2023 Gala & LGBTQ+ Community Leadership Awards

[Image description: A rectangle graphic with illustrations of foliage in the background. The top center reads: “Enchanted Garden”. Underneath reads: “Saturday, March 25, 2023, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m”. Below reads “The Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center 2023 Gala and LGBTQ+ Leadership Awards”. The bottom left corner reads “Presented by:” and the logo for Air Products. The Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center logo is located on the bottom right corner.]

Ticket Sales are now closed, but
click here to learn about our "Garden After Dark" Gala afterparty!

A fabulous evening to celebrate the Lehigh Valley's LGBTQ+ community! This signature fundraising event for Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center honors significant leaders in our community, and includes dinner and dessert, cash bar, silent and live auctions, and a special appeal. The event will be hosted by Bill McGlinn and Ashley L. Coleman.

This year's theme is Enchanted Garden!

Suggested event attire: All attendees are encouraged to dress within theme, but not required. Suggested colors are green, blue, and other earth tones. From an Alice in Wonderland tea party to a garden party in Bridgeton, the theme is yours to be creative!

If you have purchased tickets online,
click here to choose your entree

Entree options include:
Seared Airline Chicken Breast (with chicken herb jus)
Seared Salmon (with caper and lemon cream sauce)
Cauliflower Steak (with sofrito lentils, wilted spinach, and red pepper coulis) (vegan/gluten free)

Served family style with each meal:
Heirloom Tomato Salad (pesto, burrata mozzarella cheese, balsamic reduction)
Yukon Gold Potato Puree & Roasted Asparagus (with lemon)
Chocolate Flourless Torte (with strawberry gel and fresh strawberries)
All meals come with assorted bakery fresh rolls, butter, regular & decaf coffee, and hot or iced tea

2023 Lehigh Valley LGBTQ+ Community Leadership Award Honorees:

Corinne Goodwin, Eastern PA Trans Equity Project -
Corinne Goodwin (She/They) is the Executive Director and founder of Eastern PA Trans Equity Project. An award-winning community leader and in-demand speaker, Corinne actively works on issues impacting the lives of LGBTQ Pennsylvanians ranging from legislative action to advocating for safe housing and food access. After a career as an executive in the retail and telecommunications sectors, Corinne now works as a self-employed business consultant. She lives in the Lehigh Valley with her spouse, Debra, and enjoys cooking, model railroading, and attending her son Kenneth’s theater productions in New York.

Mary Foltz, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center Archives and Library Projects - Mary C. Foltz (She/Her) is Associate Professor of English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Lehigh University. She also serves as Co-Director of the South Side Initiative, which cultivates sustained university-community research partnerships. In the past year (2022-2023), Foltz was an ACLS Scholars and Society Fellow; this fellowship allowed her to work for a full year in the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive.

Stephen Libby, The Gay Journal - Stephen Libby (He/Him) has been an active figure in the LGBTQ community for 25 years, from hosting dozens of fundraisers for nonprofits and creating educational documentaries featuring the local LGBTQ population. While earning his Masters in Social Work Steve conducted a random phone survey to measure the public's support on gay rights issues and created the LV's first LGBT Youth Group. Steve is the editor in chief of The Gay Journal by night and a hospice bereavement coordinator by day. He has been married to Gary Gaugler, Jr. for 18 years and is the proud dad to Nugget & Jackson. Steve enjoys Sunday kickball, karaoke and a Blue Moon with friends and seeing his family in Maine as often as possible.

Ariel Torres, Associate Director of the PRIDE Center at Lehigh University - Ariel Torres (He/Him/His) previously worked as Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center's Administrative Manager, and then went on to become their Pride Programs Manager, which led to producing Lehigh Valley Pride, as well as numerous Pride Night related events across the Lehigh Valley. Ariel is a longtime leader in the Lehigh Valley drag community as Elektra Fearce St. James and has experience engaging volunteers in support of numerous LGBTQ+ non-profits, and is Currently the Associate Director for Lehigh University's Pride Center for Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

Air Products, receiving the Business Community Leadership Award

Hosts/Emcees:

Ashley L. Coleman has been a fixture in the LGBTQ+ community in Philadelphia for over ten years having
previously served as Executive Director at galaei and Senior Events Manager at Mazzoni Center. She holds two degrees from Temple University (B.S., Education), and (B.A., History). Her activism and advocacy began as a youth in the Lehigh Valley, leading Queer youth initiatives while producing large scale events for nonprofits in Northeastern Pennsylvania. She went on to serve as the general conference coordinator of the world’s largest Transgender specific conference from 2016-2019, and she led galaei through the production of Philadelphia’s 50th Pride parade and festival in 2022.
Bill McGlinn previously served as Director of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations at Muhlenberg College and as Director of Development and Community Relations at Da Vinci Science Center. He holds degrees from Yale University (M.F.A., Theatre), New York University (M.P.A., Nonprofit Management), and Notre Dame (B.A., Theatre/English). After his retirement from Muhlenberg College, McGlinn became a key volunteer leader at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, where he has served as chair of the gala committee and the Campaign for Equity, a capital campaign that eliminated the center’s mortgage. Bill McGlinn served as the Interim Executive Director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center from March 2022 to January 2023.

Click here to learn about sponsorship opportunities