Mission & History
Christopher Street West (CSW), a 501(c)3 non-profit, organized the world’s first permitted parade advocating for gay rights on June 28, 1970 as a response to and in commemoration of the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York City the year prior. Since then, we have built a rich history as an active voice for the LGBTQ+ community across the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. And today, we continue to produce the LA Pride Parade and Festival every June in the City of West Hollywood. We also organize a number of events throughout the year with our non-profit, philanthropic, community, and corporate partners.
Our mission is to create safe and inclusive spaces for self-expression, inspire an authentic sense of activism in the continued fight for equality, and celebrate the unique heritage and diverse cultures of Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
LA Pride Values
Be Aware We must never forget our past.BE INSPIRED We are all activists.BE UNITED We are one community.BE MINDFUL We must support each other.BE TRUE We must be our most authentic selves.
While it may be true that our community has come a long way since the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969, there is still a tremendous amount of work to do.
We believe that it’s absolutely critical for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community alongside our straight allies to acknowledge, celebrate, and learn from our rich history of social revolution. Constantly being aware our past helps to inform our future, making it better and more accepting for generations to come.
LA Pride was founded upon the spirit of activism – and today, continues in the footsteps of its founders.
We believe in inspiring today’s generation to come together as a community and take a stand for acceptance and equality. Our goal is to empower the LGBTQ+ community and its allies with essential information, education, resources, events, content, and communications so that everyone within our community can not only find their unique voice, but also use it to inspire positive change for all.
There are people from all walks of life in the LGBTQ+ community.
This incredible diversity has enabled the growth of niche communities – around shared lifestyles, cultures, identities, beliefs, and values – giving every person has a safe space to call “home” within the LGBTQ+ spectrum. We believe the vibrant diversity of our community is our greatest strength. And when we act as a single community, real change happens. This is the true meaning of Pride, and it’s something we celebrate in hearts and minds 365 days per year.
It’s easy to forget the impact we can make on each other’s lives.
Acting as a single community means being mindful and accepting of the diversity that exists within our community. For this reason, we believe that we must always be kind to ourselves, to our friends, to our colleagues, and to those we see as different from ourselves because, in doing so, we will make our community stronger and more able to overcome the political, social, and cultural headwinds that we will inevitably face as we continue to fight for our rights.
Being a part of the LGBTQ+ community means having the freedom to be our true selves at all times.
That’s why we believe it’s our responsibility to create safe spaces for self-expression, understanding that acknowledging, accepting, and embracing our differences are what make us stronger as both individuals and as a community. Bringing our true selves to everything we do is how we each play an important part in standing up for what we believe in as a community as well as what we want to inspire in the hearts and minds of those around us.
Board of Directors
Gregory Alexander
Board Member
Gregory AlexanderBoard Member
Gregory Alexander is a southern California native who has built his life around a love of culture. From college he spent his days working in fashion and visual design while simultaneously building the nightlife institution A Club Called Rhonda or Rhonda INTL. After quitting his “day job” and focusing solely on Rhonda for years, Gregory chose to branch out into other enterprises, creating a non-profit fraternity of queer travelers called The Wander Boys and joining the board of directors at LA Pride / CSW where he has taken the lead in festival programming.
Sharon-Franklin Brown
Board President
Sharon-Franklin BrownBoard President
CSW Board President Sharon-Franklin Brown is a national speaker on transgender rights, activist, and Chief Human Resources Officer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and its nearly 800 employees. A longtime advocate for gender expression and identity, she has spoken out for anti-discrimination policies in education since being terminated from Fayetteville State University, a historically Black university, for being a transwoman.
Sharon is the recipient of the Leadership Award from the Employment Roundtable of Southern California and Los Angeles for her contributions to furthering civil rights in workplace diversity.
Sharon is the recipient of the Leadership Award from the Employment Roundtable of Southern California and Los Angeles for her contributions to furthering civil rights in workplace diversity.
Mistress Cyan
Board Secretary
Mistress CyanBoard 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.
Gerald Garth
Board Treasurer
Gerald GarthBoard Treasurer
Gerald Garth, CSW Board Treasurer, currently serves as Manager of Program Operations for the AMAAD Institute (Arming Minorities Against Addiction and Disease) providing programs and services to LGBTQ people of color in South Los Angeles. He is currently a Fellow of the California HIV Policy Research Center and serves as editor-in-chief of Chill Magazine-- a print, digital, and social brand designed for Black and Latino men. Gerald will also complete his Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management with Antioch University in 2019.
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.”
Johanna Padilla
Board Member
Johanna PadillaBoard Member
Johanna Padilla, 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. Johanna is also an 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, Johanna focuses on inclusive programming for the trans, POC, Black, and sober communities.
As a CSW Board member, Johanna focuses on inclusive programming for the trans, POC, Black, and sober communities.
Shayne Thomas
Board Member
Shayne ThomasBoard Member
Shayne leads marketing initiatives for CSW and LA Pride, including brand strategy, paid advertising, event marketing, content creation, social media, website management, sponsor marketing, media partnerships, and more. He was instrumental in architecting and executing all components of the successful #JUSTBE (2018) and #JUSTUNITE (2019) campaigns. Now in his second term on the CSW Board of Directors, Shayne is collaborating with the entire LA Pride team to bring the organization’s 50th-anniversary story to life across all marketing and media touch points. When not working on all things LA Pride, Shayne runs his own content marketing and strategy business, Le Bon Vivant Media, working with a variety of clients around the world — and across all industries — to create and publish content and execute marketing communications campaigns that drive long-term business value. A San Diego, California native, Shayne now splits his time between West Hollywood, California and Paris, France. He also graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Communication and French.
Management Team
Madonna Cacciatore
Executive Director
Madonna CacciatoreExecutive Director
Madonna Cacciatore has been the Executive Director of Christopher Street West since 2018 and has overseen the growth and diversity of LA Pride to include a record number of free events, inclusion of the two-spirit community, and other CSW programs like the first annual "Fem(me)," an event for all genders to recognize female-identified leaders.
Madonna began her activism for women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community when she came out as a lesbian in 1973 and has done grassroots work for marriage equality and volunteered at The NAMES Project – AIDS Memorial Quilt. Her marriage equality work continued in Seattle before she moved to Los Angeles to work for AIDS Project Los Angeles. Prior to joining LA Pride, Madonna was Director of Special Events for the Los Angeles LGBT Center where she cultivated close relationships with the community, nonprofit organizations, and allies.
Madonna began her activism for women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community when she came out as a lesbian in 1973 and has done grassroots work for marriage equality and volunteered at The NAMES Project – AIDS Memorial Quilt. Her marriage equality work continued in Seattle before she moved to Los Angeles to work for AIDS Project Los Angeles. Prior to joining LA Pride, Madonna was Director of Special Events for the Los Angeles LGBT Center where she cultivated close relationships with the community, nonprofit organizations, and allies.
Open Positions
Click on the job titles above to view and apply to the available job opportunities.
CSW Financials
As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we are required by the IRS to publish our most recent tax returns. Please see our latest Form 990 (IRS) filings by clicking the links below. Due to the fiscal year schedule, financial statements from the year prior will not be available until the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.
Board Emeritus
The role of Director Emeritus is a lifetime advisory position that recognizes the exemplary contributions of former CSW Board members who have demonstrated only the highest levels of service and dedication to the Christopher Street West Association. Individuals who have successfully served a minimum of four years on the CSW Board of Directors may only be considered for election to the CSW Board Emeritus.
- 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
OUR PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS
Casa del Sol
Casa del Sol is a prime example of how Christopher Street West directly impacts the community. It is a joint project between AIDS Project Los Angeles, and CSW to provide low-income housing for people with HIV/AIDS. CSW purchased the Hollywood property in 1988 and it opened for occupancy in 1993, following various bureaucratic issues and renovation needs. It remains a precedent-setting undertaking, laying the groundwork for all future independent living programs for persons with HIV/AIDS. Casa del Sol was groundbreaking as it was the first low-income housing project for people with HIV/AIDS to receive HUD funding. AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) manages the property, screening prospective tenants and providing ongoing tenant advocacy and support. CSW holds the mortgage and pays the yearly mortgage interest on the property.
USC GLASS Endowed Scholarship
In 1990, Christopher Street West, in conjunction with GLASS — the name of the University of Southern California (USC) LGBT student group at that time — established a $5000 endowment with the purpose of funding scholarship for students pursuing degrees and research for the improvement of LGBTQ+ people around the world. Unfortunately, the scholarship went dormant until it was reinstated in 2017.
The GLASS Endowed Scholarship is awarded to USC students to help them conduct or present research affirming the important role that the LGBTQ+ community plays in society today. The grant is established so that LGBTQ+ identified students can develop their scholarly pursuits without added financial burden. When the scholarship was first established in 1990, being open about one’s gender or sexual identity was oftentimes met with financial disadvantages or loss. This scholarship was, therefore, designed to empower students to own their identities and to further the knowledge on topics concerning the LGBTQ+ community.
There is legislation in the works today that threatens to erase the transgender/non-binary community from the federal definition of gender — and beyond. LA Pride understands there is a critical need for advocacy and policy training within this community. Therefore, we are committed to not only amplifying the voices of the transgender/non-binary community but also providing a “PLATform” — wherein “PLAT” stands for “Policy, Leadership, and Advocacy Training” — for these voices to echo through the halls of justice. Our goal is to provide tools and education to enable and empower transgender/non-binary people to become leaders in policy and advocacy, using their own experiences and voices to inspire much-needed change.
