Happening Saturday, May 25th from 12–3pm at Mi Centro: Let’s Talk About Puerto Rico: LGBTQIA+ Community & History! To RSVP for this event, please visit the link in our bio! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lets-talk-about-puerto-rico-lgbtqia-community-history-tickets-61720364271
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Puerto Ricans in Action, the ONE Archives Foundation, and Latino Equality Alliance proudly present this event, which features live music, food, and a variety of speakers that will talk about Puerto Rican LGBTQIA+ community and history! Let's Talk About Puerto Rico began in September 2018 as a traveling lecture series that covers Puerto Rican art, music, history and current affairs and an opportunity to build community with Puerto Ricans in the greater Los Angeles area. Enjoy live music from @damnzum, food from @triplethreattrk, complimentary Puerto Rican desserts and coffee from @sweedithbakes, and a host of community resources! To learn more about our distinguished speakers, please visit the link in our bio!
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Let’s Talk About Puerto Rico: LGBTQIA+ Community & History is organized by Puerto Ricans in Action, the ONE Archives Foundation, and Latino Equality Alliance.

About the Speakers

Alberto J. Valentin Camacho, Esq. is the Executive Director of the Governor of Puerto Rico’s Advisory Council on LGBTT Affairs and the Deputy Director for the Legislative Advisors to the Governor of Puerto Rico. Alberto has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico, with a concentration in International Policy and Processes from the European Union of the Autonomous University of Madrid. He has a Juris Doctor from the Law School of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and was admitted for the legal practice in Puerto Rico in 2015. Recently Alberto is finishing his LLM (Master in Law) in Environmental Law and Climate Change, from the Law School of the University of Vermont.

Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro is an award-winning Afro lesbian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and feminist activist from Puerto Rico; she addresses both racial and gender issues, and sexual identity in her combative, non-conformist, and creative works. She offers lectures about Afro-atheism, decolonial feminism, LGBTTQ issues and how to be an atheist and a black woman in today’s society. She is also the Director of the Department of Afro-Puerto Rican Studies, a performative project of Creative Writing based in San Juan and has founded the Chair of Ancestral Black Women to respond to the invitation promulgated by UNESCO to celebrate the International Decade of Afro- Descendants 2015−2024. Her book Las Negras, winner of the PEN Club Puerto Rico National Short Story Award in 2013, explores the limits of female characters during the slavery period that challenged hierarchies of power. She also won the Prize of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture in 2015 and 2012, and the National Prize of the Institute of Puerto Rican Literature in 2008. She has been translated into German, French, Italian, English, Portuguese and Hungarian.

Dr. Wilfred W. Labiosa is a co-founder & Executive Director of the nonprofit Waves Ahead, which is dedicated to working with marginalized and vulnerable sectors of Puerto Rican society—LGBTQ folks, seniors, and people experiencing homelessness—reestablish and strengthen their communities. He received his Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Northeastern University, a master’s certificate in non-profit management from Suffolk University, and completed his internship in the Department of Psychiatry of Children’s Hospital, Boston. He has held numerous executive positions in nonprofit organizations and has been working in the public health field for over 25 years with marginalized communities focusing in Latinos, HIV/AIDS prevention and interventions, mental health, LGBTTQ community, and those in recovery from substance abuse or alcohol.

Samy Nemir Olivares is the Public Information Officer for Lambda Legal in New York City. An award-winning communications professional experienced in social media, news production, documentary, PR, and politics. Samy’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Metro, NY1, and others. In 2018, he founded advocacy group Queeramisu - dedicated to leadership development and political action of LGBTQ people of color. Samy worked for the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign producing social media content for the Latino community. He is also the producer of the documentary “Stonewall With a T” premiering June 2019 about transgender activism history in NYC. Samy holds Bachelor’s degrees in Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master's degree in International Affairs in Human Rights from The New School in NYC.

Erik Adamian and Nick Bihr are team members of the Education department at the ONE Archives Foundation, the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ organization in the United States. They have presented at workshops and conferences on the importance of LGBTQ history and culture in K–12 education. Erik and Nick work on a variety of education initiatives at the ONE Archives Foundation.

Juliana Joel is an actress and activist based in Los Angeles. Having been born into a Puerto Rican, Catholic and military family Juliana never thought living out and proud in her truth as a Trans woman would ever be possible. This was greatly due to one reason, she never saw herself represented positively in her immediate community but especially in media. As Juliana continued acting, and while undergoing her transition which she started in 2015, she noticed the great lack in positive representation of trans actors in the TV and film industry. This fueled her desire to become the representation she wished to have growing up as well as to be an inspiration for people like herself to use their voice and their art to drive change within the industry as well as their communities. Juliana has worked with various organizations as well as spoken at events and on panels such as; Models of Pride (the worlds largest conference for LGBT youth and allies), the Los Angeles LGBT Center, GLAAD, LA Pride, JQ, Paramount Studios, TransCanWork, the annual Trans Equality Brunch at the West Hollywood Council and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. She has also been featured in Logo Network's NewNowNext, Gay Star News, Gay Times Magazine, and The Seattle Lesbian as a part of "The Fantasy" project featuring 12 Prominent Multicultural Women of Trans Experience.