Our History
Christopher Street West (CSW), is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that organized the world’s first permitted gay parade on June 28, 1970 to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York City the year prior. Over 50 years later, we have built a rich history as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community across Greater Los Angeles, and beyond.
Our Mission
While we’re best known for producing the LA Pride Parade & Festival – the oldest Pride celebration in Southern California – we also produce free community programs such as donation and volunteerism events called, “Pride Makes a Difference,” and our “Salon Series” of year-round panel discussions and conversations covering issues that impact or interest the LGBTQ+ community.
CSW also organizes, sponsors or supports our community partners’ events in and around Los Angeles, including The Getty Center, The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, the L.A. Zoo, and other venerable and beloved LA organizations. Our mission is to work with our nonprofit, philanthropic, and neighborhood friends to empower and elevate the entire LGBTQ+ community of LA, the greatest city in the world.
Our mission is to create safe and inclusive spaces of self-expression, celebration, and diversity/equity/inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community of Greater Los Angeles.
Who We Are
CSW is run by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
Each member brings their unique background and experience to everything we do.
Lawrence Carroll
Board President
Lawrence CarrollBoard President
Lawrence Carroll, the author of the book, My Dear Queen, is a media personality and publicist. In the last decade and a half, Lawrence has dedicated his time to youth mentoring programs in organizations including Free Arts, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and LifeWorks Youth Development & Mentoring Program at the LA LGBT Center. Lawrence is the first recipient of Free Arts’ Youth Mentor of the Year Award, and was featured in the Center’s Vanguard Magazine, "It Takes Two” series as a highlighted role model. In 2017, he was featured as a main cast member on E! Entertainment’s reality show “What Happens at The Abbey” and “9 Months with Courteney Cox” on Facebook Watch, Season 1, in 2018.
Kareem Cervantes
Board Vice President
Kareem CervantesBoard Vice President
Kareem's history as a community organizer for theatre organizations, and his current position in marketing helps him create experiences for people to enjoy and connect, and to help promote those experiences. His education in design and urban planning & development has also been useful when planning and organizing community based events. As a CSW board member, Kareem seeks to build stronger roots in the community, and help shape them. "I want to highlight and champion the diversity of our community and look to the future while simultaneously celebrating and remembering our history."
Brandon Jong
Board Member, Executive Committee
Brandon JongBoard Member, Executive Committee
Board Member, Executive Committee
Nicholas Romano
Board Member, Executive Committee
Nicholas RomanoBoard Member, Executive Committee
Board Member, Executive Committee
Mistress Cyan St. James
Board Member, Executive Committee
Mistress Cyan St. JamesBoard Member, Executive Committee
Mistress Cyan has been a supporter of LA Pride since 2007 when she was named as an Honoree and recipient of The Connie Norman Award. She has been named Woman of The Year three times and Fundraiser of The Year twice, as well as Mentor of The Year. The LA Weekly named her “The Most Respected Dominatrix in Los Angeles”, and she has been a guest speaker at Stanford University, UCLA, Occidental College and California State Universities Los Angeles, Long Beach and Northridge. She is currently the President/CEO of Sanctuary Studios, Inc., and Executive Producer of DomCon Los Angeles and New Orleans.
Charles Beall
Board Member
Charles BeallBoard Member
Charles Beall is a political fundraiser and consultant based in the Inland Empire. For over a decade, he has worked with AAPI, LGBTQ+ and progressive communities across Southern California to raise funds for both incumbent elected officials and challenger candidates. A native of the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Charles grew up surrounded by a rich history of abolitionism and suffragism that inspired him to work in politics and to advocate for the equality and dignity of all persons. He believes that building coalitions with communities is the most important step in achieving progress and creating a better world for future generations.
Charles holds an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA and enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors of his adopted home of Southern California with his two dogs, Marty and Mandy.
Charles holds an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA and enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors of his adopted home of Southern California with his two dogs, Marty and Mandy.
Wendy Celaya
Board Member
Wendy CelayaBoard Member
Wendy is a highly passionate community advocate and business professional with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit work at the national and international level. For over eight years, she has worked at the Los Angeles Mission located in the heart of Skid Row in downtown, dedicated to supporting
homeless men, women and children with basic needs and skills necessary to stabilize their lives, secure income and find permanent housing.
homeless men, women and children with basic needs and skills necessary to stabilize their lives, secure income and find permanent housing.
Gerald Garth
Board Member
Gerald GarthBoard Member
With almost 20 years' experience managing community and stakeholder engagement in the nonprofit sector, Gerald is the Executive Director of AMAAD. Gerald holds an MBA, and is also a minister and the Director of New Partnership and Community Engagement for Vision Church of Los Angeles, a board member of Gay Sons & Mothers.
Dara Nai
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Dara NaiOPERATIONS MANAGER
Dara Nai joined CSW in 2020, bringing a background in television, digital journalism, and policy research. As a senior writer for the lesbian pop culture website AfterEllen.com during its early heyday, she was known for her recaps of dozens of TV shows, irreverent celebrity interviews, and co-starring in the web series, "We're Getting Nowhere," which she also co-created. On "Dara and Karman's Hit List" for LOGO TV, she deconstructed the lesbian experience while sitting behind a plastic drum set.
She has also worked on productions for live TV specials, concerts, and awards shows, and inexplicably, as a researcher and graphics designer for a sea level rise vulnerability assessment report for a major coastal California city.
Dara serves on the board of directors of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, the official and only nonprofit of the historic The Stonewall Inn in New York City.
She has also worked on productions for live TV specials, concerts, and awards shows, and inexplicably, as a researcher and graphics designer for a sea level rise vulnerability assessment report for a major coastal California city.
Dara serves on the board of directors of The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, the official and only nonprofit of the historic The Stonewall Inn in New York City.
Open Positions
We have no job openings at this time.
CSW Financials
We are proud to be ranked Platinum for Transparency on Candid (formerly GuideStar), the quintessential database of philanthropy and nonprofits.
CSW / LA Pride is a proud member of these networks of Pride organizations:
Board Emeritus
Directors Emeritus/Emerita are honorary distinctions that recognize the exemplary contributions of former board members who demonstrated the highest levels of service and dedication to Christopher Street West Association. These individuals have successfully served a minimum of three full terms on the CSW Board of Directors, and are part of LA Pride history.
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Sharon Donning
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James Fields
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Hope Hindrichs
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Danny Levy
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Jerry Lovell
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Raymond Rector
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Raul Rios
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Pat Rocco
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Rodney Scott
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N. Lee Waddell
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Irene Williams
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Michael Yates
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