2023 LGBTQ+ Power Players

A native New Yorker, he has been practicing law for 30 years. Volunteering for several non-profits, and the Park Slope Santa for the 5th Avenue BID, Mickey is proudest of his 14 years with Brooklyn Pride and as chair/parade director for 12 years. He is especially proud and thankful to fellow board members Ariel, Cam and Kyle for their incredible contributions and of course to his partner Oluyai for all of his support.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
Locally, former NYS Senator Tom Duane and Brooklyn Pride Founder Jerry Allred. Also, former Bishop Gene Robinson, former NBA player Jason Collins, Harvey Milk and Harvey Fierstein

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
More legislation protecting the LGBTQIA+ community, but especially the trans community who are often overlooked.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
Whether outside or inside the community, we are all the same and deserve to be treated with the same respect and dignity as anyone else. Love is love.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
I am reading Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haynes from silent film to talkies to interior design, which details his life in Hollywood.

Amy is a nonprofit leader with nearly 20 years of experience.  She has committed to causes that center marginalized communities and their access to health care, education, natural resources and the arts.  In her time at HMI, Amy has worked to build an inclusive and affirming special event fundraising platform that reflects and builds community.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
I admire the House Mothers of the House Ballroom and Kiki communities across the country who, under-resourced and under-recognized, have always supported queer and trans youth.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
I hope to see the government taking a more active role by pushing back against the attack on trans youth and their families who support them – by passing legislation protecting gender affirming care. Additionally, I hope to see government agencies curate funding opportunities that are more inclusive of agencies innovating around services for queer and trans youth.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
That we are and have always been a movement led by young people.  Queer and trans youth have, throughout history, worked together across identities of race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation and gender to set the tone of the LGBTQIA+ Civil Rights Movement; and they have done this with fewer rights and protections than their older counterparts.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon

Bridget Hughes is chief program officer for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, leading programmatic efforts with and for LGBTQIA+ youth since 2012. Previously, Hughes directed the Youth Enrichment Services program of the LGBT Community Center for eighteen years, and conducted the NYC Dept. of Education’s Bias Audit, supporting Dignity for All Students legislation. Hughes was recognized with a PASEsetter Award in 2007, and named Outstanding Community Advocate by the NYC Administration for Children’s Services in 2019.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
The word “icon” makes me think of Milton Garcia Jr., icon Milton Ninja, whose flair and artful persistence and joyful spirit have always been inspiring to me. 

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
Protecting our bodily autonomy. Protecting access to health care for transgender persons.  Protecting access to abortion services.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
LGBTQIA+ youth are amazing!  By definition, these are young people who embody a rare kind of self-knowledge. They have to announce who they are to the world, persist through silence and cognitive dissonance. Refuse erasure. Ask courageous questions. Most of them still have to imagine themselves into being.  Truly, when we come up against challenges, we should ask queer youth what they’d do, and then match their creativity and daring.  We’d be much better off.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
Sarah Schulman’s Let the Record Show.  And, I recommend the poets:  Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Alok Vaid-Menon, Mark Doty, Essex Hemphill, June Jordan, Mary Oliver, Jewelle Gomez and Marilyn Hacker

Denise Hinds is chief program officer at Good Shepherd Services. In 39 years she has been instrumental in developing innovative programs. For 10 years, Denise has led the LGBTQ work in creating a culture of awareness, acceptance, and celebration. Denise is also on the board of Family Equality; a national organization championing the rights and needs of LGBTQ people to have families. She is also the board chair of the Newark LGBTQ Community Center.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
Audre Lorde is the icon I look up to. She has been a guiding force and inspiration in my life. We share similar backgrounds as children of Caribbean parents and growing up in NYC. I find power in her words and the way she lived her life unapologetically black and queer. She talked about learning to be unafraid to speak her truth, which helped me to find my own voice in the world.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
I would hope the government would take more action in supporting bills and laws that protect the rights of LGBTQ people in this country. I hope that they will understand how important representation matters and that it can save lives. I’d like to see them find ways to create and fund safe and affirming spaces for Queer people to live. Also support laws that protect the rights of queer people to have families. 

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
I wish people outside the queer community all knew how much more similar we are to them than we are different. That we want many of the same things they do for ourselves and for those we love. That we want to live free of fear of being hated and attacked for just being ourselves.  That we want to be loved, and to love just like they do. 

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
So many amazing books, and films.  I highly recommend the movie Mama Gloria, which is a documentary about a Black trans woman who lived in Chicago. It is a very powerful story of an amazing woman who many will never know about. We have stories and histories that never get told and this is one that amplifies a life well lived. Our community needs to know more about those who paved the way. 

State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, represents New York’s 47th State Senate District on Manhattan’s West Side. ​​As one of two openly LGBTQ state senators, Brad has passed dozens of bills protecting LGBTQ rights, including the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), banning so-called “conversion therapy,” legalizing gestational surrogacy for LGBTQ people, and expanding insurance coverage of PrEP and PEP. Brad lives with his husband, David, and their two young daughters.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
I tend to look up to LGBTQ+ icons in the political world, such as those who led Stonewall riots, like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson; to Assembly Member Deborah Glick and Senator Tom Duane, who were the first openly-lesbian and gay members of the NYS Legislature, respectively; to the transgender kids, their families and physicians who today are facing unheard of hostility in the 14 states that have banned gender-affirming care.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
My top priority is to make New York a safe haven for transgender youth and their families seeking gender-affirming care, which our legislation S.8842A would do. Almost 500 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in statehouses across the country, many of them targeting school kids. Even in New York, Yeshiva University could be in violation of state law for shutting down a queer student group, which I’ve requested the NYS Inspector General to investigate.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
The LGBTQ+ community isn’t monolithic. It’s wildly diverse and multifaceted. At the end of the day, though, we all want the same thing – economic security and opportunity for our families and the freedom to be our authentic selves. We’ve made a lot of progress on these fronts in the last 25 years, but it’s also made us a target by the Far Right, which has bled even into mainstream political discourse.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
I think Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe should be on the syllabus of all high school students. First, because it’s a really moving and entertaining book, and second, because it’s the most banned book in America for the second year in a row, according to the American Library Association.

Crystal Hudson (she/her) is the New York City council member for New York’s 35 District. She currently serves as co-chair of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Caucus alongside fellow council member Tiffany Cabán. Crystal Hudson was elected to the New York City Council in 2021, making history as one of the first openly gay black women to hold office in New York City. Crystal began her career working in marketing and advertising before pivoting to public service. In response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Crystal founded Greater Prospect Heights Mutual Aid to support all members of her community.

Since his appointment in 2018, Dr. Katz has successfully led efforts to create a modern electronic health record system, hire more nurses, develop a modern ambulance transport system, and significantly increase access to health care for vulnerable New Yorkers. He also led the system’s financial turnaround and provided strategic guidance to the mayor during the pandemic while directing the system’s response to the surge of patients.

Wayne Kawadler leads community relations for Lenox Health Greenwich Village, a state-of-the-art ER and medical complex in The Village. He has been instrumental in building key partnerships with local organizations to promote community health and in developing a systemwide training for employees on how to provide transgender-inclusive care. A longstanding advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, Wayne spent 12 years in NYC government, acting as a city council liaison on various projects including the AIDS Memorial.

Which LGBTQ+ icons do you look up to?
I’ve always been inspired by the AIDS activists of the late 1980s who laid the groundwork that changed how prescription drugs are approved and made accessible, especially those who are most vulnerable. By challenging the health care industry, they set the bar for how hospital systems everywhere should respond to their communities’ growing desires and needs, no matter who that community is.

What actions do you hope to see the government taking to support the LGBTQ+ community?
I want to see the government show widespread, nonpartisan support for anyone who’s trying to educate others about the LGBTQ+ community. There is no comfort in ignorance, so those who want to teach others in hopes of building understanding and eliminating biases should be encouraged to do so without a fear of backlash. Ultimately, the more people know about something or someone, the more likely they are to be accepting.

What do you wish people outside of the community knew about the LGBTQ+ community?
I heard a phrase recently that really resonated with me—people should love the person that their child, family member or friend has become, not the person they imagined or hoped for.

Can you recommend any top book, film, or TV shows that represent the LGBTQ+ experience?
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)—It’s one of the first feature documentaries that addresses gay life in America and has brought Harvey Milk’s message of hope and equality to a wider audience. His famous quote that “all young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential,” remains just as true today, as it did when he was in office.

Dr. Sandra Kesh has served as chief of population health for Westmed Medical Group since 2017, and vice president since 2021. In these roles, she directs population health and clinical programming for this 500+ provider, multi-specialty practice based in Westchester and Fairfield Counties. Under Dr. Kesh’s leadership, Westmed has perennially received the American Heart Association Target BP™ Gold Status recognition for hypertension management, and NCQA recognition as a level 3 patient-centered medical home.