October 2025
The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC) is Florida’s oldest, independent, non-partisan, political organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. We promote equality through education, advocacy, direct action, impact litigation and community outreach. For the foreseeable future, the LGBTQ+ community across the country will continue to face greater challenges at the federal and state levels than we have in decades. Elections have consequences, and our community is being targeted in an unprecedented manner.
Fortunately, over the years, PBCHRC has secured exceptional countywide and municipal victories which assure LGBTQ+ individuals and families in Palm Beach County are entitled to equal rights, privileges, benefits and protections.
Unfortunately, Governor Ron DeSantis and his legislative lackeys in Tallahassee have enacted some of the nation’s most abhorrent anti-LGBTQ+ laws. They have also made Florida the #1 state in the nation in banning books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes. His administration’s threats to withhold transportation funding from municipalities has resulted in the destruction of all of Florida’s LGBTQ+ Pride crosswalks and streetscapes. However, elected officials in Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach, have pledged to recognize the LGBTQ+ community through new displays of public art.
At least here in Palm Beach County, the LGBTQ+ community will not be erased!
U.S. SUPREME COURT CONSIDERED THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF BANS ON CONVERSION THERAPY
Conversion therapy encompasses a range of discredited counseling practices by which therapists seek to change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression through “talk therapy” and aversion treatment.
In 2016, PBCHRC began a successful campaign to prohibit this quackery throughout Palm Beach County. Miami Beach First Assistant City Attorney Rob Rosenwald, former PBCHRC Board Member Trent Steele, and then West Palm Beach Assistant City Attorney Zoë Panarites and I drafted a model ordinance to ban conversion therapy on minors by licensed physicians and therapists.
PBCHRC Board members and volunteers appeared at public hearings throughout Palm Beach County and by the end of 2017, bans were enacted in West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Riviera Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, and Boca Raton. Our campaign culminated when Palm Beach County Commissioners enacted the first countywide conversion therapy ban in Florida.
However, Liberty Counsel, an anti-LGBTQ hate group, filed suit in federal court to nullify the bans enacted by Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton.
While we prevailed in federal District Court, in 2020, the order was reversed by the Trump appointees on the Court of Appeal, who found that the bans infringed on the First Amendment free speech rights of the therapists. As a result, no conversion therapy bans are allowed in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. However, more than twenty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and well over 100 counties and municipalities have banned conversion therapy on minors by licensed therapists.
The law banning conversion therapy in Colorado made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court and on October 7, Zoë and I were invited to observe oral argument at the Supreme Court. Although it is often impossible to predict how judges will rule, following oral argument Zoë and I agreed it is extremely unlikely the Court will uphold the ban on conversion therapy as constitutional.
If the Supreme Court rules the law infringes on free speech, the justices could send the case back to the lower court for further consideration, which would give us some hope. However, the Court may well declare the law unconstitutional, which would strike down all conversion therapy bans in the United States.
As always, we will keep you posted.
PBCHRC VOTERS ALLIANCE
Throughout the years, Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance (PBCHRCVA) has interviewed close to 1,000 candidates and have endorse hundreds who support LGBTQ+ initiatives.
A Special Election for District 90 of the Florida House of Representatives, which covers parts of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, will be held on December 9, 2025. The seat had been held by longtime LGBTQ+ advocate Joe Casello, who passed away in July. PBCHRCVA endorsed Delray Beach Vice Mayor Rob Long. For close to a decade in public office, Rob has been an outspoken and passionate supporter of our LGBTQ+ community. He will make an excellent addition to Palm Beach County’s legislative delegation.
With many municipalities holding elections in 2026, PBCHRCVA will soon begin the process of interviewing candidates and making endorsements.
For a list of more than 70 current (or recently elected) officeholders endorsed by PBCHRCVA, click here.
WINTER FÊTE TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Party the night away with PBCHRC supporters on Saturday, January 17, 2026 from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. at a private waterfront home in West Palm Beach. Sandy James Fine Food and Productions will be catering the event, Echo will be providing the sushi, and, as always, there will be complimentary valet parking and a premium open bar. Individual tickets are $375. You may also join the Host Committee for $1,500, which entitles you to being included in event media and two tickets to the event.
The Host Committee (as of October 9) includes:
Host - Hilary Musser Homes
Sushi Sponsor - Echo
Host Committee
Altima Palm Beach
Paul Bernabeo and David Cohen
Senator Mack Bernard and Shawn Bernard
Terry Bowie and William Feldkamp
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw
School Board Member Karen Brill
Pamela Buchmeyer and Shellie Crandall
Delray Beach City Commissioner Angela Burns
Nancy Chanin
Shawn Cherry and Vincent Ruisi
Gil Cohen and Paul Gervais
Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center
David Crespo and Nicholas Coppola
Cornerstone Solutions
Lew Crampton
Crémieux Palm Beach
James Curtis and Jason Colin
Joseph Paul Davis
Arlen Dominek and A.J. Young
Public Defender Daniel and Amy Eisinger
Congresswoman Lois Frankel
County Commissioner Joel Flores
Charles Freeman and Michael Grattendick
Gallery Charles
Gay Polo League
H.G. Roosters
Sarah and Melissa Hassan
Rand Hoch
Tom Holton
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James and Lorna James
William S. Jennings and Richard D. Triggs
Michael Judd and Ben Small
West Palm Beach City Commission President Christina Lambert and Monte Lambert
Gregg Lerman
Rachelle and Jeffrey Litt
State Representative Rob Long and Alexandria Ayala
Elijah Manley for Congress
Joseph Marino, Jr. and Anthony Sibilia
Lake Worth Beach City Commissioner Mimi May
Michael and David Mittleman
Mittleman Eye
Judy Mollica
County Commissioner Bobby Powell and Whitney Powell
Sandy James Fine Food & Productions
Arthur Schofield
Julie Seaver
David Silvers
W. Trent Steele
James Swope and Scott Robertson
Eric Telchin and Logan Nolting
Andy Thomson
Scott Velozo and Stephen Mooney
A.J. Wasson and Randy Christensen
School Board Member Erica Whitfield
County Commissioner Gregg Weiss and Rebecca Weiss
To join the Host Committee
or purchase individual tickets,
click here.
PBCHRC CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
The PBCHRC Charitable Foundation, which was established in 2015, awards scholarships and provides funding to nonprofit organizations.
Earlier this year, the Foundation presented seven amazing students with our PBCHRC Social Justice Awards – $2,500 scholarships available to graduating LGBTQ+ and allied high school seniors who have been advocates for the LGBTQ+ community.
The recipients of the 2025 PBCHRC Social Justice Awards are Uriel Berman, Chrishena “Shena” Brown, Ari’on Flowers, Jolie Hood, Gabi Koenig, Evin Molina-Ramirez, and a student who has chosen to remain anonymous due to a lack of family acceptance.
To date, we have awarded 31 Social Justice Award To view the biographies of the Social Justice Award recipients and to learn more about the PBCHRC Charitable Foundation, click here
The Foundation also provides need-based scholarships to LGBTQ+ college students through the Norman L. Stern and August R. Venezio Scholarships. Our most recent recipient of a $2,500 scholarship is Stella Watkins, a first generation Jamaican American, who received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Florida Atlantic University, magna cum laude. As a Community Advocacy & Partnership Engagement (CAPE) Grant scholar, Stella spent her senior practicum in primary care. She is now pursuing her Adult Gerontological Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) degree at the graduate level at FAU.
In addition, from time-to-time the Foundation presents the W. Trent Steele Legal Advocacy Award to LGBTQ+ and allied second and third year law students with ties to Palm Beach County. The Award was established in recognition of Trent’s decades of pro bono work on behalf of PBCHRC as well as his work as a PBCHRC Board Member. The inaugural award of a $2,500 scholarship was presented to Hunter Altschul, a student at Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad College of Law. Hunter has been an advocate for LGBTQ+ since high school and as an undergraduate student at Florida Atlantic University, he regularly volunteered at Palm Beach Pride and Wilton Manors Pride. Now pursuing his law degree, Hunter plans to establish his legal career in Palm Beach County, where he intends to continue advocating for our community.
The Foundation has also presented Sol Lima, a senior at the University of Florida, with the inaugural Charlie Fredrickson Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Scholarship. The $5,000.00 scholarship supports LGBTQ+ and allied students from Palm Beach County who are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math. The scholarships have been made possible through a bequest from Charlie Fredrickson, an aerospace engineer, amateur astronomer, and LGBTQ+ community advocate.
Sol, a leader in local LGBTQ+ youth circles and a recipient of PBCHRC’s 2021 Social Justice Award, graduated from Jupiter High School. Sol, who served as president of the Gay-Straight Alliance in both high school and at Palm Beach State College, has been actively involved with Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center and the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of the Palm Beaches. Now pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, with a minor in Bioinformatics at the University of Florida. Sol continues to be a passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion.
For more information about the Foundation's various scholarship programs, click here. PBCHRC and the Charitable Foundation have made significant contributions to:
- 451 Avengers, a local activist organization challenging library book bans in Palm Beach County,
- ACLU of Florida Foundation, which works to create a Florida free of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,
- Compass, our county's LGBTQ+ community center,
- First Amendment Foundation, which watches over a legislative program to review, and reenact if warranted, each of the hundreds of exemptions to Florida's public records law,
- The Historical Society of Palm Beach County, in support of their 2025 Celebration of Pride recognizing H.G. Roosters.
- Lambda Legal, a national legal organization representing LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV in court – and in the court of public opinion,
- The Movement Advancement Project (MAP), a nonprofit think tank working to create a thriving, inclusive, and equitable America where all people have a fair chance to pursue health and happiness, earn a living, take care of the ones they love, be safe in their communities, and participate in civic life,
- Night Runners WPB, a local non-profit organization that hosts weekly meetups for the LGBTQ+ and allied runners and walkers,
- PRISM, which works to expand access to LGBTQ+-inclusive education and sexual health resources for youth in South Florida,
- Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library, which presents exhibitions on LGBTQ+ themes and public programs in South Florida and across the United States,
- Transpire, which provides the resources necessary for LGBTQ+ individuals to create a solid foundation for a healthy and fulfilling life, and,
- Vita Nova, which is a safe bridge to independence for former foster care, LGBTQ+ and other unhoused local youth through supportive housing, education, employment and life.
IN OTHER NEWS
- Thanks go out to Crémieux Palm Beach for hosting a "Night in St. Tropez" and Meat Market Palm Beach for hosting our annual “Pride Happy Hour”. PBCHRC received 10% of sales from both events, and
- Congratulations to Avion Gordeen on his appointment to serve as PBCHRC’s representative on the Palm Beach County School Board District’s Diversity and Equity Committee.
CURRENT INITIATIVES
- PBCHRC is currently working to persuade: The courts, prosecutors, and public defenders to utilize the appropriate pronouns when addressing trans people with business before the courts.
- The School District of Palm Beach County to cease doing business with Chick-fil-A and other companies that discriminate against LGBTQ people and other minorities.
For more than three decades, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has worked diligently on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community. With your support, we will continue to do so in the years to come. As always, we will keep you posted on our progress.
Judge Rand Hoch (retired),
President and Founder
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. PBCHRC'S Registration Number is CH46486. To obtain registration information, you may consult the website or call 800-435-7352.
