Deborah Cox, Rand Hoch, Jazz Jennings, Elaine Lancaster, Judy Shepard, Lillian Tamayo, William Thomas and Dean Trantalis to be honored for leadership in diversity
The inaugural Diversity Honors, co-presented by the Harvey Milk Foundation and The Pride Center at Equality Park, will be hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 9.
This milestone event will recognize national honoree Judy Shepard,
founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, plus several South Florida
leaders who have made a significant impact on improving the quality of
life for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community.
Special host presenter will be Stuart Milk, co-founder and president of
the Harvey Milk Foundation.
Emceed by WSVN-TV's Craig Stevens,
the gala will celebrate South Florida forces for change, including
international recording artist Deborah Cox, President and Founder of the
Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Rand Hoch, nationally recognized
teen activist and honorary co-founder of the Transkids Purple Rainbow
Foundation Jazz Jennings, celebrity entertainer Elaine Lancaster (James
Davis), CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Florida Lillian Tamayo, 11th
Judicial Circuit Court of Florida Miami Judge William Thomas and Fort
Lauderdale Commissioner Dean Trantalis.
"The
Harvey Milk Foundation is proud to make history along with the Pride
Center at Equality Park to debut this event, which will celebrate the
power and resolve of adversity," said Milk.
"There
has been a tremendous amount of progress for more equal rights and
acceptance around the world, but we have a lot more work to do. This
event will allow us to showcase our achievements and celebrate those who
have and continue to advocate for equality."
The main event of the evening will be the presentation of the premier Diversity Honors awards to the following champions:
Judy Shepard
will accept the coveted Harvey Milk Honors Medal. In October 1998, Judy
and Dennis Shepard lost their 21 year-old son, Matthew, to a murder
motivated by anti-gay hate. Matthew's death moved many thousands of
people around the world to attend vigils and rallies in his memory.
Determined to prevent others from suffering their son's fate, Judy and
Dennis decided to turn their grief into action and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation
to carry on Matthew's legacy. The Foundation is dedicated to working
toward the causes championed by Matthew during his life: social justice,
diversity awareness & education, and equality for gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender people.
Judy
Shepard is the founding president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation
Board of Directors, and served as its first executive director from 1999
to 2009. In her continuing role as board
president,
she travels across the nation speaking to audiences about what they can
do as individuals and communities to make this world a more accepting
place for everyone, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender
identity and expression or sexual orientation. Speaking from a mother's
perspective, Judy also authored a 2009 memoir, "The Meaning of
Matthew," exploring the family's journey through the prosecution of
Matthew's assailants, the ensuing
media
coverage, and their continuing work to advance civil rights. She and
Dennis continue to make their home in Casper, Wyoming.
Deborah Cox is a Grammy-nominated R&B singer-songwriter with 
12 number one hits on Billboard's dance music charts. Cox became an
icon in the gay community with her soulful dance anthems, including the
1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here." Cox made her Broadway debut in
the lead role of Elton John's and Tim Rice's Broadway musical, AIDA,
and recently received rave reviews for her critically acclaimed vocal
performance in Lifetime's biopic, Whitney. Cox has been recognized for
her longstanding commitment to various social issues in the LGBT
community. She received the Out Music Pillar Award in January 2015, the
California State Senate Award in 2014 and The Civil Rights Award from
the New York Senate for her efforts in the fight for Human Rights and
Equality in 2007. She will also be honored for her contributions as an
HIV/AIDS awareness activist.
12 number one hits on Billboard's dance music charts. Cox became an
icon in the gay community with her soulful dance anthems, including the
1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here." Cox made her Broadway debut in
the lead role of Elton John's and Tim Rice's Broadway musical, AIDA,
and recently received rave reviews for her critically acclaimed vocal
performance in Lifetime's biopic, Whitney. Cox has been recognized for
her longstanding commitment to various social issues in the LGBT
community. She received the Out Music Pillar Award in January 2015, the
California State Senate Award in 2014 and The Civil Rights Award from
the New York Senate for her efforts in the fight for Human Rights and
Equality in 2007. She will also be honored for her contributions as an
HIV/AIDS awareness activist.
Rand Hoch founded the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council
(PBCHRC) in 1988 and has twice served as the organization's President.
The Council was successful in having Palm Beach County extend protected
status to gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in housing, public
accommodation and county employment and in having the City of West Palm
Beach extend basic domestic partnership benefits to city employees.
Through his long-time commitment to the PBCHRC and community leadership,
Hoch has been responsible for the enactment of more than 85 laws and
policies extending equal rights and benefits to LGBT Floridians. Hoch also served as Florida's first openly gay judge.
Jazz Jennings is a 14-year-old transgender girl, activist, and honorary co-founder of the Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation. 
Jennings will soon star in her own reality television show on TLC. She
has been featured on a variety of news and talk show programs and has
been interviewed by news media including Katie Couric, Barbara Walters,
Meredith Vieira, Dr. Drew, 60 Minutes, MSNBC, Teen Vogue, People
magazine and The Rosie Show. She was also the subject of an Oprah
Winfrey Network documentary, "I am Jazz: A Family in Transition."
Jennings was recognized at the 2013 GLAAD Awards where she met former
President Bill Clinton and was on TIME magazine's list of "Top 25 Most
Influential Teens of 2014."
Jennings will soon star in her own reality television show on TLC. She
has been featured on a variety of news and talk show programs and has
been interviewed by news media including Katie Couric, Barbara Walters,
Meredith Vieira, Dr. Drew, 60 Minutes, MSNBC, Teen Vogue, People
magazine and The Rosie Show. She was also the subject of an Oprah
Winfrey Network documentary, "I am Jazz: A Family in Transition."
Jennings was recognized at the 2013 GLAAD Awards where she met former
President Bill Clinton and was on TIME magazine's list of "Top 25 Most
Influential Teens of 2014."
Elaine Lancaster
(James Davis), internationally acclaimed entertainer/socialite, has
helped raise more than $20 million for numerous charitable organizations
since 1996. She became the first female impersonator to have a
re-occurring role on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Miami" for three
seasons and has recently launched Elaine Lancaster Cosmetics, featuring a
signature line of lip lacquers. In addition to her efforts in raising
awareness for the LGBT community, she is a human rights and political
activist, philanthropist and highly sought after hostess for high
caliber special events. She was just named as the global celebrity
spokesperson for Multimedia Platforms Worldwide, Inc..
Lillian Tamayo is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of 
South, East and North Florida.
Under her leadership, Planned Parenthood broadened its clinical and
educational service to reach the diverse and fast-growing demographics
of its communities. She has also served on the boards of Planned
Parenthood Federation of America and the John S. & James L. Knight
Foundation's Community Advisory Board. Tamayo is a past recipient of the
Compass Leadership Award, the ACLU Foundation of Florida's Nelson
Poynter Award, the Woman of Valor Award from the National Council of
Jewish Women and the Ruth Green Award from the Planned Parenthood
Federation of America Affiliate Chief Executives Council.
South, East and North Florida.
Under her leadership, Planned Parenthood broadened its clinical and
educational service to reach the diverse and fast-growing demographics
of its communities. She has also served on the boards of Planned
Parenthood Federation of America and the John S. & James L. Knight
Foundation's Community Advisory Board. Tamayo is a past recipient of the
Compass Leadership Award, the ACLU Foundation of Florida's Nelson
Poynter Award, the Woman of Valor Award from the National Council of
Jewish Women and the Ruth Green Award from the Planned Parenthood
Federation of America Affiliate Chief Executives Council.
Judge William Thomas
is a long-time advocate for public injustice. He worked as an assistant
public defender at the Dade County Public Defender's Office, before
accepting a position as an assistant federal public defender with the
Federal Public Defender's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
In 2004, he was elected to the Circuit Court for the 11th Judicial
Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County. Since his election, he has served
in the juvenile (one year), criminal (six years) and civil (four years)
divisions of the circuit court the latter of which where he currently
presides. 
Dean Trantalis is a long-time legal activist and Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner in District 2. For more than 30 years, Trantalis
has served as a community activist and citizen advocate. He is one of
the Broward County LGBT's community's most respected spokesmen and led
the county to be the first in the state to extend protection from
discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations to the
LGBT community.
"We
couldn't be prouder to co-present an event that brings together the
leaders of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties and showcases
leadership in diversity and equality in South Florida and beyond," said
Robert Boo, chief executive officer at The Pride Center at Equality
Park. "The Pride Center at Equality Park has a long history of being at
the forefront of promoting positive gay role models and this event
symbolizes our strong commitment to all those we serve and our generous
supporters who stand behind our mission."
In
addition to a cocktail reception, seated three-course dinner and
musical entertainment, Diversity Honors will offer a front and center
opportunity to hear a compelling speech about the need for more
education, greater acceptance and advocacy for equal rights from Stuart
Milk.
Stuart Milk is the
co-founder and president of the Harvey Milk Foundation and nephew of the
late civil rights icon, Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay
elected officials in the United States who was assassinated shortly
after winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Stuart
has spearheaded or played a vital role in award winning programing in 47
countries in support of the LGBT community and human rights. For more
than a decade, he has been recognized with numerous global awards for
his tireless volunteer leadership in some of the most challenging human
rights environments on five continents.
Tickets for Diversity Honors are $150 per person
and corporate tables of 10 are $1,500.
About The Harvey Milk Foundation
The
Harvey Milk Foundation is a global non-profit NGO that promotes Harvey
Milk's inspiring legacy through human rights education and global
outreach. In 1977, Harvey Milk (1930-1978) became the first openly LGBT
elected official to a major office in the United States. He was
assassinated in San Francisco's City Hall 11 months later. The
all-volunteer run foundation was founded by Harvey's nephew, Stuart
Milk, and Anne Kronenberg, Harvey's campaign manager and political aide.
Today, the Harvey Milk Foundation provides on-the-ground support and
award-winning programing to struggling and emerging LGBT communities on 5
continents with over four dozen dedicated volunteer leaders and long
term partnerships in 31 nations.
For more information, please visit www.milkfoundation.org.
About The Pride Center at Equality Park
For
more than 20 years, The Pride Center has provided a welcoming, safe
space - an inclusive home - that celebrates, nurtures and empowers the
LGBT communities and our friends and neighbors in South Florida. The
Pride Center's programs and services meet the distinct socio- economic,
health, spiritual, and safety needs of the LGBT community. It hosts more
than 60 regular meeting groups each month and more than 35,000 adults
and youth attend activities at
the
Center, each year. Outreach activities over the past year directly
impacted 50,000 residents and visitors to South Florida. The Pride
Center is a major site for HIV testing and prevention, education and
counseling and offers holistic and comprehensive support programs for
persons living with HIV/AIDS, including the nationally acclaimed PALS
Project.
For more information, visit www.pridecenterflorida.org.
