Mission & History
Christopher Street West (CSW), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, organized the world’s first permitted parade advocating for gay rights 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.
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 organize, sponsor or support other community events throughout the year, and work with our nonprofit, philanthropic, community and corporate partners to further diversity, equity and inclusion.
CSW / LA Pride is proud to represent Los Angeles, CA as a member of InterPride, the global association of over 400 Pride organizations from more than 70 countries.
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.
LA Pride Values
Be AWARE We must know and honor our history.Be INSPIRED We can all be activists.Be UNITED We are one community.Be MINDFUL We must support each other.Be TRUE We must be our most authentic selves.
Our community has come a long way since the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969, but our work is not over.
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
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.
Noah Gonzalez
Board Vice President
Noah GonzalezBoard Vice President
CSW Board Vice President Noah Gonzalez currently serves as the Head of West Coast Communications for the global fashion brand H&M. Within this role he oversees all entertainment and celebrity strategy, as well as CSR partnerships and special projects. These responsibilities have allowed him to create unique partnerships and initiatives to support local, national and global social impact organizations. In addition to serving on the Board of LA Pride, he also serves on the Board of Directors for The Hollywood Food Coalition.
Gerald Garth
Board Treasurer
Gerald GarthBoard Treasurer
CSW Treasurer, Gerald Garth has over 10 years' experience managing and facilitating the community and stakeholder engagement process in the nonprofit sector. As President and Lead Strategist of Garth Management Group, his work addresses inequity and disparities through multiple lenses, especially structural oppression/implicit bias in care, racism, classism, and their impacts on the care and wellness of Black people and other underserved and underrepresented groups.
Gerald holds multiple leadership positions in other nonprofits including Director of Programs and Operations for AMAAD Institute (Arming Minorities Against Addiction & Disease), Minister and Director of New Partnership and Community Engagement for Vision Church of Los Angeles, and board member of Gay Sons & Mothers.
Gerald holds multiple leadership positions in other nonprofits including Director of Programs and Operations for AMAAD Institute (Arming Minorities Against Addiction & Disease), Minister and Director of New Partnership and Community Engagement for Vision Church of Los Angeles, and board member of Gay Sons & Mothers.
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.
Jake Brooks-Harris
Board Member
Jake Brooks-HarrisBoard Member
Jacob is proud to serve on the Board of Directors for LA Pride and bring together his passion for LGBTQ+ activism and developing events and experiences that uplift and inspire. After many years as a marketing executive working with global brands such as Delta Air Lines, Google, and Netflix, Jacob founded ROCK+PAPER, a full-service creative agency specializing in impact-focused, culture-forward experiences. His professional career is built on the belief that magic comes from combining meaningful connections with progressive and transformative experiences, and he is excited to apply that approach to the evolving mission of LA Pride. Jacob graduated from Vassar College and is a huge dog lover, a voracious reader, and has never met a patterned shirt he didn't like.
Lawrence Carroll
Board Member
Lawrence CarrollBoard Member
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.
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.
Jonathan London
Board Member
Jonathan LondonBoard Member
Jonathan London joined the CSW Board of Directors in 2019, bringing a diverse resume in nonprofit volunteerism. He previously worked on fundraising and events for London Pride and Soho Pride, and served as a volunteer mentor for the nonprofit Mind Matters, nurturing promising students from low-income families prepare for success in college. Jonathan also worked on Pete Buttigieg’s fundraising campaign, and more recently on Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
A longtime resident of West Hollywood, Jonathan runs his own luxury real estate organization within Compass, representing clients in the music and entertainment industries. Prior to this he served as Head of Public Relations for several record labels and music artist agencies in London, England.
A longtime resident of West Hollywood, Jonathan runs his own luxury real estate organization within Compass, representing clients in the music and entertainment industries. Prior to this he served as Head of Public Relations for several record labels and music artist agencies in London, England.
Nic Mercado
Board Member
Nic MercadoBoard Member
Nic joined the LA Pride board in 2021, and is also the Senior Director of Strategy at Social House, Inc., a creative strategy group in Los Angeles. She brings over 12 years of experience in digital marketing 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. She 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.”
Ulisses Rivera
Board Member
Ulisses RiveraBoard Member
Ulisses Rivera currently serves as the head of public relations at A3 Artists Agency, where he manages internal and external communications, media relations, special events, client publicity, and strategic planning. Ulisses helped launch and now co-chairs the company’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness (IDEA) Committee, geared toward fostering and championing diversity within the workplace and beyond. A Phoenix native, Ulisses moved to LA shortly after graduating from college to pursue a career in entertainment public relations. Throughout his experience, he has represented influential talent, organizations, and initiatives at the intersection of entertainment and social good.
Staff
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 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 co-created. In "Dara and Karman's Hit List" for LOGO TV, she deconstructed the lesbian experience while sitting behind a plastic drum set. Dara has also been the head writer of an indie comedy series, Second Shot, a production coordinator for live TV specials, and inexplicably, a researcher and graphics designer for a sea level rise vulnerability assessment report for a major coastal California city.
Landon Boren
Board Liaison
Landon BorenBoard Liaison
Landon is extremely excited to join LA Pride as the Board Liaison. A Southern California native, Landon grew up in Long Beach, and attended the University of San Francisco where he majored in Communications. Originally starting out in public relations, Landon moved to Los Angeles after graduation where he spent the next five years working in talent management, with a diverse clientele of actors, singers, and performers. He is happy to bring his experience to LA Pride, and feels honored to work for an organization that has made him feel safe and included in his own life.
Open Positions
We have no job openings at this time.
CSW Financials
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, we are required by the IRS to publish our most recent tax returns. Please see our latest IRS and CA filings by clicking the links shown. Due to our fiscal year schedule, financial statements from the previous year are made available in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.
Christopher Street West Association has Platinum status with GuideStar, the highest level of transparency.
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 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.
