Latino GLBT History Project elects new executive officers
Jose Plaza re-elected president, while longtime board member David Perez says goodbye
Photo by Julian P. Vankim
The Latino GLBT History Project (LHP), the nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and educating the public about the history and contributions of D.C.’s LGBT Latino community, has elected new executive officers for the upcoming 2016 year, and will be bidding goodbye to several other officers, including longtime board member and former LHP President David Pérez. Pérez, whose term ends on Dec. 31, is leaving to serve as the chair of the Advisory Committee to the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Current President Jose Plaza, who succeeded Pérez, was re-elected to his position. Cristela Solorio Ruiz, a former member of the planning committee for LHP’s Women’s History Month celebration, will take over as vice president from Alexa Rodriguez, a local transgender activist best known for her work with the D.C Chapter of the Translatina Coalition.
Eric Perez will serve as the group’s secretary, and newly elected board member Nancy Cañas will serve as treasurer. Other newly elected board members are: Fernando Herrera, who will serve as co-chair of LHP’s resource development committee; Eric Palladini, who will serve as historian; and Cristina Caldillo-Rivera. LHP founder Jose Gutierrez will continue to serve as an ex-officio member of LHP’s board of directors, as will May Sifuentes of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Jennifer Sanchez, a veteran and Obama administration appointee. All board members will serve 2-year terms.
LHP annually holds its Women’s History Month celebration, “Mujeres en el Movimiento,” acknowledging the historical contributions made by local LGBT Latinas, and holds pop-up exhibitions of photos and other archival material documenting the history of the LGBT Latino community that has been collected over the years. The group also hosts several informational and social events as part of D.C. Latino Pride.
“For the coming year, we look to continue doing the work in reaching out to the Latino LGBT community, but also expanding on our mission of reaching some of the most disenfranchised community members, such as transgender, HIV, youth, homeless people,” Plaza says. “Preserving their stories, but also lifting them up so we can work on those resources.”
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