2015 Equality Gala Awards
2015 Bob Page Equality Champion Award
The Bob Page Equality Champion Award - named for a visionary leader in North Carolina's LGBT movement - honors a legacy of advocacy for LGBT North Carolinians.
Scott Bishop
Scott, a resident of Charlotte, is the long-time head of MeckPAC and on the Board of Governors of the Human Rights Campaign. He helped spearhead the Charlotte non-discrimination ordinance campaign last year and was instrumental in our victories in the 2015 municipal primary elections.
2015 Jamie Kirk Hahn Ally Award
The Jamie Kirk Hahn Ally Award is a lasting tribute to a hero of Equality taken too soon. This acknowledgement of Jamie's extraordinary pro-equality work, and named in her honor, is awarded to an North Carolina LGBT ally for the ages.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan
Nancy has been the mayor of Greensboro since 2013. She has been a leading decision maker in our work to pass local ordinances to protect LGBT North Carolinians. In 2014 Greensboro became the sixth city in North Carolina to pass vital protections for its gay and transgender employees, and the first to add protections in housing.
2015 Legislative Leadership Award
The annual Equality NC Foundation Legislative Leadership Award recognizes exemplary pro-equality leadership in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Senator Mike Woodard
An original member of our Electeds for Equality program, Mike has been a long-time friend of Equality NC. Representing Durham, Person, and Caswell Counties, he attended our 2015 AdvaNCe Equality Conference and famously became the first legislator to introduce himself with his preferred gender pronouns. Mike was a vocal opponent of discriminatory Senate Bill 2 and helped us defeat Senate Bill 279.
2015 Organization of the Year Award
This prestigious award recognizes an extraordinary North Carolina organization doing groundbreaking work for LGBT citizens.
Southerners on New Ground (SONG)
SONG is a group focused on achieving full justice across the South and across lines of class, age, race, ability, gender, immigration status, and sexuality. SONG has led intersectional work across the South for years and is the model for work in racial justice and LGBT justice for us all.