CO-CHAIRS
Barbara Manocherian, Dean Vanech
Dasha Epstein, Judith Manocherian, Max Mayer
GALA COMMITTEE
Annaleigh Ashford, Suzi Dietz & Lenny Beer, Geoffrey L. Brackett,
Kristin Chenoweth, Bruce Cohen, MaryMartha E. Ford, Michael R. Jackson,
Sheryl Kaller & Scott Zaretsky, Joe King, Tony Kushner, Cody Lassen,
Mark-Linn Baker, Michael McElroy, Ina Meibach, Brian Stokes Mitchell,
Jerry Mitchell, Phylicia Rashad, Stark Sands, Paula Silver, Nikki Thompson, George C. Wolfe
APPEARANCES BY
... AND MORE!
Music Director
Nehemiah Luckett
Co-Directors
Liz Carlson and Sheryl Kaller
SARAH KATE ELLIS
Sarah Kate Ellis is the President and CEO of LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD and was most recently recognized on the 2023 TIME100 list of 100 most influential people in the world. During her eight years of leading GLAAD, she has run winning campaigns for marriage equality, representation of LGBTQ people in media, education on transgender people, and more. She has moderated and participated in official panels about global LGBTQ issues at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In 2018, Ellis launched the GLAAD Media Institute, a team of experts dedicated to behind-the-scenes advising on LGBTQ storytelling across media including film, television, news, gaming, social media, and theater. She works directly with CEOs, elected officials, and the most recognizable journalists and celebrities to advance LGBTQ acceptance. Sarah Kate is a regular expert on CNN, MSNBC, and across print and online media. Prior to GLAAD, Sarah Kate was a media executive. She and her wife Kristen co-authored a new children’s book entitled ALL MOMS and they reside in New York with their children.
BILLY PORTER
Billy Porter is an Emmy, Tony and Grammy award-winning actor, singer, director, producer, composer, and playwright. Porter has numerous theater credits, including the role of “Lola” in the Broadway musical KINKY BOOTS, for which he won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards, as well as the Grammy for best musical theater album. He won his second Tony Award in 2022 for “Best Musical” as a producer on A STRANGE LOOP. Porter released his first literary project, UNPROTECTED, in October 2021, which was published by Abrams Press. As a recording artist, Porter recently released his singles FASHION, BABY WAS A DANCER and CHILDREN, under his record deal with Island Records (UK) and Republic Records (US). His forthcoming album, THE BLACK MONA LISA, is due out this Fall.