​​​PRIDE IN OUR COMMUNITY

The Pride in Our Community award is designed to recognize a member of the community who has soared above all in their dedication to the tenets of Advocacy, Community, Education, Inclusion, and Defense in support of the LGBTQ+ and all communities in Loudoun County.

​​​

• 2026 - Pastor Garrett Wolf: Believing that education and understanding drive acceptance, Pastor Garrett has brought LGBTQ+ voices to faith gatherings and has lent his own voice to community awareness, speaking against anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric during Transgender Day of Remembrance events and at school board rallies. Our community thrives when we have active allies like Pastor Garrett—leaders who are willing to lend their platforms and voices to the ongoing cause of equality, advocacy, and inclusion.

​

• 2025 - Jessica McKay: Jessica has been a guiding force for years, as a public advocate for queer-inclusive policies with the school board, as a liaison in the faith community through her work with Crossroads UMC, and as the co-founder of PFLAG Ashburn/Loudoun County. She has created spaces where hundreds of people have found support, healing, and belonging.

​​​

• 2024 - Melissa Long: Melissa Long has made it her mission to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community of Northern Virginia who are living with dementia. Her work aims to insure that everyone with dementia feels comfortable seeking the resources they need to care for their loved ones safely and free from judgement. 

​

• 2023 - Susan Hayden: Susan has served our community in so many ways as a teacher, an advocate, and a member of the Equality Loudoun Steering Committee for years. Her work in being a voice for students is unparalleled, both as a mother to queer youth and as an adult fighting for equality in our community.

​

• 2022 - Connie Rice: Connie has dedicated over a decade to being a leading voice in both the Loudoun County community and teaching industry. As a former Board member for Equality Loudoun, she created a passion for improving her community and set herself apart as a leader in transgender rights advocacy in the region.

​

• 2021 -Chris Croll: Chris worked tirelessly as an advocate within the community to improve schools both as a member of the Loudoun County School Board and as a community member, always focusing on the mental health and wellness of youth. She dedicated herself to the passage of equal protections in the Public School System and works with a suicide prevention organization.

​

 

PRIDE IN OUR EDUCATION

The Pride in Our Education Award is intended to recognize a member of the educational community who has exemplified dedication to LGBTQ+ equality in education- a fundamental aspect of the advancement towards LGBTQ+ equality for future generations.

​

• 2026 - Ryan Himelwright: Ryan is a stalwart and vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ student population. He works to ensure that rising 9th graders know that the GSA will support and celebrate them as they begin their high school careers, and supports the LCPS Pride Prom each year. His visibility within the school community is an exceptional example of the representation our students so desperately need.

​

• 2025 - Heather Rainey: Heather truly embodies what it means to create a school where every student feels seen, safe, and supported. They lead the Sources of Strength class, empowering students with the tools to support their mental health and each other. Through this work, Heather doesn’t just support students — they transform the culture of the school.

​​

• 2024 - Laura Freeman: Laura Freeman started as a huge-hearted, effusively cheerful Reading Specialist. In 2022, she took a position with the newly-formed Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Division of Loudoun County Public Schools, where her impressive energy and talents helped start student diversity groups, bringing them together to the LCPS headquarters administrative building and showing them that their needs and requests were being heard and taken seriously. 

​

• 2023 - Caitlin McAteer: Cat is the mastermind behind the intrepid GSA at her school and the architect of the student-led Loudoun County Pride Prom. Her enthusiasm is infectious and her passion is legendary for anyone who has met her.

​

• 2022 - Kristin Wells: Frau Wells, as she's widely known by her students, was nominated by numerous students because her classroom was always a safe space for her students where they felt welcome, felt affirmed, and could feel safe to be themselves authentically. She stood out as an outstanding educator in 2022 for being inclusive and compassionate.

​

​

PRIDE IN OUR INCLUSION

The Pride in Our Inclusion was intended to recognize a member of Loudoun's allied community through the businesses, non-profits, and other organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community through outstanding service, acceptance, and visible allyship. This award was created in 2025.

​​​

• 2026 - Black Hoof Brewing Company: Black Hoof supports the Loudoun County LGBTQ+ community through consistent community engagement beyond seasonal recognition and a focus on creating welcoming spaces year-round. Inside the taproom, Black Hoof creates an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and included. Their ongoing commitment to community support and allyship shows what real, local support can truly do.

​​

• 2025 - Birch Tree Books & Plants: As one of the first Equality Allies, Birch Tree didn’t just show up — they led. They hosted the first Queer Lit Book Club, partnering with Equality Loudoun to make queer literature accessible to all, regardless of cost. Their support has remained strong in the face of public criticism and pressure, continuing to fly rainbow flags, proudly curate a queer book selection, and host Drag Story Time, standing firmly for inclusion, literacy, and joy.

​

​

PRIDE IN OUR ADVOCACY

The Pride in our Advocacy award was created to recognize the volunteer spirit that empowers community members to become change makers through Loudoun's LGBTQ+ serving organizations. These individuals have excelled at efforts to improve LGBTQ+ rights and demonstrated incredible resolve to be a force for good by inspiring action, creating change, and leaving a lasting impression.

​​​

• 2026 - Sean Murphy: Sean has generously gifted his time, talent, and treasure our LGBTQ+ community, spearheading initiatives to foster community connection, establish consistent services, and advocate for LGBTQ+ youth. He has built collaborations between LGBTQ+ serving organizations and always pursues the belief that we can accomplish more working together for a common purpose. 

​​

• 2025 - Vanessa Borg: As a Board Member of Equality Loudoun, Vanessa poured in countless hours — from organizing events to leading Leesburg’s first-ever Pride Flag Raising Ceremony.  She serves on Leesburg’s Diversity Commission, bringing a unique LGBTQ+ perspective to town leadership, and helped co-found the Leesburg Movement, celebrating inclusion through art, music, and community.

​​

• 2024 - Leigh Guarinello: Leigh has championed the voice of LGBTQ+ community members in so many spaces, including the healthcare community, the business community through the Chamber of Commerce, and the non-profit community through her work as the Inclusion Director and head of the Equality Allies Program. Under her leadership, the Equality Allies program grew significantly to nearly 100 businesses, places of worship, non-profits, and health professionals.

​​

• 2024 - Candice Tuck: Candice received the award for her work in leading, rebuilding, and expanding Equality Loudoun from 2019-2024 supporting the creation of a scholarship program, the annual festival, and many other programs. She has helped queer homeless youth, served as a PFLAG facilitator, and was the Town of Leesburg's first openly transgender appointee.

​​

• 2024 - Todd Cimino-Johnson: Todd has been at the forefront of leadership through demonstrable action in Loudoun County. He helped found and sponsor the Equality in Education Scholarship, ensuring reviews were fair and equitable, and participated as a sponsor and advocate for the festival. He was elected in 2023 to the Leesburg Town Council as the first openly gay member.​

​

• 2023 - Jennifer Boudrye: Jennifer's work speaks for itself, becoming the leading voice in queer training in Loudoun County. As a Parent Coach and the founder of Parent with Care, she volunteered her skills to help train hundreds who work in Loudoun's government, non-profit, and private sectors who support LGBTQ+ individuals and their families.

​

• 2023 - Nick Ciriello: Nick is one of the happiest and most charming people you'll ever meet, perfect for someone put so much into planning into past festivals and their attendees. He started by assisting in the development of the 2022 festival and was an integral part of the small team that made the festival happen. 

​

• 2022 - Nicholas Gothard: Nick was one of the 2021 founders of Equality Loudoun - helping it grow into a powerful regional force for change and equality, being responsible for getting the message out, pioneering advocacy for Policy 8040, and helping to organize the first pride festival in Loudoun.

​

• 2022 - Jenny Parsons: Jenny ran the pride festival since 2022, tackling every task that made the event possible. Without her efforts and outstanding leadership, the first festival would never have happened. Now, thanks to her, it stands to be an annual celebration that creates inclusivity and acceptance in Loudoun County.

​​​

• 2021 - Catie Cote: Catie was one of the 2021 new founders of Equality Loudoun - helping it become an incorporated non-profit that launched nearly a dozen programs within the span of a single year.  She focused on launching the first Loudoun scholarships for LGBTQ+ students and a Banned Books Club that focused on equal representation in addition to being an outstanding teacher and parent.

​

• 2021 - Lindsay Tuck: Lindsay worked behind the scenes in multiple roles with Equality Loudoun since 2019, setting up numerous events,  tabling in grueling conditions, lending her home to the efforts of the organization, managing the inventory and care of Equality Loudoun's equipment, and so much more. In 2022, she served as the Assistant to the Deputy Director for the festival and was instrumental in creating the successful event.