Dennise Acio
Rooted in Hawai‘i, Dennise is shaped by the spirit of aloha, family, and community. Over the past 20 years in the Bay Area, the heartbeat of her roots has guided her journey—as a seasoned bar and hospitality leader, certified massage therapist, Reiki master, dancer, event curator, and lifelong learner. Her background in culture, arts, and movement informs the way she approaches every space, infusing Oakland’s new home for music, cocktails, and communication, Golden Ratio, with intention, creativity, and heart.
She currently serves as GM of The White Horse Inn in Oakland, as well as leading Golden Ratio, and continues to focus on uplifting queer spaces and fostering connection.
Sonya Brewer
Sonya Brewer, MFT, is a somatic psychotherapist and leadership mentor in Oakland, where, for over sixteen years, she has been helping visionary progressive leaders and partners in all sorts of relationships reclaim their wholeness through trauma-informed, somatic, and soul-rooted work. Her mission is to restore what has been fragmented and create sanctuary for those who are here to lead, love, and liberate. With radical presence, she creates sacred containers for individuals, couples, and small groups where she guides those who often hold so much for others, but rarely feel held themselves, into deeper connection with their truths, their boundaries, their lineage of wisdom, and their embodied leadership. She is here to midwife a new paradigm—where nourishment fuels impact, and empathy and intimacy are sources of power.
Oakland At-Large City Councilmember Rowena J. Brown
Rowena J. Brown was sworn in as Oakland’s At-Large City Councilmember in January 2025. She is a proud African American queer woman and lifelong East Bay resident, and her leadership is rooted in resilience, community, and justice. After losing both of her parents by age 17, Rowena transformed personal hardship into a lifelong commitment to public service.
An award-winning community organizer, former civics educator, and state legislative district director, she has dedicated her career to expanding opportunity and uplifting Black and LGBTQ+ communities. She holds degrees from Laney College, Mills College, and the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
In her first year on the Oakland City Council, Rowena served as Budget Chair, leading a balanced budget that strengthened infrastructure and housing investment. As Chair of the Community & Economic Development Committee, she led in establishing the city’s first Economic Activations Zone Pilot Locations to advance inclusive economic growth and revitalize Oakland’s business corridors.
Rowena leads with courage, equity, and an unwavering belief in Oakland’s promise.
Demisha “Dr.D” Burns
Dr. Demisha Burns is a distinguished advocate for holistic and inclusive approaches to health and wellness for African Americans. With a Doctorate in Social Work focused on Policy, Planning, and Administration from Clark Atlanta University, Dr. Burns brings over 25 years of experience across micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice.
Dr. Burns’ career is characterized by her commitment to diversity and the African American community, underpinned by her profound engagements in sexual and women’s health, HIV/AIDS and STIs, and mental health support. Her previous tenures as Policy and Program Manager at WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases), Co-Chair for the Racial Justice Working Group of End the Epidemics (EtE) Coalition, member of the Steering Committee for East Bay Getting To Zero, in addition to her former role as Deputy District Director for Congresswoman Barbara Lee, her current role as a Capacity Consultant for the UMOJA HAP, amongst other actions and involvements, highlight her expertise in community support & mobilization.
As a spoken word artist and transformational speaker, Dr. Burns leverages her personal journey as a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault to foster resilience and empowerment among marginalized groups. Her personal businesses, Makn’ Movz’ & Sis Unleashed, acceptance as one of the 25 Global Thought Leaders in 2025, and her upcoming publication this spring reflect her unapologetic vision to create safe spaces that promote healing, particularly for Black women in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Dr. Burns’ approach focuses on addressing immediate needs, internal and external stigmas, and resilience from generational trauma, to equip others with the tools to transform their lives.
Her life’s mantra, “Stop trying to fit into a mold that you were meant to create!” encapsulates her advocacy for unapologetic authenticity and self-determination.
Terri Lynn Delk
“Born in 1971, I remain deeply grateful that, by age 13, I could access lesbian literature at my local library in Chesapeake, VA—a gift made possible by those who came before and fought for liberation. As a Women’s Studies and Theater major at Virginia Tech, I immersed myself in Radical Lesbian culture and worked my first women’s music festival, RhythmFest, at 19.
In 1999, I attended the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival (Michfest). After two years on crew, I moved from Atlanta to the Bay Area and, in 2001, was hired by Lisa Vogel to support the festival’s year-round production. Michfest was more than a music festival—it was a feminist town built by women’s ingenuity, skill, and Amazon pride. Co-producing the festival for 15 years deepened my commitment to meaningful impact. In 2016, I joined Olivia, where I’m honored to create joyful, community-centered experiences as Olivia’s Senior Manager of Entertainment & Production.”
Patty Nishimura Dingle
Patty Nishimura Dingle has worked as a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner for over 20 years.
Most recently, she was the Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Riot Games, where she led an international team that developed a strategy focused on creating inclusive programs and practices impacting internal talent and players. As the Head of DEI, Americas at BNY Mellon, and while at Visa, she drove the enhancement and implementation of corporate diversity and inclusion strategies, ensuring that DEI was integrated into business and client initiatives.
Today, she is the proud sole owner of The White Horse Bar in Oakland, which is the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the country, established in 1933. The bar’s mission, “Fun with Love,” is the anchor to everything you see and experience at the bar, from programming to the employees and the support of the community.
A Seaside, California, native, Patty currently serves on the executive advisory board of Self-eSTEM, a non-profit organization that ignites pride, purpose, and possibility among girls.
Richelle Evelyn Donigan
Richelle is a visionary Life Mastery Coach, author, and multidisciplinary artist whose career spans dance, activism, and wellness. From founding her first girls’ club at an orphanage to choreographing BBC2’s The Real McCoy, to collaborating with legends like Prince and Seal, she’s also featured in Pratibha Parmar and Alice Walker’s film, Warrior Marks. A veteran choreographer of San Francisco’s Club Q, a performer with Dance Brigade, Sarah Bush Dance, and other notables, Richelle’s legacy includes gold medals at the Gay Games and a feature at the Tate Modern gallery (London).
As a pioneer in queer wellness, Richelle founded Sauda, a gathering for women of African descent (London); and co-created the first Queer Women’s Yoga Retreats and Butch Yoga. She has also served as Olivia Travel’s “Yoga/Vision guru” for over a decade.
Today, Richelle empowers women globally through her coaching, books, and courses on worthiness, proving that a life lived with intention creates limitless expression. www.ojahlife.com
Dawn Edwards
Dawn Edwards is the Deputy Director at Lotus Bloom Family Resource Center, and is responsible for overseeing the programs, evaluations, and quality assurance. She earned a BA in Political Science, a MPA, and a M.Ed in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Mills College. Dawn has over 20 years of nonprofit and program management experience and is a 2022 graduate of the LeaderSpring Fellowship. Her Community Leadership is serving the LGBTQ community as the VP of the Board of Directors for the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, a member of the Lakeshore Cultural District Committee, and as a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
Dawn is a mom, wife, a published author with two current book projects in the works, a blogger ( https://locz4lyfe.com/ ), and a trained dancer and gymnast who has performed with several companies throughout the Bay Area.
Kin Folkz
Kin Folkz (né Monica Anderson) is an award-winning educator and multidisciplinary artivist whose work builds and successfully sustains community-rooted cultural ecosystems and equity-centered practices that uplift marginalized LGBTQIA+ communities.
As founder of the Queer Arts Center Gallery (QAC), Racism Under the Rainbow, and Spectrum Queer Media, Folkz has curated decades of exhibitions and cultural programming and established direct-service initiatives, including a Food Justice program that delivered over 40,000 meals during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place period. Through these initiatives, Folkz builds equity-centered platforms that strengthen artistic visibility, technological access, and material support for marginalized LGBTQIA+ communities.
Folkz’s social justice practice extends from community institutions to large-scale public art, where they served as the lead artist and creator of the eight-block-long “All Black Lives Matter” mural at Lake Merritt in Oakland, featured in international publications including Complex magazine, and served as a lead designer and artist for the “Black Trans Lives Matter” mural in San Francisco. In recognition of their leadership, they were named a 2018 San Francisco Pride Grand Marshal, are featured in the award-winning documentary State of Pride, and have received four mayoral proclamations from three Oakland mayors, as well as a State Citation of Honor from Alabama Representative Thad McClammy for humanitarian work between Alabama and Haiti.
Their exhibition history includes the Queer Arts Center Gallery, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Betti Ono Gallery, ACCI Gallery, Gray Loft Gallery, and international participation in The Art Tunnel in Barcelona, Spain. At the Oakland Museum of California, they created a large-scale installation honoring QT child and youth ancestors and curated interdisciplinary art and music programming integrating performance and ritual practice.
Across murals, museums, media platforms, classrooms, and mutual-aid networks, Kin Folkz advances a practice where art, justice, nourishment, technology, and collective memory converge—ensuring that creative spaces function, not as temporary stages, but as sustainable community ecosystems.
Mayor Barbara J. Lee
Miranda J. Manning
Miranda Manning is a compassionate Peer Advocate, certified HIV Test Counselor, and poet with over 20 years of experience across healthcare, nonprofit, and community settings. Grounded in her lived experience in mental health recovery, she builds trust, reduces stigma, and empowers clients toward sustainable wellness. She uses motivational interviewing to support behavior change, strengthen selfefficacy, and help clients define meaningful, self-directed goals.
As a Clinical Peer Advocate with Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases (WORLD), Miranda provides oneon-one support, facilitates empowerment groups, offers HIV testing and counseling, and connects clients to housing, healthcare, and essential resources—ensuring holistic, wraparound care.
Previously, she spent more than a decade with Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation, coordinating patient services, mentoring staff, and excelling in high volume environments. Her caregiving roots include 15 years as an IHSS Home Care Provider, offering compassionate support to elders and medically fragile individuals.
Altruistic, purposeful, and sincere, Miranda is a resilient leader, creative spirit, and fierce ally committed to equity, advocacy, and nurturing wholeness in every individual she serves.
McYb
“Hello, fam, my given name is Armelia Hampton but in the LGBTQ Community I’m known as McYb. I have been an MC for over 25 years of my life in my community from SF Pride to Oakland to Las Vegas to Half Moon Bay to Sacramento, and even in New York City, Atlanta, and Florida doing what I love the most and working in and with my LGBTQ+ community to create positive change.
I am a Black and Puerto Rican woman who is an activist for LGBTQ+ rights as well as racial justice and women’s rights. I have worked and volunteered at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District, and Word Of Mouth Food Pantry. I am also an honorary member of The Conscious Daughters; Carla Green (aka CMG) has added me to honor the late Special 1 by rapping her verses to pay homage.
I work closely with wonderful people whom have always shown me there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and to fight for what I believe in. A few of those people whom I want to thank for helping me along my journey are my Mother Natividad Hampton (Mrs Natty), who has always supported me and believed in me since the moment I came out when I was 14 years old and never once turned her back on me. She told me to never change, and to use my voice because people will listen, and to always fight for what’s right and for what I believe in. I also wish to thank Lisa Williams (Soul of Pride Stage SF Pride) Joe Hawkins (Founder of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center) Jeffrey Myers (Co-Founder of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center and Founder of the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District Oakland), Darrell Ferrell (Founder of the Word of Mouth Food Pantry at the City of Refuge UCC Oakland), and Mady Willie (Co-Founder of the Word of Mouth Food Pantry).
I believe that we grow from what we are taught. By learning from our mistakes and taking accountability in these days and times with the current challenges of the sitting president in office trying to rip away what we have fought for all of our lives, I will always be there to fight against the hate. As a Black/Puerto Rican LGBTQ Woman, I promise I’ll continue to make our community proud. Thank you for this amazing honor. Happy Black History/Herstory Month 2026 and forever.”
Linda Tillery
Cheryl Troup
Cheryl Troup is a passionate advocate and became an activist over 33 years ago after being inspired while attending the 1993 LGBTQ March on Washington. Her enthusiasm to make a difference led her to not just volunteer with the Michigan Human Rights Campaign, but to jump in as the Co-Chair of their Annual Gala. She continued her volunteerism by facilitating youth groups and mentoring youth at the Affirmation Queer Community Center in Detroit. Cheryl later joined the editorial board for the Michigan LGBTQ newspaper.
Upon moving to Oakland, Cheryl volunteered for many years with the East Bay Church of Religious Science. She later connected with other Black lesbians in Oakland and spent just over five years on the core committee of Sisthas Steppin in Pride coordinating vendors for the annual march and festival. Later, while working at Our Family Coalition, Cheryl built successful partnerships and collaborations with practitioners and other organizations to bring education, resources, and information to LGBTQ parents and their children. These partnerships included the Berkeley YMCA, Lotus Bloom, Habitot, Bananas, San Francisco Pride, and Oakland Pride.
She has continued to share her knowledge with youth through mentorship at Hack the Hood and through the UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.
Debra A. Wilson
Debra A. Wilson (she/her) is an award-winning Director and Producer. Her directorial debut, Butch Mystique, and her second film, Jumpin’ the Broom, aired on Showtime. She produced the award-winning feature Mississippi Damned and several scripted shorts, including The Lake Merritt Monster, filmed in Oakland. As a Location Manager for over 10 years, she worked on films such as Milk, Blindspotting, and Ryan Coogler’s breakout film Fruitvale Station, for which Debra won the California on Location Award for Best Location Team. Debra also worked with Ryan Murphy on the series Pose.
Debra is currently a Producer for the feature documentaries Coach Emily and The Day the Curtains Came Down, and she is directing the feature documentary Phillip Bloch: Always Fashionable.
Debra is a San Francisco FilmHouse Resident Alum, BAVC National MediaMaker Fellow, and Sundance Producers Lab Alum. She earned her B.A. in TV/Film from California State University, Northridge.
Black History Month
Published on February 26, 2026
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