ regions. Now Executive Director of the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, he advances youth advocacy, research, and intersectional leadership through programs like the Georgia Youth Advocacy Fellowship, National Youth Advocacy Corps, and IGNYTE Symposium. Widely recognized as a pioneer of queer hip hop and named one of 31 Icons of LGBT History Month, Tim’m recently received the Stanford Pride Trailblazer Award for his enduring commitment to equity and liberation.

Briona Simone Jones, PhD, is the Audre Lorde Visiting Professor of Queer Studies at Spelman College. Jones’ body of work seeks to map the intellectual contributions of Black lesbians, whom she views as the architects of Black queer studies. She is the editor of the multi-award-winning book, Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought, the most comprehensive anthology centering Black Lesbian Thought to date. During the 2023-2024 academic year, Jones was a Scholar-in-Residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and curated the exhibition, The Pleasure of Rebellion, which attended to the personal and political contours of Cheryl Clarke and Alexis De Veaux's work. Jones is currently working on her manuscript, Black Lesbian Aesthetics.

R. Wayne Woodson, Ph.D., considers himself a serial entrepreneur. As a consultant, writer, speaker, educator, and business owner, he impacts numerous industries. R. Wayne serves as Acting CEO for NAESM Inc., Associate Pastor at the Vision Cathedral of Atlanta, Managing Partner & CEO for Woodson and Associates, CEO of RWYN, and Executive Director of The Woodson Foundation.

As a highly sought-after consultant, Woodson’s primary specialty areas are fundraising, marketing, institutional effectiveness/strategic planning, HIV Care and Public Health, and leadership training. He came to public health after years of work in the non-profit sector as a fundraiser and administrator. His research centers around HIV access and program development, LGBTQ+ Equity and access, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Black male success, leadership, and fundraising.

Woodson received his undergraduate education from the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, culminating in a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music (Voice Performance and Choral Conducting). He attended New England Conservatory for graduate study in vocal performance and the University of South Florida for graduate study in Choral Conducting. Woodson earned a Master of Music degree in choral conducting and the Artist’s Diploma in orchestral conducting from Georgia State University. His Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership research focused on the Impact of Financial Aid on the Persistence of Black Males at HBCUs.

As the Great Grand Nephew of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the pioneer of African American studies and labeled the "Father of Black History," Woodson has dedicated himself to educating the public on the contributions of African Americans. He is a national spokesperson for educational and professional access for underrepresented populations.

Zayn Azoulay (he/they) is a multidisiplinary researcher, educator, and musician currently living in Chicago, IL. With an academic background in both queer and trans studies and music, Zayn’s interests and research explore the entanglement of queerness, art, and self-actualization. Zayn is currently a Research Assistant with the Williams Institute, helping to conduct LGBTQ+ public policy and healthcare research through UCLA’s School of Law. Building on his experience as a music educator of over 5 years, he is also assisting in music history research to help create a new standardized curriculum that uplifts artists of marginalized identities for the global School of Rock music education program. As a musician, Zayn has performed in venues across the East Coast, including Lincoln Center’s Festival of Firsts, 54 Below, and the Academy of Music, to bring to life new works created by and for queer and trans people. When not researching or playing music, you can find him passionately discussing the usage of electronic pitch-shifting techniques by trans musicians.

Royce Mann is a lifelong Atlantan and an experienced community organizer and youth activist. He formerly served as Legislative Director for March for Our Lives Georgia, Student Activist Coordinator for Amnesty International, Youth Engagement Coordinator for Senator Raphael Warnock’s re-election campaign, and Deputy State Director for Rise, an organization that fights for affordable college, students’ basic needs, and youth civic engagement. He was recognized for his advocacy in 2019 as a Grand Marshal of Atlanta Pride. Royce is currently running for the Atlanta Board of Education, seeking to become the youngest person ever elected to a citywide office in Atlanta. He holds a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in History from Emory University, where he was an MLK-Woodruff Scholar.

Carlo Velayo is an award-winning, independent producer who uses storytelling to inspire narrative change. Carlo has produced two scripted feature films, Isabel Sandoval's “Lingua Franca” (2019, Venice Days) and Jessica M. Thompson's “The Light of the Moon” (2017, SXSW Audience Award Winner). In the non-fiction space, Carlo was an Associate Producer on Cheryl Furjanic's “Back on Board: Greg Louganis” (2014) and Senior Producer on Michele Josue's Netflix Original documentary series “Happy Jail” (2019). He is collaborating again with Michele on the Oscar-qualified “Nurse Unseen” (2024) and a documentary about Jollibee, as well as Andy Warhol’s “Ladies and Gentlemen” series.

As an interactive and digital media producer at the American Museum of Natural History, Carlo collaborated with First Nations and Native American communities, scientists, and curators, expanding his appreciation for interdisciplinary storytelling and the role of media in education.

Born in the Philippines, raised in Sydney, Australia, and now based in the United States, Carlo brings a global perspective to all his collaborations. As a recent transplant to Atlanta, Carlo is proud to be an exploratory committee member on the long-overdue Atlanta LGBTQ+ community center.

M. V. Lee Badgett, PhD, is a pioneering researcher of the global cost of homophobia and transphobia, economic empowerment of LGBTI+ people, and LGBTI+ economic inequality. Her latest book is The Economic Case for LGBT Equality: Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefits Us All (Beacon Press, 2020). She’s the Chief Economist and co-founder of Koppa: The LGBTI+ Economic Power Lab. In addition, Badgett is Professor Emeritx of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a Williams Distinguished Scholar at UCLA’s Williams Institute, where she was a co-founder and the first research director. She has worked with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, Open For Business, UNDP, USAID, IDB, the U.S. State Department, OECD, global businesses, and many LGBTI+ organizations. Badgett’s work includes testifying as an expert witness (including as an expert witness in California’s Prop 8 case), analyzing public policies, consulting with development banks, briefing policymakers, writing op-ed pieces, speaking with journalists, and advising businesses.  She is quoted regularly in newspapers across the country, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post. Curve Magazine named her one of the twenty most powerful lesbians in academia, and she has appeared on The Advocate magazine’s "Our Best and Brightest Activists" list and Out Magazine’s “Out 100.”  In 2024, Melinda Gates named Badgett as one of 12 global leaders to distribute $20 million each to organizations working on women’s and girls’ health and well-being.

Nhan Truong (he/him) is a public health researcher, educator, and advocate with over 15 years of experience leading culturally responsive research and evaluation initiatives centered on LGBTQ+ youth, communities of color, and intersectional equity. A first-generation college graduate and former McNair Scholar, he earned his Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in public health at San Diego State University. His work bridges rigorous research with grassroots advocacy, amplifying marginalized voices through trauma-informed and community-engaged approaches.

Nhan has directed national studies on school climate, youth well-being, and HIV risk, and authored 15 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, 3 book chapters, and 11 community-facing reports. He currently serves as a program analyst at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, where he evaluates the Human Dimension program—a three-year curriculum designed to train medical students to provide holistic care by emphasizing social, environmental, and biological determinants of health, as well as fostering community engagement throughout New Jersey. In addition to his institutional role, Nhan continues as an independent researcher and consultant, drawing on prior leadership experience at GLSEN and AARP, as well as at My Brother’s Keeper, Inc., where he managed multi-site HIV prevention studies and evaluated healthy eating intervention programs in the Southeastern United States.

In addition to his academic and research contributions, Nhan served as Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tougaloo College, mentoring students and supporting IRB governance. His most impactful work includes the CDC-funded Partnerships to Improve Community Health, addressing food insecurity, healthcare access, and tobacco cessation in underserved Mississippi communities. Outside of work, he volunteers with The Audre Lorde Project, supporting grassroots organizing and strategic fundraising efforts to advance LGBTQ+ racial and economic justice in New York City. He lives in Jersey City, NJ with his partner.