Emcee Steve Dyer
Photography by Matt Kurkowski of xocialite.com
2019 HistoryMaker Award
Celebrating Boston's LGBTQ History
Thursday, October 3, 2019
6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
St. Botolph Club, 199 Commonwealth Ave, Boston
Tickets: $100 - $500
Honoring HistoryMaker Denise Simmons, and Lavender Rhino Award recipients Rev. Mary Martha Thiel and Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow from Hebrew SeniorLife's LGBTQ Seniors Initiative.
The History Project invites you to celebrate Boston’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) history and to join us as we recognize the community members and organizations who make history every day.
The HistoryMaker Award
The HistoryMaker Award has been presented since 2009 to those whose lifetime achievements have had a significant and positive effect on Boston and Massachusetts' LGBTQ communities. Past recipients of this award include Congressman Barney Frank, State Representative Byron Rushing, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project director Mary Bonauto, longtime BAGLY executive director Grace Sterling Stowell, Abe Rybeck from the Theater Offensive, journalist Susan Ryan-Vollmar, Larry Kessler of AIDS Action Committee, and activist and community organizer Orlando Del Valle.
The Lavender Rhino Award
Named after one of the early symbols of the Gay Liberation movement, the Lavender Rhino Award is presented to an emerging activist or organization whose impact on the local LGBTQ community deserves recognition. Previous Lavender Rhino honorees have included the LGBT Elders of Color, activist and organizer Corey Yarbrough, musician and composer Omar Thomas, and attorney Allison Wright.
2019 HOST COMMITTEE
Libby Bouvier and Andrea Devine
Orlando Del Valle and Roland St Jean
Jonathan Chu
Nan Dumas
Andrew Elder and Jose Ricardo McFaline Figueroa
Pat Gozemba and Karen Kahn
Tony Grima
Kevin Hepner
Joan Ilacqua and Sarah Marina
Marvin Kabakoff
Neal Kane and Charles Schoonmaker
Stewart Landers
Russ Lopez and Andrew Sherman
Stephen Z. Nonack and Christopher Saheed
Louise Rice and Tess Ewing
Warren Seamans
Karen Dendy Smith
About the Recipients:
Denise Simmons
In 2008, Denise Simmons became Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the nation's first Black, openly lesbian mayor. From her early work as the Executive Director of the Cambridge Civic Unity Committee, to her leadership as a member of the Cambridge School Committee and City Council, to her terms as Mayor of the City of Cambridge and her continued work to support and understand and advocate for her constituents, Denise Simmons has had an unmatched impact on Greater Boston’s and our nation’s LGBTQ community. Please join us in honoring an advocate and leader in civic engagement and civil rights.
Denise Simmons
In 2008, Denise Simmons became Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the nation's first Black, openly lesbian mayor. From her early work as the Executive Director of the Cambridge Civic Unity Committee, to her leadership as a member of the Cambridge School Committee and City Council, to her terms as Mayor of the City of Cambridge and her continued work to support and understand and advocate for her constituents, Denise Simmons has had an unmatched impact on Greater Boston’s and our nation’s LGBTQ community. Please join us in honoring an advocate and leader in civic engagement and civil rights.
Rev. Mary Martha Thiel & Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow, LGBTQ Seniors Initiative at Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife's LGBTQ Seniors Initiative began in 2015 with workshops at several senior living communities and a HSL Hospice Care team training on caring for LGBTQ seniors. This program seeks to create an environment where LGBTQ seniors feel accepted, supported, and don’t delay care because they fear discrimination. It also helps seniors in our communities feel at ease and open about the LGBTQ children, grandchildren, and friends in their lives. In 2017, HSL trained more than 450 staff to care for LGBTQ patients. A unique chaplaincy education unit - Spiritual Care of LGBTQ Elders – was incorporated into HSL’s Clinical Pastoral Education program. HSL also created an organization-wide employee task force to help HSL become a welcoming and inclusive organization for LGBTQ residents, patients, and family members, as well as become a truly accepting environment for LGBTQ employees.
Rev. Mary Martha Thiel & Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow, LGBTQ Seniors Initiative at Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife's LGBTQ Seniors Initiative began in 2015 with workshops at several senior living communities and a HSL Hospice Care team training on caring for LGBTQ seniors. This program seeks to create an environment where LGBTQ seniors feel accepted, supported, and don’t delay care because they fear discrimination. It also helps seniors in our communities feel at ease and open about the LGBTQ children, grandchildren, and friends in their lives. In 2017, HSL trained more than 450 staff to care for LGBTQ patients. A unique chaplaincy education unit - Spiritual Care of LGBTQ Elders – was incorporated into HSL’s Clinical Pastoral Education program. HSL also created an organization-wide employee task force to help HSL become a welcoming and inclusive organization for LGBTQ residents, patients, and family members, as well as become a truly accepting environment for LGBTQ employees.