Tyrell Brown — who is currently executive director of Galaei and leads up efforts to organize the city’s biggest LGBTQ+ festivals with Philly Pride 365 — will be Philadelphia’s new executive director of the city’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs.
“I don’t walk in this office alone,” Brown said at a March 21 press conference where their appointment was announced. “I walk in this office on the shoulders of and with the guidance and support of so many LGBTQIA+ leaders that have stewarded our movements throughout history — from Jose Demarco to Mark Segal to David Acosta, to so many that have graced these hallways — Gloria Casarez, AJ Hikes, you name it.”
“I’m ready to do this work with our community, for our community, to make our community safer and more prosperous and more equitable,” they continued. “And I can’t say enough about how proud I am to be here and how humbled I am by this moment.”
Before Brown’s appointment, the Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs lacked an executive director following Celina Morrison-McLean’s departure in November. Morrison-McLean — who was appointed by Mayor Jim Kenney and started working just eight days before COVID hit Philadelphia — filled a vacancy created by former Executive Director AJ Hikes, which left the city without an LGBTQ+ focused leader at City Hall for seven months.
The Executive Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs was tasked with advising Philadelphia’s leaders on policies related to the needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ people, educating the city’s workforce about how to best serve the queer community, and connecting LGBTQ+ people with resources and city services.
“We all know that the environment we currently are living in now has been challenging and uncertain,” said Mayor Cherelle Parker when announcing Brown’s appointment.
“As much as I have committed to the people of Philadelphia that I will remain laser-focused on the agenda that they elected me to deliver again — as we go back to a safer, cleaner and greener city with access to economic opportunity for all,” she continued. “I believe it is also equally important to safeguard the rights of every Philadelphian — regardless of their race, class, socioeconomic status, zip code, religion, sexual orientation or identity. And our Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs — it is central to that work.”
Brown — who had a nontraditional path toward leadership with what they described as “dabbling in organizing work,” including for the Bernie Sanders campaign and with Reclaim Philadelphia — also co-developed the children’s programming for the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference and previously worked as a preschool teacher and camp director.
They were named executive director of Galaei — an organization that intentionally serves LGBTQ+ people of color — in 2023 after serving as its deputy director. Brown credited the organization as having a role in saving their own life.
“We say it over and over again — we cite the statistics that the queer community, particularly Black and Brown queer and trans people, are one of the poorest demographics in the country, if not the poorest,” Brown told PGN, underlining the importance of empowering Black and Brown leaders to provide tangible resources — like cash, food and transportation — to people living in marginalization.
In addition to that role, Brown also served as the program director for Philly Pride 365 — where they helped re-launch a celebration for National Coming Out Day — creating Philadelphia’s OURFest, a weekend of events that’s centered not only on entertainment and visibility but also on linking people with direct resources, improving health outcomes, and being a tangible space to seek and find support as a community. Brown also created a new festival space — Legacy Lane — to remind LGBTQ+ people of the people who came before them, honoring the history and memorializing their lives.
Under Brown’s leadership, both of the city’s LGBTQ+ centered festivals — Pride and OURFest — have grown. The events have doubled in attendance over the last two years and have significant economic bolsters for not only the queer community but the city as a whole.
Brown has been honored by PGN at various points throughout the last few years — with accolades including a spot as one of PGN’s people of the year in 2023 and one of the 48 Most Influential LGBTQ+ Leaders in 2024. Councilmember Rue Landau also recognized Brown with an award for nonprofit leadership at her inaugural LGBTQ+ Hall of Fame.
“Part of being an organizer is being mission driven — giving your life’s work to the service of others,” Brown, who has a people-centered and community-focused approach to leadership, previously told PGN. “So I wake up every day and think about how to make things better.”