PRIDE MONTH
Guest Speaker: Bryanna A. Jenkins, Esq. (she, her, hers)
In celebration of Pride Month, we invite the community to engage with keynote speaker Bryanna Jenkins on Friday, June 20, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. A wine reception and book signing will also be held. Bryanna will be sharing the life and legacy of nationally renowned local trans-activist, Monica Roberts. The opening speaker will be Ryan C. Wilson of Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber. Author and historian, J.D. Doyle will be signing his book for guests.
Roberts was a founding member of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, a lobbying and advocacy group dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of trans people. She is best known for her work in Texas and Kentucky politics but worked tirelessly at all levels of government for trans rights. She served on the board of the Louisville Fairness Campaign, wrote for several publications, and won many awards for her advocacy and work including the Human Rights Campaign’s John Walzel Equality Award, the Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement, and the Virginia Price Pioneer Award. Monica Roberts passed away on October 6, 2020.
About the Speaker
Bryanna (she/her) is the Policy Director at Lavender Rights Project. Ms. Jenkins received her B.S. from Morgan State University, her M.A. from the University of Baltimore, and her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. Ms. Jenkins also published Birth Certificate with a Benefit: Using LGBTQ Jurisprudence to Make the Argument for a Transgender Person’s Constitutional Right to Amended Identity Documents in the CUNY Law Review. Prior to law school Bryanna founded and led The Baltimore Transgender Alliance and organized the city's first Baltimore Transgender Uprising March in 2015. Bryanna is also the Vice Chair of the National Bar Association’s LGBTQ Division.
About the Opening Speaker
Ryan C. Wilson began his 20-year LGBTQ+ advocacy career as Co-President of Clemson University’s Gay-Straight Alliance and as Safe Zone Coordinator for the University of South Carolina. He served as president of the board of both the South Carolina Pride Movement and the Harriet Hancock LGBT Center. Ryan went on to become Executive Director of South Carolina Equality, fighting for marriage equality nationally as well as non-discrimination protections and hate crime laws at the state level. He later joined the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), working in the field for almost a decade advocating for LGBTQ+ people at the local, state, and Federal level. During his time as associate regional campaign director at HRC, Ryan focused on Southern states, including a stint as a member of the team fighting for HERO – the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Ryan joined the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber team in December 2023.
The Chamber's mission is: To accelerate economic opportunity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer + (LGBTQ+) community through a strong network of allies, innovative programs, strategic partnerships and advance policies that foster economic inclusion and equality.
