Our History
Christopher Street West (CSW), is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that organized the world’s first permitted gay parade on June 28, 1970 to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York City the year prior. Over 50 years later, we have built a rich history as an active voice for the LGBTQ+ community across the Greater Los Angeles area.
Our Mission
While we’re best known for producing the LA Pride Parade & Festival (one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country, thanks to you!) we also produce free community programs such as donation and volunteerism events called, “Pride Makes a Difference,” and our “Salon Series” of year round panel discussions and conversations covering issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community.
CSW also organizes, sponsors or supports our community partners’ events in and around Los Angeles, and works with our nonprofit, philanthropic, and neighborhood friends to celebrate the entire LGBTQ+ community of LA.
Our mission is to create safe and inclusive spaces of self-expression, celebration, and diversity/equity/inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community of Greater Los Angeles.
Who We Are
CSW is run by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
Each member brings their unique background and experience to everything we do.
Gerald Garth
Board President
Gerald GarthBoard President
As CSW board president, Gerald Garth oversees LA Pride's adherence to its mission to provide safe, inclusive, and equitable opportunities for representation and celebration for the LA LGBTQ+ community. With almost 20 years' experience managing community and stakeholder engagement in the nonprofit sector, Gerald is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the LA LGBT Center, where he agendizes actionable and measurable initiatives in every department to further dismantle systemic inequities and oppression.
Gerald holds an MBA, and is also a minister and the Director of New Partnership and Community Engagement for Vision Church of Los Angeles, a board member of Gay Sons & Mothers.
Gerald holds an MBA, and is also a minister and the Director of New Partnership and Community Engagement for Vision Church of Los Angeles, a board member of Gay Sons & Mothers.
Kareem Cervantes
Board Vice President
Kareem CervantesBoard Vice President
Kareem's history as a community organizer for theatre organizations, and his current position in marketing helps him create experiences for people to enjoy and connect, and to help promote those experiences. His education in design and urban planning & development has also been useful when planning and organizing community based events. As a CSW board member, Kareem seeks to build stronger roots in the community, and help shape them. "I want to highlight and champion the diversity of our community and look to the future while simultaneously celebrating and remembering our history."
Steven Welliver
Board Treasurer
Steven WelliverBoard Treasurer
Steven serves as the Executive Director of the Hollywood Partnership Community Trust, where he works to enhance the appeal, vitality, and well-being of the Hollywood Community from the ground up, and into a prosperous and promising future. Prior to joining the board, Steven was instrumental in the development and execution of the LA Pride post-parade Village on Hollywood Blvd, and uses his professional experience, and background in urban planning and public administration to continue organizing the community and its stakeholders.
Mistress Cyan St. James
Board Secretary
Mistress Cyan St. JamesBoard Secretary
Mistress Cyan has been a supporter of LA Pride since 2007 when she was named as an Honoree and recipient of The Connie Norman Award. She has been named Woman of The Year three times and Fundraiser of The Year twice, as well as Mentor of The Year. The LA Weekly named her “The Most Respected Dominatrix in Los Angeles”, and she has been a guest speaker at Stanford University, UCLA, Occidental College and California State Universities Los Angeles, Long Beach and Northridge. She is currently the President/CEO of Sanctuary Studios, Inc., and Executive Producer of DomCon Los Angeles and New Orleans.
Gloria Bigelow
Board Member, Executive Committee
Gloria BigelowBoard Member, Executive Committee
Gloria Bigelow is a comic and writer, currently working on the CBS television show, "Bob Hearts Abishola." As a comic, she has lent her talents to such organizations as the Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the National Black Justice Coalition.
Gloria has also spent over 15 years championing DEI work in both public and private schools. Recently, she was selected to be a part of a leadership team that developed regional standards around Social Emotional Learning and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She has also created and conducted workshops for parents on Identity, Bias and Cultural Competency.
Gloria has also spent over 15 years championing DEI work in both public and private schools. Recently, she was selected to be a part of a leadership team that developed regional standards around Social Emotional Learning and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She has also created and conducted workshops for parents on Identity, Bias and Cultural Competency.
Lawrence Carroll
Board Member, Executive Committee
Lawrence CarrollBoard Member, Executive Committee
Lawrence Carroll, the author of the book, My Dear Queen, is a media personality and publicist. In the last decade and a half, Lawrence has dedicated his time to youth mentoring programs in organizations including Free Arts, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and LifeWorks Youth Development & Mentoring Program at the LA LGBT Center. Lawrence is the first recipient of Free Arts’ Youth Mentor of the Year Award, and was featured in the Center’s Vanguard Magazine, "It Takes Two” series as a highlighted role model. In 2017, he was featured as a main cast member on E! Entertainment’s reality show “What Happens at The Abbey” and “9 Months with Courteney Cox” on Facebook Watch, Season 1, in 2018.
Wendy Celaya
Board Member, Executive Committee
Wendy CelayaBoard Member, Executive Committee
Wendy is a highly passionate community advocate and business professional with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit work at the national and international level. For over eight years, she has worked at the Los Angeles Mission located in the heart of Skid Row in downtown, dedicated to supporting
homeless men, women and children with basic needs and skills necessary to stabilize their lives, secure income and find permanent housing.
homeless men, women and children with basic needs and skills necessary to stabilize their lives, secure income and find permanent housing.
Charles Beall
Board Member
Charles BeallBoard Member
Charles Beall is a political fundraiser and consultant based in the Inland Empire. For over a decade, he has worked with AAPI, LGBTQ+ and progressive communities across Southern California to raise funds for both incumbent elected officials and challenger candidates. A native of the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Charles grew up surrounded by a rich history of abolitionism and suffragism that inspired him to work in politics and to advocate for the equality and dignity of all persons. He believes that building coalitions with communities is the most important step in achieving progress and creating a better world for future generations.
Charles holds an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA and enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors of his adopted home of Southern California with his two dogs, Marty and Mandy.
Charles holds an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA and enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors of his adopted home of Southern California with his two dogs, Marty and Mandy.
Gabriel Bilen
Board Member
Gabriel BilenBoard Member
Gabriel Bilen has spent many years producing events & experiences around the world - from large conferences for 50,000 attendees, to intimate 15-person dinners - and more recently, has been helping build up the Talent Partnerships team at Google. As the son of immigrants from two very different cultures, Gabriel found an affinity for connecting people early in life. This desire for connection and community became an overarching theme in his work, and remains so today. Gabriel's passion for finding the things that bring people together informs his work as a board member of CSW.
Vanessa Cervantes
Board Member
Vanessa CervantesBoard Member
Vanessa Cervantes, also known as La Sirena, Los Angeles' "UnTucked Burlesque Mermaid," showcases the beauty of trans bodies while embodying prime Hollywood glamour and the mermaid fantasy through her groundbreaking performances. Vanessa is also an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and an out, proud, and visible trans queer womxn of color who is constantly creating positive impact and change for the LGBTQ+ community through her work in the nonprofit sector, while pursuing her dreams in the fashion and entertainment industry as an actor, model and designer.
As a CSW Board member, Vanessa focuses on inclusive programming for the trans, POC, Black, and sober communities.
As a CSW Board member, Vanessa focuses on inclusive programming for the trans, POC, Black, and sober communities.
Sean Gaynor
Board Member
Sean GaynorBoard Member
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Sean co-founded the independent concert, festival and special event company Mixed Feelings in 2012. Sean has been booking and producing live music events under the moniker ever since, notably working with live show leaders such as Live Nation.
Nic Mercado
Board Member
Nic MercadoBoard Member
Nic joined the LA Pride board in 2021, and brings over 15 years of experience in marketing and the digital and influencer space to LA Pride, and has led global campaigns for top entertainment, tech, food & beverage, beauty, and lifestyle brands such as Microsoft, Yahoo!, Unilever, SONY, and Warner Bros., among others. Nic is currently the VP of Digital Marketing at WME. She also considers herself a “Master of Pun” and was voted Most Likely to Succeed by her mom (don’t tell her brother).
Enrique Monagas
Board Member
Enrique MonagasBoard Member
Enrique currently serves as Senior Counsel at Sklar Kirsh LLP, concentrating his practice on appellate and complex commercial litigation. Previously, Enrique was a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice and an Associate Attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. There, Enrique was a core member of the trial and appellate teams that secured the historic victories in the federal challenge to California’s Proposition 8, Hollingsworth v. Perry.
The case resulted in a landmark decision affirming the equal dignity of gay and lesbian Americans. His work is featured in HBO’s documentary film “The Case Against 8,” and the books “Forcing the Spring,” “Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality,” and “Speak Now: Marriage Equality on Trial.”
The case resulted in a landmark decision affirming the equal dignity of gay and lesbian Americans. His work is featured in HBO’s documentary film “The Case Against 8,” and the books “Forcing the Spring,” “Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality,” and “Speak Now: Marriage Equality on Trial.”
Dara Nai
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Dara NaiOPERATIONS MANAGER
Dara Nai joined CSW in 2020, bringing a background in television, digital journalism, and policy research. As a senior writer for the lesbian pop culture website AfterEllen.com during its early heyday, she was known for her recaps of dozens of TV shows, irreverent celebrity interviews, and co-starring in the web series, "We're Getting Nowhere," which she also co-created. On "Dara and Karman's Hit List" for LOGO TV, she deconstructed the lesbian experience while sitting behind a plastic drum set.
She has also worked on productions for live TV specials, concerts, and awards shows, and inexplicably, as a researcher and graphics designer for a sea level rise vulnerability assessment report for a major coastal California city.
Dara serves on the board of directors of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, the official and only nonprofit of the historic The Stonewall Inn in New York City.
She has also worked on productions for live TV specials, concerts, and awards shows, and inexplicably, as a researcher and graphics designer for a sea level rise vulnerability assessment report for a major coastal California city.
Dara serves on the board of directors of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, the official and only nonprofit of the historic The Stonewall Inn in New York City.
Open Positions
We have no job openings at this time.
CSW Financials
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Christopher Street West Association is required by law to make our annual returns and exemption applications filed with the IRS available for public inspection and copying upon request. To request a copy of our annual tax return, please email [email protected]. We are proud to be ranked Platinum for Transparency on GuideStar, the quintessential database of philanthropy and nonprofits.
CSW / LA Pride is a proud member of these networks of Pride organizations:
Board Emeritus
Directors Emeritus/Emerita are honorary distinctions that recognize the exemplary contributions of former board members who demonstrated the highest levels of service and dedication to Christopher Street West Association. These individuals have successfully served a minimum of three full terms on the CSW Board of Directors, and are part of LA Pride history.
- Rodney Scott (President Emeritus)
- Sharon Donning
- James Fields
- Hope Hindrichs
- Danny Levy
- Jerry Lovell
- Raymond Rector
- Pat Rocco
- N. Lee Waddell
- Irene Williams
- Michael Yates
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OUR PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS
Casa del Sol
Casa del Sol is a joint project between AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and CSW to provide low-income housing and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS.
CSW purchased the Hollywood property in 1988, and after navigating bureaucratic issues and renovation needs for years, it finally opened its doors in 1993. The existence of Casa del Sol was groundbreaking as the first low-income housing project for people with HIV/AIDS to receive HUD funding. This arrangement set a precedent for other independent living programs for persons with HIV/AIDS.
Today, APLA occupies and manages the property, and continues to provide ongoing tenant advocacy and support.
