Mayor Jenny Durkan Honors Six LGBTQ+ Community Members at 2019 Pride Awards at Queer Bar

The 2019 Seattle Mayor’s Pride Reception was held Wednesday, June 26th at Queer Bar, 1518 11th Avenue on Capitol Hill, where Seattle’s out city leader, Mayor Jenny Durkan awarded six LGBTQ+ community members/organizations with honors. 

Mayor Durkan Honors Six LGBTQ+ Community Members at 2019 Pride Awards

 

Seattle (June 26, 2019) – In her second Pride Reception, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan honored the achievements of six leaders in Seattle’s LGBTQ community with the 2019 Pride Awards. This year’s award winners have had a lasting and positive impact on our City. This year’s winners are being recognized for decades of work to better our communities and advance the rights and dignities of our LGBTQ+ neighbors. 

 

“It is an honor to present the Mayor’s Pride Awards to some of Seattle’s most inspiring LGBTQ+ leaders,” said Mayor Durkan. “Justice Yu has been a model and a mentor for many. Shelly and Martha have given Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community an important gathering place for more than 30 years. Ray and Somos Seattle are bringing together our Latinx community. Seattle Counseling Services has been addressing the important issue of addiction and mental health in our community for over 50 years. Dr. Fredriksen-Goldsen is a leading voice on the intersections of health disparities, aging, and care-giving in marginalized communities. And, of course, Charmaine Slye is simply a force of nature. I am grateful to all of this year’s award recipients. Together, they represent the best of Seattle.” 

 

The 2019 Established Leaders Pride Award winners: 

Justice Mary Yu 

Associate Justice, Washington Supreme Court 

Justice Mary Yu was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court on May 16, 2014, and subsequently elected in 2014 and 2016. Justice Yu joined the Supreme Court after more than 14 years as an accomplished trial court judge in King County Superior Court where she presided over a wide variety of criminal, civil, and juvenile cases, and presided over hundreds of adoptions and other family law matters. Justice Yu has an extensive record of service both on and off the bench, mentoring young attorneys, law clerks, and students; co-chairing the Court’s Minority and Justice Commission; chairing the Board for Judicial Administration’s Public Trust and Confidence Committee; teaching at Seattle University School of Law and serving as Jurist in Residence; and co-chairing the Washington State Bar Association/University of Washington Law School Leadership Institute. Justice Yu has served on the board ofFareStart from 2009 – 2018, and the advisory board for the University of Washington School of Law’s Gates Public Service Program from 2014 – 2018. She is personally devoted to the Seattle Girls’ School Mock Trials, serving as their judge for the last 14 years. 

 

Shelley Brothers and Martha Manning 
Owners, The Wildrose  

The Wildrose on Capitol Hill is the only lesbian bar in Seattle, and now one of the oldest on the West Coast. It’s truly an institution in the gay community, and keeping the doors open for more than 30 years hasn’t been easy. Wildrose, which has evolved with the changing character of the Pike/Pine corridor and lesbian culture, remains a mainstay. Shelley and Martha have co-owned the Wildrose since 2005. 

 

The 2019 Emerging Leader Pride Award winner is: 

Ray Corona 
Somos Seattle  

Ray is the founder of Somos Seattle, an organization for LGBTQ Latinx folks. Their goal is to engage in collective actions by bringing together an active community, sharing resources, and fostering spaces for learning. Ray was nine years old when he came to America and has now graduated from the University of Washington and is an activist in nearly every immigrant-related Washington policy, by spearheading the Washington Dream Coalition. He was also one of the main organizers for last year’s inaugural Latinx Pride.  

 

The 2019 Outstanding Leadership Pride Award winners are: 

Dr. Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen 
Professor, UW School of Social Work 

Dr. Fredriksen-Goldsen is the Principal Investigator of Aging with Pride: National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study (NHAS). She is a Professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work, Director of Healthy Generations Hartford Center of Excellence, and Director of Institute for Multigenerational Health. Dr. Frederiksen-Goldsen is a Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and the Gerontological Society of America, and a Hartford Scholar and Mentor, and founder of Generations Aging with Pride, GSA Rainbow Research Group, and Shanti/Seattle. She received her PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California at Berkeley. 

 

Seattle Counseling Services 

Started as part of the Dorian Society in Seattle, SCS later expanded to become an independent organization in 1969. Over the last 50 years, they have sought ways to provide a continuum of care for clients. SCS works with other King County Mental Health Providers to advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ community in the mental health system. Now so much more than a counseling center, Seattle Counseling Services now offers substance use disorder services; support groups; harm reduction programs; HIV prevention programs; peer-led outreach; and, immigrant, refugee, and undocumented outreach. They are always working to grow and better adapt to meet the LGBTQ community’s challenges. Through these changes, SCS remains committed to providing high-quality, accessible, culturally competent care to all that seek their services and to serve, advocate, educate, and advance the health and wellness of the LGBTQ community. 

 

The 2019 Difference Maker Pride award winner is: 

Charmaine Slye 

A 65-year-old Capitol Hill resident, Charmaine is a lifelong Seattleite. She was the Mistress of Ceremonies at the Seattle Womxn’sMarch in 2017. She was one of 21 people who organized the march in 2017. This year, she organized the citywide “Day of Action” the day after the march. She is now focusing on “action” rather than marches, as she feels this is where the true change will take place.