As the executive director of the Louisville Pride Foundation, I’m often asked what my motivation is. My answer is simple: I believe everyone deserves to have a safe place to be seen in their community, and I’m on a mission to do just that. When I stepped into my role last year, I saw it not only as a responsibility to continue the Foundation’s incredible legacy but also as an opportunity to broaden our community and to make space for more voices, more stories, and more people to have a seat at our table of inclusion.
This Pride Month, I’m reflecting on the strength and resilience of Louisville’s LGBTQIA+ community. While my life story has been filled with many tough times and difficult moments, what’s carried me through is the connection to my community. Through my own journey, I’ve learned that health and well-being are dependent on this connection. And today, I find that connection both in person and on the screen.
Connecting in a Disconnected World
In today’s reality, it’s so important for the LGBTQIA+ community to stay connected within our increasingly disconnected world. Our genuine connection creates safe spaces that provide education, opportunities, and outreach to support the needs of those around us. At the Louisville Pride Foundation, we have created that safe space.
Since we opened our doors in 2014, the Louisville Pride Foundation has gotten to offer comfort and support to more people than we could have ever imagined. Our foundation oversees the Louisville Pride Center, which organizes a food pantry, vaccine clinics, community dinners, and so much more. We also host the Pride Festival in September and lead countless community conversations about mental health, identity, and loving and supporting your neighbor. But we can’t share these places for acceptance with community members if no one knows about them.
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As much as we value face-to-face connection, our digital community has become just as vital, if not more.
Through our social media platforms, we are able to share upcoming events, educational tools, and pictures of the faces that make up our organization to reach people in real time. Today we have grown to a following of more than 20,000+ across Facebook and Instagram, and this is just the beginning of our reach throughout the Louisville community and beyond.
We’ve learned that “foot traffic” doesn’t just mean someone walking through our doors. It means someone tapping on our profile, RSVPing to a Facebook event from counties or countries away, or sending a message that starts with “I didn’t think anyone would understand, but…” Thanks to regular posting on Facebook and Instagram, our pride festival has now grown to nearly 25,000 attendees in the last few years. With new faces showing up to our festival from social media, we can reach more people from the LGBTQIA+ community or allies who want to connect and support.
Behind every like, comment, and share is a real person with a real story. They’ve seen themselves represented, and now they want to be part of something bigger. Social media hasn’t just helped us grow; it’s helped us create a safe place to connect. It’s where our impact begins and where our community finds us.
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This is the future of Pride: hybrid, human, and deeply connected.
Your Story Matters, and It’s Welcome Here
This Pride Month, it’s up to us to celebrate, educate, and grow the community both in person and online. Whether you’ve never been to a Pride event or you’ve marched every year, there is always an open seat waiting for you. I encourage you to look to social media to find the organizations in your area and find your community.
Pride is not a moment. It’s a movement. And it’s one we build together—one post, one conversation, and one new connection at a time.
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This article appears in Jun 20 – Jul 3, 2025.