Kei Williams, who was recently elevated to full executive director of the statewide LGBTQ organization New Pride Agenda, did not anticipate stepping into a leadership role.
“As a leader, I think that’s a new hat for me,” Williams said in a recent interview with Gay City News. “Interestingly enough, I never really saw myself as an executive director, so I’m taking this on as a challenge.”
Williams, who grew up in New York’s Mohawk Valley region, went to college in Buffalo, and has roots in Brooklyn, is confronting that challenge head-on after rising to lead the organization following a stint as interim executive director. Their promotion follows last year’s departure of New Pride Agenda’s previous executive director, Elisa Crespo, who left the organization to lead the Stonewall Community Foundation.
Williams’ road to the top of the organization started in 2022 when they were first hired by New Pride Agenda as a program manager. They then became the director of programs and served as a public health ambassador. Prior to joining New Pride Agenda, Williams laid the groundwork for their future, gaining a background in community organizing through their work in the Black Lives Matter movement and as a national organizer with the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, among other roles.
“We could not be more thrilled to officially remove the ‘interim’ tag from Kei’s title and welcome them as the new, full-time executive eirector of the New Pride Agenda,” Kyle Ishmael and Victor Sanchez, co-chairs of New Pride Agenda’s board of directors, said in a written statement. “Kei has already proven to be a transformative leader during their time as interim. They are not only a passionate advocate — but also a proven builder, having designed and led initiatives that empower LGBTQIA+ communities from the ground up. Their leadership embodies the values NPA was founded on, and their appointment reflects our continued commitment to Black trans leadership and to the kind of continuity and community-rooted power this moment demands. Kei’s strategic vision, commitment to equity, and deep roots in community organizing make them the right person to lead NPA into its next chapter.”
Williams is hoping to leverage that experience to help maximize the potential of the state’s LGBTQ community. As of the time of this interview, the state budget had yet to be finalized, but New Pride Agenda and several other organizations had rallied in Albany earlier this year to call for an expansion of the so-called Lorena Borjas Transgender Equity Fund, which is an initiative to provide financial support to organizations serving transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals. The fund, named after a beloved trans leader who died in 2020, first emerged in 2022 after state leaders were inspired by a similar fund that was already established in California. Advocates were hoping to double the fund from $4 million to $8 million in the next budget.
New Pride Agenda has a strong presence in New York City, punctuated by its drop-in center at 210 West 29th St., which formally opened in January of last year. Much of the fight for LGBTQ political power in New York State is in the city, which is home to every out state lawmaker except Harry Bronson of Rochester.
But New Pride Agenda has made inroads in other parts of the state, including with the recent emergence of its western New York chapter, and Williams said that has allowed the organization to connect with different corners of the state at a time when the LGBTQ community outside of New York City has seen grim headlines in recent months: There was a brutal murder of a trans individual, Sam Nordquist, in Hopewell; a judge in Syracuse refused to perform a same-sex wedding ceremony; and a transgender student in Rochester died by suicide in April — just months after a trans woman was killed in a hit-and-run in that same city.
Notably, Williams is informed by their lived experience as a transgender individual who has resided in multiple regions of New York State, giving them a broader vantage point in a New York City-centric state where nearly half of the residents live in the five boroughs.
“This organization has its ears on the ground and we know exactly what’s happening,” Williams said. “We’re paying much more attention to these kinds of smaller incidents. Again, [it’s about] leading and saying that we can’t have a safe state if we’re not being aware of what is happening across the entire state.”
To that point, Williams observed that different regions of the state outside of New York City are quickly becoming destinations for LGBTQ people who are fleeing other states for a more inclusive environment. In 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation making the state a safe haven for transgender youth and doctors facing persecution in other states.
“Nobody who is fleeing from other states can really actually afford to move to New York City — let’s just be honest about that,” Williams said. “And so what we’re hearing from folks in Rochester and Buffalo, and even in the Syracuse region, is that there’s an increase in people coming from other states. And when they get there, they’re not just seeking gender-affirming care services; they want to know what schools they can place their kids in that are safe from bullying. They want to know what doctor they can see, what therapist they can send their families to. Where do they buy a home?”
The evisceration of transgender rights in statehouses across the nation during President Joe Biden’s term, coupled with President Donald Trump’s return to the White House on a platform of blatant transphobia, has forced LGBTQ organizations into a defensive position. Some are facing serious threats to funding, while others have shelved political priorities to focus on urgent priorities.
In the midst of it all, everyday people who rely on the services provided by organizations are caught in the middle — and Williams wants New Pride Agenda to reassure the public that the organizations will be there to serve them.
“I want TGNC people to know that right now is a difficult moment, but New York will always meet the moment and be a safe haven state,” Williams said. “New Pride Agenda will continue to advocate and fight for LGBTQ New Yorkers, for families, and for anybody that stands with us in solidarity.”
