ABOVE: Fernando Chonqui, Darius Lightsey, Molly Robison, Clifford Hobbs, Carey Mears, Gabe Alves-Tomko, Stanley Solomons, Nicole Berman, Stephanie Morge, Byron Green and Tiffany Freisberg. Photo by Ryan Williams-Jent.
ST. PETERSBURG | St Pete Pride has welcomed a new executive director and expanded its board as the nonprofit prepares for its landmark 20th anniversary this June.
Traditionally Florida’s largest LGBTQ Pride celebration, St Pete Pride welcomed more than 265,000 people to St. Petersburg in 2019. At least 275,000 people were projected for the organization’s 2020 celebration, which was ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19.
While socially distanced and otherwise scaled-back festivities returned in 2021, they were reimagined to protect attendees amidst the ongoing pandemic. In lieu of its traditional parade and festival, St Pete Pride held four weeks of themed events flanked by other LGBTQ-focused outings organized by local partners.
PrideFest 2021 began with Outdoor Adventure Week, which featured St Pete Pride’s first-ever 5K. Family Week followed to highlight St. Petersburg’s LGBTQ-inclusive, family-friendly culture.
Arts & Music week was held after that – an outing which elevated Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of African American slaves – and Taste of PrideFest closed out the month, featuring fireworks along the waterfront. An estimated 22,000 people attended events across the city.
“Our big takeaway was just how well those events were received, especially considering that we were in a COVID year,” St Pete Pride President Tiffany Freisberg says. “Turnout was incredible. The vibe was incredible. So there are things that we’re going to continue to layer in this year.”
Freisberg helped conceptualize PrideFest after joining St Pete Pride’s board in early 2021. She served as vice president before becoming president and acting executive director last September.
“St Pete Pride is on the verge of its 20th anniversary, and we’re excited to focus our energies on reinvigorating the organization while simultaneously planning an unforgettable 2022 Pride season,” she told Watermark at the time. “Our top priority in the months ahead will be to expand the board of directors to be more reflective of the community, recruit a dynamic executive director and actively enlist a broad spectrum of volunteers.”
That’s exactly what St Pete Pride did under her leadership.
“The very first two things I did were write the board packet to get more board members and write the description for our executive director job,” Freisberg explains. “The search for both started immediately.”
St Pete Pride’s last executive director parted ways with the organization in late 2019. The position’s updated description noted the organization was seeking “a passionate, strategic and collaborative Executive Director to help steward the organization through its 20th year and beyond.”
“As St Pete Pride sets its sights on leading the transformation of St. Petersburg into one of the nation’s premiere LGBTQ+ destinations, the ED will be responsible for implementing organizational structure and maintaining the financial and operational well-being of the organization,” it also read.
Working with the board of directors and key volunteers, the position oversees operations, fundraising, marketing, communications, community partnership and event strategies are effectively being implemented. Applicants were required to have more than five years of progressive leadership and more than two of for-profit budget management.
An “authentic passion for celebrating and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion” was another requirement. St Pete Pride noted that women, people of color, transgender individuals and other underrepresented and marginalized populations were strongly encouraged to apply.
“We interviewed a lot of people,” Freisberg recalls. “We wanted to go beyond our immediate market and put the call out nationwide. For us it was about finding the person who was the right fit for where we are as an organization right now, both in terms of their skillset and the energy that they would bring.”
St Pete Pride hired openly LGBTQ Nicole Berman after the nonprofit’s extensive search, who officially relocated from Washington to St. Petersburg for the position in January. She most recently served as the executive director for a domestic violence and sexual assault services agency, has worked extensively with LGBTQ and other youth and obtained her Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
“For our executive director who’s steering the ship, it was really essential that we find someone who was polished but approachable and who was a member of the queer community or had a personal experience that related to the queer community, so it would be more than just a job,” Freisberg explains. “There had to be a component of personal passion that was infused.
“They also had to have the skillset and the experience to carry off our lofty goals of what Pride will become,” she continues. “We interviewed a lot of really, really talented people, but Nicole suited the vibe that we were going for. I think she’s a perfect fit.”
Berman, who is nonbinary and uses she/they pronouns, says she was drawn to St Pete Pride because of its desire to serve all of Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community before, during and after June.
“Tiffany shared that St Pete Pride wanted to be intentionally more inclusive and accessible and to invest in the St. Pete community year around,” Berman explains. “So it wasn’t just about those 300,000 people you’re working to bring in, but really what we do for the core community throughout the year.
“I love the party, but the idea of being a cultural institution that benefits the community year-round really spoke to me,” she continues. “St Pete Pride isn’t about the board or executive director. It’s not their Pride or my Pride. It’s St. Pete’s Pride.”
The nonprofit’s board, comprised of mostly new members, is actively working to make that the case. Joining Freisberg on its executive committee are Treasurer Stanley Solomons, who has served in various capacities since 2008 and Secretary Molly Robison, who officially joined in 2020.
“I love the idea of honoring our past while embracing and shaping the future!” Robison says of helping to guide Pride into its 20th year. “The 20th anniversary feels like a great time to reflect on the changes the past 20 has brought to our community, to celebrate together our present joys and to look towards what comes next.”
Fernando Chonqui, Carey Mears, Gabe Alves-Tomko, Clifford Hobbs, Darius Lightsey, Stephanie Morge and Byron Green round out the board, having each joined this or last year to steer St Pete Pride into its 20th anniversary.
Chonqui, who previously worked with St Pete Pride as a development director, says he’s looking forward to a 20th year that presents “a Pride where families, people of color, my Lantinx family and everyone else feels welcomed, seen, represented and supported.”
Mears says the board has “seemingly endless reserves of ideas, enthusiasm and work ethic” to make that happen. She adds that “We’re eager to celebrate the significance of a 20-year milestone and we’re equally determined to make sure that our 20th year adequately responds to the needs of our community after what has been and continues to be a challenging and pivotal time in the world.”
Alves-Tomko agrees. He notes that their goal is to “build bridges with our community by showing our country that despite our difference in opinions, we can come together in love and celebrate our Pride.”
Lightsey, who serves as the HIV/AIDS program manager for the Florida Dept. of Health in Pinellas, joined specifically to advocate for inclusion and diversity within the LGBTQ community. He believes every member should be reflected in every Pride event.
“I am excited about reaching new communities of people and building new partnerships with Pride,” he says.
Hobbs feels the same. “As a 6 foot 1, gay, Black man who is out and proud living in St. Petersburg, I’m always advocating for the community,” he notes. “I always find myself in spaces where I’m the only one, so I’m always teaching people about what it’s like to be a gay, Black man or a gay man in general.
“Increasing diversity is having a multitude of different types of people sit on the board,” he continues. “It’s also within the programming of each event. This year we’re listening to everyone.”
Solomons, who notes he’s seen several iterations over the years, says that “this is the most enthusiastic group of people on the board that I’ve seen in quite a while.” He adds that he’s excited to work with all of them, including Berman.
“She comes with a lot of experience,” he explains. “She’s a go-getter and a strong, smart person who just dove right in. None of us are doing this for a party, although we do enjoy a party. The only thing you should get out of Pride for yourself is the joy of seeing it happen, and we’re doing it for the right reasons.”
Berman thinks so as well. “I’ve worked with several different boards. I’ve worked with councils,” she says. “These folks are dedicated, they’re passionate. We have a shared goal and are willing to do the work, which is different than some of the other experiences I’ve had with boards. I don’t want to let the community down and neither do they – it’s our goal to make this the biggest St Pete Pride that we’ve had yet.”
“The sincerity and the passion of the people who we’ve assembled is indisputable,” Freisberg adds. “If you talk to any one of them, there is just this undeniable energy and sense of responsibility to be entrusted in this role while understanding it doesn’t belong to us.”
Events for St Pete Pride’s 20-year anniversary will officially begin May 22 with the Miss St Pete Pride Pageant hosted by St Pete Pride staple Kori Stevens at Coastal Creative. A 20th anniversary kick-off party will follow June 1 at Sirata Beach Resort.
A month’s worth of activities will begin after that. Queer-E-Okee at the Palladium will be June 11, Family Day June 18 and a celebration of Juneteenth June 19. A concert will then be held June 24 on the eve of the return of the St Pete Pride Parade in Downtown St. Petersburg.
St Pete Pride will subsequently present “Pride in Grand Central” in its birthplace with the Grand Central District on June 26. A wrap-up party will follow on June 30, with exciting announcements about entertainment and more expected soon. Read available details below:
“Pride belongs to St. Pete,” Freisberg reiterates. “We’re just really, really lucky that right now, this year in 2022, we’re entrusted with helping make sure that the 20th anniversary is awesome and there’s a Pride 20 years from now, too.”
For more information about the 20th St Pete Pride and forthcoming events, visit StPetePride.com.
