June is Pride Month and ADL’s Mountain States Region is proud to participate with events and resources.

On June 11, ADL’s NextGen 360 young professionals group sponsored “Lifting Up Transgender Voices,” a program featuring a panel discussion that enabled participants to learn about the transgender community, the unique challenges the community faces and how to be a stronger ally for the community. Nearly 50 people attended the program, hosted at Tracks Denver. The panel was moderated by ADL Board Member and NextGen 360 Committee Chair Jordan Alvillar. Panelists included Jordan Blisk (veteran and attorney at Altus Law Group), Emma Shinn (veteran, attorney at Shinn Law Office and founder of the Colorado Name Change Project), Cass Daniels (Transgender Center of the Rockies), Representative Brianna Titone (CO HD 27) and Sable Schultz (The Center on Colfax).

Reflecting on the program, Alvillar said, “As we’ve seen time and time again, the trans community has experienced a devastating amount of discrimination and violence because of their identities. The courage, graciousness and willingness of these individuals to share some of their personal stories and how we as a greater community can bring visibility to the unique challenges the trans community faces is INCREDIBLE.”

The ADL Mountain States Region is also a proud co-sponsor of Jewish Community Pride. Events included Pride Shabbat on June 14 at the Hebrew Educational Alliance, and the Pride Parade on June 16, where ADL joined with over 250 other organizations in demonstrating support for the LGBTQ community by marching from Cheeseman Park to Civic Center. ADL marchers carried signs proclaiming ADL messages of “Civil Rights for All” and “Respect Our Differences.”

Finally, ADL has a host of free resources for families, educators and community members. A landing page for LGBTQ Pride Month on ADL’s website includes dozens of lesson plans, discussion guides, reading guides for several books on related topics and more.