Name: Amy St. George
Home: Virginia Beach
Qualifications:
- Relay for Life volunteer 1996-2006
- Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater (CUFOT) volunteer 1994-2001
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters volunteer 2006-2007
- United Ilocano Association of Tidewater volunteer 2009-2012
- Regular participant of direct actions/protests in the Hampton Roads area (for causes such as resisting the current administration, immigrants’/women’s rights, removing Confederate monuments, etc.)
Why I want to serve on Hampton Roads Pride Board:
Hampton Roads Pride has cited its mission as being “inclusion, dignity, and equality for all,” and pats itself on the back for diversity, yet the leadership of HR Pride is largely white, cisgender, and of a certain age.
If we say we want to advocate for and welcome all, then we need to show it by having the leadership reflect the community they serve. If we want our membership and volunteer base to be more diverse and far-reaching, then we need to earn the trust of un-/underrepresented communities by putting people from their communities into leadership positions, allowing them to amplify the voices of the unheard and effect change.
I want to see Pride have more representation from people of color, from trans people, from disabled people, from young people, and I want to see Pride make a difference in those people’s lives — not just throw a big party every year.
Right now, Pride doesn’t reflect the vibrant diversity I know Hampton Roads embodies, and I would like to see that change, and be a part of it.
