Meet The New Era Of NYC Pride
Following GO’s recent piece, “A New Era of NYC Pride,” spotlighting the changes at NYC Pride and the work of their dynamic new team, we wanted to help our readers get to know the architects behind this year’s celebration and
answer our biggest (and silliest) questions.
Im Lynde – Executive Director, he/him/his
Who’s your queer icon? Madonna because she is of my era and brought queer culture to the forefront.
Favorite Pride memory? Attending NYC Pride for the very first time at 22 years old in 2000. I’ve never seen so many queer people and allies in one place, and I was in such awe of the scale of the March. I remember returning to my hotel to take a nap for a few hours, and returning to the March, which was still going hours later!
Pride in three words? Liberation. Community. Defiance.
First time Pride tips? Be with your friends and family at Pride. Pace yourselves and be patient with the crowds. Make time to support a few local bars, too.
Go-to coffee order? Iced coffee with three pumps of simple syrup and a splash of soy milk.
First Pride vs. your most recent, go! I am the oldest staff member at NYC Pride, and have participated in so many Prides. My most recent Pride experience is still as incredible as my first, because of the new, glowing faces I see each year. It’s always about seeing the diversity and the LGBTQ youth. I wish I was able to come out at a much younger age.
Khoa Nguyen – Development Coordinator, she/her/hers
Best queer third space in NYC? Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.
Who’s your queer icon? Ina Garten. I always tell people this. I watched her so much growing up because I wanted to be like her. All her friends are gay men. She was the first person to bring queer representation on TV that I saw.
Go-to karaoke song? I love “Gimme More” [by Britney Spears] because you also don’t have to be able to sing that well, and I’m terrible.
Favorite Pride memory? Jump roping with Double Dutch Dreamz every Pride weekend for the past three years.
First Pride vs. your most recent, go! Now that I’ve gone to so many Prides…I know that I don’t have to be there the whole day and do every little single thing. At my first Pride, I felt like ‘I wanna take it in and really go all out’…It was a lot.
Pride in three words. Community. Visibility. Resilience.
Destinee Aaliyah – NYC PrideFest Event Producer, she/her/hers
Best queer third space in NYC? Gladys Books & Wine is such a lovely space! It’s gorgeous with two floors and a big backyard. It’s queer-, Black-, and woman-owned!
Who’s your queer icon? I was advised against saying Stud Yoncé…so I’ll go Doechii of course!
Go-to karaoke song? “Check On It” by my Mothe— I mean Beyoncé!
First time Pride tips? Please know that the March andPrideFest are not the same event, and they happen at thesame time. Decide before you go to bottomless brunch which one you want to go to [first].
Who’s your dream future NYC Pride grand marshal? Anania! She’s our PrideFest host this year. She did DragFest last year! Every year she grows with us and the event. I think she’s everything.
Pride in three words. Radical self-expression.
Bonus Question! What is your main goal for this year’s PrideFest? To show our community that this year’s staff has their finger on the pulse in terms of culture…We are carving out more space in our run of show to spotlight community organizers and activists we really believe in…I, more than anything, want my fellow queer New Yorkers to know I love and see them. And I’m fighting my hardest to get them what they want!
Tyler Sadonis – Senior Volunteer Manager, he/him/his
Best queer third space in NYC? Front Runners, which is an LGBTQ+ run club, and we run in Central Park.
Go-to karaoke song? Lately, we’ve been playing some Enya in the office, the “Sail Away” song.
Who’s your dream future NYC Pride grand marshal? I went to college with Sarah McBride, who is the first transgender member of Congress from Delaware. Having known her from college and seeing the incredible political career she’s built already, I know she’s got an incredible future ahead of her.
Favorite Pride memory? Working with Donna Guzzardi. She’s a special education teacher from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. This will be her 30th year volunteering with Pride. People come to volunteer because of Donna.
First time Pride tips? See it as a stepping stone into being more active with the community. That could be signing up to volunteer yourself in the future…[or] that could be learning about the groups that are marching.
Best place to be on NYC Pride Sunday? I actually love, at the end of the day, when we are walking back to the office through the West Village and seeing the spillover of celebrations that are happening. The organic meetups, the energy. It’s a Sunday night, but…you would think it’s the beginning of the weekend.
Katie Hanson is a freelance writer and reporter based in Brooklyn, New York
