From staff reports
Mayor Sylvester Turner’s LGBTQ Advisory Board has a new co-chair.
Turner has tapped Harrison Guy, who previously served as communications chair for the one-year-old Advisory Board, to replace Lou Weaver, who stepped down to focus on statewide LGBTQ advocacy work. Weaver serves as transgender programs coordinator for Equality Texas.
Turner launched the LGBTQ Advisory Board in June 2016 with 49 members to honor the 49 people murdered at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. The other co-chair is Melanie Pang.
“We want to thank Lou and Melanie for their tireless work, leading the board through its first year and developing a structure for this large and diverse group while connecting communities across Houston,” Turner said in a news release. “As Lou hones in on his statewide advocacy work, we are excited to welcome Harrison to a new leadership role.”
Guy, who began serving as co-chair in late July, is “one of Houston’s beloved artists/activists with a passion for community organizing,” the release states.
“He began his community work in Houston in 2005 through the Donald R Watkins Foundation which focused on eliminating HIV/AIDS in the black gay community. … Guy served on Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Quality of Life Transition Committee as well as the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Advisory Board. He is a member of The Houston GLBT Political Caucus and the NAACP (young adult committee) where he is serving as its first LGBTQ community coordinaotor. He is the southern regional director and previously national vice president of Delta Phi Upsilon Fraternity, Inc., the first Greek lettered fraternity for gay men of color.
“In his spare time, Guy can be found in the dance studio choreographing,” according to the release. “He is the founder and artistic director of Urban Souls Dance Company, an award -winning modern/contemporary dance company that has represented Houston internationally. Harrison recently married his longtime partner of 10 years.”
In its first year, the Advisory Board “has centered and uplifted vulnerable voices as well as amplified local community voices against anti-transgender/anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant State proposed legislation,” the release states. “The focus of the board in the upcoming year will be developing intersectional policy recommendations at a city level and finding ways to connect and educate Houstonians on ways to make the city more LGBTQIA inclusive.”
To learn more, visit LGBTQHouston.com.
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