Pride at the Intersections

This Pride Month, June of 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a series of spontaneous protests that broke out after police raided a gay bar in New York City. The impact of these riots reverberated throughout the country and are generally considered the events that sparked the gay liberation movement. As we approach this anniversary, it is worth taking stock of what has been accomplished and what has yet to be achieved—specifically for those at the intersections of race, religion, and non-conforming gender identities within the LGBTQI community. Join us for a panel discussion with journalists, organizers, and leaders as they identify what needs to occur—on a national level to a local level—and what needs to change—from cultural shifts to policy—to manifest a socially just and equitable society.

Catherine Bell is Chief Program Officer at Keshet, a national organization working for LGBTQ equality in Jewish life. Catherine has close to 20 years’ experience organizing, educating, and driving programmatic growth in a Jewish social justice context. Before she joined Keshet, Catherine served as the Director of the Jewish Organizing Fellowship at JOIN for Justice. At Keshet, Catherine oversees all of Keshet’s programmatic work, including institutional change, LGBTQ advocacy, and teen engagement. She developed the successful Keshet Leadership Project model to drive institutional change for greater LGBTQ inclusion in Jewish organizations across the country, oversaw a major shift in Keshet’s evaluation practices, and dramatically grew Keshet teen programming. Catherine graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College and holds a MA in Sociology of Education from New York University. She lives in Dorchester, MA with her spouse and two young children.

Casey Dooley has been a hair stylist for over 15 years, specializing in curls for women. While being a professional in the hair industry, Casey has committed herself to serving the community in multiple ways. She is currently partnered with the Massachusetts Adoptive Resource to teach on how to properly love and care their natural hair. Casey believes we carry our weight in our presence on how we carry our hair. While saving the world with (one head) at a time, Casey is a current committee member of the Boston Pride Organization and has been a member since 2015. While serving in Boston Pride, Casey noticed the lack of support for Boston Black Pride and decided to step up and take on the role to lead this organization and build a committee with members from both the Latinx, Afro Descents, and Allies communities. Casey’s overall goals are to bridge these communities while bringing awareness around Mental Health and AIDS.

Kate Sosin is a trans-identified national LGBTQ news and investigative reporter covering hate crimes, homicides, prison abuse, national policy, politics and healthcare. Kate was a former reporter at the national LGBTQ outlet INTO and an Associate Editor at Chicago’s Windy City Times. They are the two-time winner of the National LGBTQ Journalists Association Award, the Chicago Headline Club Award and a two-time GLAAD Award Nominee. Kate was an Inaugural Trans 100 inductee in 2013. Their work has appeared in NBC News, The Daily Beast, Splinter, The Advocate, the Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ and other outlets.