Nikki López, a former youth coordinator with GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization, will take the reins as the group’s executive director starting the first week of September.
“GALAEI really is a special place,” López told PGN. “It has a type of magic to it. I always knew I wanted to return.”
She worked at the organization from 2011-2014. López left to pursue a master of fine arts degree at Rutgers University.
“It’s an organization that’s been in existence over 20 years,” she added. “It’s a resilient place. I think it demonstrates that the LGBT Latinx community of Philadelphia is resilient as well.”
In a statement, she added a rousing call to continue the social progress: “¡Pa’lante Sigue, Sigue Pa’lante!”
Rafael Alvarez Febo, president of GALAEI’s board, told PGN that López helped the organization develop its strategic plan and revamp its mission in 2013 and 2014.
“Nikki was integral in us forming our mission around social justice,” Febo said. “She helped us figure out what is our intersection as Latinx people with being LGBT and how do we connect that to our neighborhoods. She’s someone that’s really respected in the community.”
López, who has a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College, previously served on the LGBTQ School Advisory Board through the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs. She also worked as the operations manager at FIERCE NYC, an organization that builds the leadership and power of LGBTQ youth of color in New York City.
López replaces Elicia Gonzales, who left GALAEI in February after six years at the helm. The board called it a mutual decision, though Gonzales has declined to comment publicly. She has focused on sex positive activism since leaving GALAEI.
López noted that GALAEI is at a point of transition. It has “fully branded” itself as a social justice organization.
“I really see GALAEI transforming into a full community center,” she said. “I want GALAEI to be at the forefront of a lot of the work mobilizing action in the LGBT and Latinx communities.”
López is not the only “homecoming hire” for GALAEI this year. Madelyn Aamina Morrison started working as a co-coordinator of the Trans-Health Information Project at the end of June. She previously spent a decade with the project before stepping down for personal reasons in 2013.
“The mission of the organization has been really attractive to employees,” Febo said. “There’s a lot of GALAEI alum now and a lot of good sentiments about the work GALAEI is doing.”
In the coming months, Febo said the organization expects to hire two more people for couple’s therapy involving HIV management and one person to handle outreach for services related to pre-exposure prophylaxis, called PrEP, a daily pill regimen that’s shown to be effective at preventing HIV.
“We have a lot of stuff in the pipeline,” Febo said. “We’re in an excellent position now. The board has done a really thorough job of looking at our budget and figuring out how to expand our staff capacity.”