2026 Grand Marshals

Marcel Pardo Ariza is a proud trans migrant from Colombia and a visionary force in the Bay Area’s cultural landscape. As an artist and activist, they transform institutions into spaces of radical visibility and power for queer and trans people of color. Marcel curated Juanita MORE!’s retrospective at the San Francisco Arts Commission and produced a groundbreaking trans history project featuring 33 trans and intersex Bay Area leaders, now in the permanent collection of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Through the HIRE TRANS FOLKS campaign and their leadership with El/La Para TransLatinas, Marcel uplifts trans immigrants, advocating fiercely for safety, employment, and dignity.

For more than four decades, John Cunningham has dedicated his life to strengthening and uplifting the LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco and nationwide. He emerged as a leader during the AIDS crisis, guiding the Castro through loss and uncertainty, and later chaired the New Hampshire AIDS Foundation. Returning to San Francisco, he served key community organizations and, after surviving AIDS-related disability, recommitted his life to service. Since 2009 as CEO of the National AIDS Memorial, John has preserved memory, challenged stigma, and inspired action. A member of the recovery community, he has mentored countless men toward sobriety, embodying resilience daily.

Ms. Bob Davis, founder and director of the Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive—the only independent physical transgender archive in the United States—has preserved and researched trans history for over 50 years. Her public archive supports scholars and students nationwide. She publishes on trans history and speaks to LGBTQ and non-LGBT audiences at colleges, universities, museums, churches, conferences, and San Quentin’s first Pride Day. She has curated exhibits at the GLBT History Museum, Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum, Vacaville Museum, Solano Pride Center, and TGIJP’s Black Trans Cultural Center. She was the first transgender tenured professor at San Francisco City College and led policy reforms on gender identity.

Sthefany Galante (LA BOMBA LATINA) is a binational TransActivist. 25 years ago, she fled transphobia in her native Mexico to North Carolina where she founded Entre Nosotras, the area’s first Trans-led group. 15 years later, she migrated for the second time to San Francisco where El/La Para TransLatinas helped her pursue her name/gender marker change, asylum status, residency, and citizenship. Inspired to give back, she joined the staff and serves as El/La’s Program & Outreach Manager. A fierce activist and trained caregiver, Sthefany is also known by her stage name "La Unica e Internacional Bomba Latina” as a powerful cultural ambassador.

DJ Lamont has played a multitude of community events like SF Pride, Sunday Streets, Mission Community Market, and SF Juneteenth. He is one of our community's best loved and busiest spinners. He shares his love of spinning via Fingersnaps Media Arts, which is both an educational and artistic space.

Gwen Park has been organizing and documenting Trans March for 20 years, ever since they built the website in 2005. She has worked with many other community organizations over the years, both as an organizer and as a video professional. Orgs include QCC, BAAITS, Fresh Meat Productions and SF Community Health Center, among others. When they're not behind a camera or in front of a screen, she probably has her nose in a book and their dog at their hip. You can find Gwen online at gwenpark.com.

Rabbi Martin Rawlings-Fein is a Bay Area rabbi, educator, and community leader has served as a Rabbinic Intern with the San Francisco Night Ministry, and also co-created the first San Francisco Trans Marches, co-founded SF*EB BiCon, and founded the BiCONIC Film Festival.

Imani Rupert-Gordon is the President of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR), a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education.

Chris is a leader in the LGBTQ+ choral movement who believes music builds connection, visibility, and social change. As CEO of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, he has shaped programming that amplifies queer voices and strengthens belonging nationwide. He led the Lavender Pen Tour through the South, bringing messages of resilience and hope to communities where representation matters deeply, inspiring the documentary Gay Chorus Deep South. He also spearheaded the creation of the Chan National Queer Arts Center, expanding a national platform for queer artistry and storytelling.

Chaney Turner is a dedicated community organizer and has been a monumental advocate and leader in the LGBTQ+ community advancing racial, economic, and cannabis equity. As Director of Voter Engagement with Oakland Rising & a board member of the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, Chaney mobilizes underrepresented communities to build political power and drive meaningful change. A longtime event coordinator, Chaney has created vibrant, affirming spaces that celebrate identity and collective resilience in Oakland & San Francisco.

Marking its 40th Anniversary, this milestone honors four decades of community action in the face of HIV/AIDS. The Walk has brought together generations of activists, families, advocates, and partners united by one goal: to end the epidemic and care for those impacted by it. AIDS Walk San Francisco has inspired countless thousands of Bay Area residents to walk, donate, and volunteer in the fight against HIV/AIDS, raising more than $100 million for organizations across seven Bay Area counties.

Providing leadership and support for the well-being and longevity of LGBTQ+ communities in Santa Clara County through coordinated, integrated approaches. They plan for the needs of a dynamic community, provide quality services, and promote a healthy, safe, and prosperous community for all. Committed to creating strong bridges that affirm and embrace the whole person by creating a social climate with institutional backing that offers multiple pathways for LGBTQ+ individuals and communities to thrive here and everywhere.

Trans: Thrive is more than a drop in center for the Trans community; it's services for US, by US. As part of SF Community Health Center since 2007, Trans: Thrive aims to create safe spaces, events, and services for the entire trans/GNC community. From case management and medical services (including Primary Care, HRT and Needle Exchange), to mental health and substance use support, to social groups and special events, to a drop in center (with snacks and refreshments, our She Boutique and Folk & Swagger clothing closets, and a computer lab), we have it all! Together, we can get to health, wellness, and equality. Everyone is respected and elevated in our space!