Twelve of the Bay Area’s most accomplished Bay Area LGBTQ+ Latine leaders were honored on Friday, October 24, 2025, at an inaugural awards event presented by the San Francisco Bay Times in partnership with renowned LGBTQ+ and social justice activist Olga Talamante, who is the Executive Director Emerita of the Chicana Latina Foundation and the past Interim President and CEO of The Greenlining Institute. Talamante co-emceed the Mission-based event, Honoring LGBTQ+ Bay Area Latine Leaders, with Rev. Miguel Bustos, who is an Archdeacon of the Diocese of California. Rev. Busto’s husband, Alexander Rivera, also attended and greeted guests.
The honorees for this inaugural event were Adriana Ayala, Noemi Calonje, Dulce A. García, Marga Gomez, Carla Lucero, Jes Montesinos, Viviana “Viva” Paredes, Ámate Cecilia Pérez, Rev. Rhina M. Ramos, Ani Rivera, Elba Rivera, and Jennifer Valles. From nonprofit leadership to the arts, they represent excellence in numerous diverse fields. For more information about the 2025 honorees, go to: https://bit.ly/3WX4XMN
The celebration came on the heels of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15) and at a time when many Republican national and local leaders have escalated rhetoric and attacks against both the LGBTQ+ and Latin communities. Just hours before the event began, President Trump called off the planned Bay Area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency “surge” that led to protests throughout the Bay Area. (See pages 4–7 of this issue.)
The inaugural Honoring LGBTQ+ Bay Area Latine Leaders was made possible with support from the California Health Care Foundation, Kate Kendell, the Golden State Warriors, Horizons Foundation, On Lok Community Day Services, the San Francisco LGBT Center, Dr. Marcy Adelman, Roberto Ordeñana, Imani Rupert-Gordon, Elizabeth Blancas of florecer, Sabores Komali, ellaprint, Bohnet Engraving & Awards, Olga Talamante, and Miguel Bustos & Alexander Rivera. Special thanks also go to Sandra R. Hernández, MD, and photographer Mike Kirschner (https://mikek.photography/).
Certificates of honor from Joaquin Torres, Assessor for the City and County of San Francisco, were presented to all of the honorees. Commendations from Rafael Mandelman, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, were presented to Talamante and Rev. Bustos, who also received honors from Mayor Daniel Lurie, who was represented at the event by Moisés Garcia.
Honoring LGBTQ+ Bay Area Latine Leaders was a benefit for the Use the News Foundation (https://usethenews.org/) and El/La Para TransLatinas (https://www.ellasf.org/).
Published on November 6, 2025
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