Article 2 - Community

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3 leaders who are proud to be part of a community

These unique groups strive to foster inclusivity among their LGBTQ members.

Having a strong support system is important no matter how you identify. Whether you find common ground through participating in a group sport, expressing yourself artistically, attending events or pursuing other activities, coming together as a group can help everyone feel more seen and accepted.

Keala Kennelly

"I’m especially proud to be a big wave surf champion because I got to do it while being an out-LGBT athlete. I spent a good chunk of my career hiding in the closet out of fear, so to be able to be out and win this meant the absolute world to me."

Keala

Nick Wolny

Giuliana Fritz

Romey Louangvilay

Curtis D. Young

Michael William G.

Cyle Suesz

Matt Pacifici

Lane Moore

J-Line

Yuval David

DaShawn Usher

Patrick Klibanoff

Bear Spiegel

Jim Caiola

David Salama

Sheree R. Thomas

Jacqueline P. Banyon

Jillian Monica

Olivia Levine

Lio Mehiel

Andrew Chung

Stacy Drageset

Kevin Charles

Mal Blum

Benji Rivera

Nikki Khouri

Peterson Rodriguez

Jennifer Brown

Terence Edgerson

Christina Curell

Primo Bolo III

Dominique Mosca

Vishaal Reddy

Johnny Sibilly

Kim Mandilag

Oliver Stabbe

"What I’m proud of is being true. True to yourself, true to others, and to see others as their true selves."

Kim

"I’m proud to be multifaceted. All these different things make you unique and yourself. I think the older I get, the more these little nuances of who I am make me proud."

Johnny

"I'm proud to be bisexual. I feel like especially as an Indian American, there’s not a lot of openly queer artists that are out there, that are also telling stories that I identify with and growing up, I never really saw that. I’ve finally become honest with myself, my art has become more honest with it."

Vishaal

"I’m proud to be me. That’s inside and out. I love the way I am. I love who I am. I love being gay. I love being funny. I love being sometimes quiet, but I’m always outgoing. As a whole that I’m proud of being who I am."

Dominique

"I'm proud to be fearless. I think that’s the key. I think you just really need to go in, not care, and just really exist, just be unapologetically yourself."

Primo

"The culture of where I grew up made it feel impossible to be honest about myself, so I hid in fear and denial for a long time. I'm proud of where I'm from because it means I had to be brave in order to be honest and free."

Christina

"I’m proud to be me because I really feel like everyone should have the right to be themselves because being who you are, being authentically you and portraying that to other people and shining your light, it really is another way that turns a tide."

Peterson

"I'm proud to be visible because I can just be. How nice is it to just be? To go to dinner with my girlfriend and just be. Yes, there are obstacles in that, but I’m here, I get to do that today. I’m supported. So, yes, I’m proud to be visible."

Nikki

"I feel like I wear my pride in a way that’s deeper than just my sexuality. I think that I’m proud that the person that I get to be every day is also loved by some spectacular people. I’m proud to be loved by the people who love me."

Benji

"I’m proud to be these things because they make me who I am."

Mal

"It wasn’t an easy trek to say, I’m Kevin the gay guy. It represents a lot of self-acceptance, a lot of being comfortable with myself, being comfortable with my sexuality, being comfortable with just presenting myself in front of people. It took a lot of work to become Kevin and I’m very proud to be that person today."

Kevin

"I’m very proud that my daughter has acknowledged who she is at such a young age and has really taken on the role of advocating for other young children."

Stacy

"I’m proud to be different. Diversity enriches community and interacting with people that are not 100 percent in line with your view in life can be super rewarding."

Andrew

"I love being a Gemini, super outgoing, playful, curious. Gender queer means I exist between masculine and feminine and also exist amidst both of them at the same time. It feels really expansive and empowering and feels good."

Lio

"I’m really proud that I get to do what I love. I love being a comedian and I’m proud that I get to be so expressive of my queerness in doing so."

Olivia

"I think it’s brave to be transparent. It takes a lot of confidence and a lot of self-acceptance to be transparent with people. It's inspiring to others to be open with everyone."

Jillian

"I’m proud to be a creator of change. I've been a visual artist for most of my life. I love to have the ability to express creativity and support things that matter to me. I think often creativity helps to drive change."

Jackie

"I’m really proud to be Jackie's mom. Jackie is my oldest daughter; my first-born. She's a creative spirit, truly herself. Unapologetic about it."

Sheree

"I’m proud of who I raised, of who my kids are. I just love being with them, I love how they think. I love to think that I’ve influenced any of their thoughts by examples and by the way I raised them."

David

"I’m proud to be a dad. It’s very exciting and it’s been very personally profound for me to see us get the human rights that we almost didn’t even recognize we weren’t getting before."

Jim

"I’m proud to be open because I’m really lucky that I grew up in a place where I could come out with no problems. If you come from somewhere where you couldn’t do that, you can come to me and I’ll be that person for you."

Bear

"I’m proud to be an advocate. I think it’s important for me to be an advocate and an ally for others, to help them on their journey of acceptance in really becoming their best self."

Patrick

"I’m proud to be humble. Humility is something that we don’t always get to see or experience but thinking about how we can remain humble. Being centered and remaining humble is the biggest thing that I’m proud of."

DaShawn

"I’m proud to be Yuval, that’s me. It’s an amazing thing to be a creative artist who treats life as an art, to entertain, uplift and inspire others."

Yuval

"I’m proud to stand up for other people and let them know that they’re not alone."

J-Line

"I am proud to be a musician, author, and comedian. Art is so special because you can relate to the jokes I’m telling, the songs I’m making, the things that I’m writing...and then it just so happens that I’m also queer."

Lane

"I’m proud to be a voice for others. I really needed the support of straight allies to find my voice, so that people supported me in celebrating me. At this point, I’ve been out for more than 20 years. I’m very safe in being out, I do it all the time, I’m very public.”

Jennifer

"I'm proud to be individualistic. I’ve always identified myself as a little bit different. It was never really something that I was comfortable talking about to anyone else until now."

Matt

"I’m proud to be here right now, right here in this moment. It’s a really great moment for us, 50 years after Stonewall and World Pride. It’s a good moment to be alive and see Pride being reflected across the board. It’s just good to feel represented."

Cyle

"I’m proud to be awesome. I don’t mean that in an egotistical way. I mean that as, I am awesome, you’re awesome, every single person that’s on this earth is awesome for being them."

Michael

"I’m proud to be compassionate because I’m able to understand other people’s differences and not let it impact me."

Curtis

"I'm proud to be black, queer and fabulous. It’s really important to me to show that pride every day, because it empowers other people to show their pride and feel comfortable in who they are when they see someone else doing it."

Terence

"I’m proud to be a Gaysian because I found these two labels (gay and Asian) were two things I struggled with almost my entire life. Now, I’ve moved past that."

Romey

"I think everyone’s on their own personal journey, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s taken me a long time to get to this place, but I’m proud to be who I am."

Giuliana

"I’m proud to be in love and it wasn’t always that way. When I met someone who I could connect with deeply and just be my authentic self with, that took over every area of my life in terms of loving myself and feeling valued."

Nick

“I’m proud to be myself because who I am is a lot of different things. I’m not just a trans person. I’m not just queer. I’m also funny, I’m also really short, I’m also good at crocheting. Being queer is just one part of who I am. I’m proud to be all of myself."

Oliver

No one knows that better than these three community leaders who have made it their mission to create a space where others feel safe, accepted and empowered to be their most authentic selves. Here are their stories.

Learn more at Discover.com/Pride

Giuliana Fritz

Captain at Ladies Village Soccer

Giuliana Fritz grew up on women’s soccer. “My mom played soccer into her 40s, so I joke that I was technically playing soccer while I was still in the womb,” she said. Having played throughout childhood and high school, Fritz took a hiatus from the sport in her 20s but eventually wanted to find a way to get back in the game. When she heard about Ladies Village Soccer, a community of lesbian and female-identifying women who come together to play each week, she decided to sign up. “I still remember the first time I went,” Fritz said.

I didn’t know what to expect, but a lot of the girls I met that first time I’m still friends with today.

Having that shared experience of being a first-timer makes it easy for Fritz and her teammates to welcome newcomers. “We love it when new people come out — we’re constantly trying to grow the group,” she said. “Everyone who comes has had that first time before — we understand what it’s like to show up to a space you’re not familiar with, so we go out of our way to introduce ourselves and welcome them.” Fritz has become an integral part of growing and guiding her team, serving as captain for the past two years. “I wanted to be part of creating a space for women out there that maybe don’t have a sense of place and are looking for somewhere they can belong to,” she said. “This sport has given me so much in terms of confidence and sense of self. It’s just really cool to show up where you have found your people.” It was something that Fritz didn’t realize she was missing until she found it. “You don’t understand the importance of community until you have it and you see it and recognize it,” she said. “To feel accepted and get to be around people that have had similar struggles as you in terms of fitting in, accepting who you are and being accepted in general, to have a safe space where women can be themselves and get to know others and hear other people’s stories, I think that’s hugely important.”

Finding a place where he felt represented proved challenging for DaShawn Usher — so he created his own. “I started MOBI (Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative) mainly because there weren’t a lot of inclusive spaces for queer people of color,” he said. Today, MOBI hosts a series of curated social connectivity events that bring this community together, focusing on wellness and personal development. “We host two signature events: MOBItalks, a personal and professional development series for black gay men, and MOBIfest, an interactive arts experience that celebrates black queer voices in fashion, music, visual arts and media,” Usher said. Usher has gone above and beyond to ensure new and current MOBI participants feel welcomed and included, starting with making the events as accessible as possible.

DaShawn Usher

Founder and executive director of MOBI

All of our events are free because we want to remove as many barriers for our community as possible.

“We know cost, venue and timing can prevent people from engaging. We cannot create a community if people do not actually feel valued, so we are very intentional about where we host and the duration of the events.” Watching members interact, connect and network has been particularly rewarding for Usher. “When people come to our events they interact in a way that you don’t usually see,” he said. “People are kind, social and looking to build community. We have created a community that really is giving of themselves and their time. It’s been both rewarding and challenging to continue to showcase our community in different lights that continue to uplift and empower them.”

Art offers the perfect canvas for self-expression, something that Nikki Khouri has found a way to harness and utilize to unify others. “Thorn & Petal is an artistic partnership dedicated to providing, developing and cultivating art for the underrepresented and underserved communities,” she said. “We explore the themes of identity, love and isolation through art making and humanitarian efforts to bring more understanding and joy to a world that, at times, forgets how to access it.” Whether hosting an event, putting on a live show or working with others in a creative, collaborative space, Khouri aims to leave participants feeling loved and inspired. “We work hard to cultivate positive, imaginative and joyful experiences,” she said. “We have the privilege of using our platform to explore topics such as love, spirituality, race and gender expression.” Seeing individuals’ struggles and celebrations expressed onstage or at an exhibit in front of others can be cathartic.

Nikki Khouri

Founder and co-artistic director of Thorn & Petal

Having a community makes me feel empowered to use my voice and share my imagination to show individuals they are loved and seen in all that makes them unique.

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Discover is proud to be named one of the best places to work for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign’s Annual Corporate Equality Index. Learn more at Discover.com/Pride

Members of the editorial and news staff of the USA TODAY Network were not involved in the creation of this content.

Discover is proud to be named one of the best places to work for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign’s Annual Corporate Equality Index. Learn more at Discover.com/Pride

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Members of the editorial and news staff of the USA TODAY Network were not involved in the creation of this content.

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