dallas hope charities and dallas contemporary are sitting down with north texas community leaders to explore how organizations are fighting for LGBTQ+ equality. join us for our second annual pride panel event, for a night of deepening community connections and thought-provoking conversations
our meet and mingle hour will give you a chance to see the latest dallas contemporary exhibits and engage with north texas community organizations.
date: tuesday, june 28th
meet + mingle begins: 6:00 PM
Q&A panel begins: 7:00 PM
moderated by ben wilkins he/him/his
for the last 26 years, ben wilkins has worked at dallas CASA, a nonprofit organization advocating for the best interests of children who are in the foster care system due to allegations of abuse and neglect. as chief program officer, he manages the department that includes the 65 staff members who train, supervise, and guide the more than 1,500 volunteers each year who speak up on behalf of children under the protective care of the courts. he is especially grateful to note that dallas CASA was recently awarded the human rights campaign’s all children all families designation, certifying that policies, training, and practices are inclusive, welcoming, and competent regarding children and families who are LGBTQIA+. wilkins has a master of social work degree and is a licensed clinical social worker and supervisor. when he is not working, you can find him spending time with his husband, mike, and their geriatric pets, and avidly maintaining his “funcle” status with his nieces and nephews.
panelist:
kevin c. davis he/him/his
mission statement: my mission in life is to serve the LGBTQIA+ community, communities that are impacted by HIV, and individuals who experience discrimination & harassment for relying on sex-work to survive. as a person that has a lived experience with each of these communities, it is my mission to challenge and disrupt societal norms in an informative, educational, and transformative way. we can’t advocate for change within the LGBTQIA+ community without having conversations and discussing the issues that impact us. my efforts in challenging democracy and the infrastructures that prevent these communities from achieving their universe-given abilities is possible because of:
affiliations: ryan white planning council (nationwide), HRC DFW steering committee, stonewall democrats of dallas, chicago house associate board, LGBT detroit
advocacy work: advocate for sex workers, PrEP advocate, HIV health advocate
college degree: bachelor’s in public health (in progress)
mahoganie gaston she/her/hers
mahoganie gaston is employed by dallas independent school district where she works as a coordinator for the support services for LGBTQ youth, an initiative she founded and oversees that ensures the district is providing safe and welcoming environments to LGBTQ youth. before joining dallas ISD, mahoganie has worked with the texas child welfare system, residential youth facilities, homeless shelters and other nonprofits in the surrounding counties in the DFW metroplex.
sattie nyachwaya she/her/hers
sattie nyachwaya is a community connector and activist for the HIV, LGBTQ and reproductive communities. sattie believes in building and creating new leaders in marginalized communities with advocacy and storytelling. in her current role, she is committed to connecting and mobilizing the communities by finding resources, impacting lives with storytelling advocacy and working with others to disrupt policies that need to be changed. sattie nyachwaya currently is working on her bachelor’s degree in public health at walden university and pursuing her master’s in public administration with a focus on public policy and law. sattie also sits as the secretary for the board of directors at the afiya center, dallas TX. sattie has been recognized as one of dallas weekly’s honoree’s “hit list” 2021 for world AIDS day, a featured speaker at grace project national conference for women living with HIV and is a co-organizer for dallas’ BIPOC-led reproductive march. sattie is a native to dallas, TX, where she enjoys spending time with close friends and checking in on family, she enjoys actively participating in community service events, networking mixers. sattie grew up in east texas, but moved back to dallas, TX in 2011. sattie always tries to channel her community passion as an homage to her upbringing and support from her close loved ones. sattie is hopeful to fostering a better, stronger community with access for all.
raul rojas he/him/his
raul rojas serves as the director of community health education for planned parenthood of greater texas. in this position, raul helps to oversee grant-funded educational programs and education staff across texas. raul works as a site coordinator for federal health and human services funded projects in dallas, ft. worth, waco, and austin implementing evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in texas communities.
location: dallas contemporary
161 glass st, dallas tx, 75207