About

PrideWorks®’ mission is to INFORM our communities about the realities of growing up gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and to INSPIRE them to respect and support LGBTQ people and to ADVOCATE for positive change

What Is Prideworks?

Drawing from the lower Hudson Valley, the Tr-State area, and beyond, PrideWorks is a conference serves students from more than 70 middle and high schools and 10 colleges and universities. Approximately 70% of attendees are students and 30% are adults. About 20% of the students identify as LGBTQ. Adults include teachers, psychologists, social workers, Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Advisors, youth care workers, parents or guardians of LGBTQ youth, advocates, social justice seekers, among others. About 40% of adults identify as part of the LGBTQ community.

PrideWorks, Inc. was organized in 2013 and grew out of a conference which began in 1999 as a collaborative effort on the part of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) and Westchester County. PrideWorks, Inc. is now solely responsible for this conference, and sponsors or co-sponsors other events (such as celebrations of National Coming Out Day and Ally Week, networking meetings, and Gay Prom) alone and in partnership with other areas agencies.

PrideWorks® Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization

Our Sponsors

Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation

Janet Press and Bob Indra

Pace University

PFLAG Westchester

GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) Lower Hudson Valley

Unitarian Universalist Congregations of Westchester

David Diamond

Mathew Thoennes

The LOFT - The Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center

Concordant Communications

Prideworks Board

David Diamond

David is current a Program Specialist with Center Lane which is the only program and educational center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) youth, ages 13-21, in Westchester county.  David has extensive experience supporting people in the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to being the Director of PrideWorks, a conference for LGBTQ youth and their allies, David has advised several Gay-Straight Alliances, and facilitated at Common Threads Youth Empowerment Retreat, and Queer Spirit Camp, a program for 18-24 year-olds. David has been a board member of PrideWorks, GLSEN Hudson Valley, and CANDLE, as well as part of PFLAG Westchester. A certified special education teacher and school administrator, David has a BA in English from Columbia College, Columbia University, and an MA, M.Ed., and M.Phil. from Columbia University Teachers College.

Tracy Breneman

Tracy Breneman serves as Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration and Faith Development for the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains, NY (cucwp.org).  In addition, Tracy is adjunct faculty at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Department of Sociology where she has taught theory and practice of dispute resolution and conflict transformation.  She holds a BA in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, a MA in Brasilian Legislative Processes from the Universidade de Brasilia, Brasil, and a MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University.  Tracy believes in living through her UU values, and is passionate about fostering welcoming and supportive youth community. She started volunteering with PrideWorks in 2008.

Rachel Simon

Rachel Simon is the Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs, LGBTQQ Coordinator at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. She teaches courses in writing, film, and gender studies at Pace University and SUNY Purchase College. Her poetry has been published in the full-length collection Theory of Orange, the chapbook Marginal Road, and various literary journals.

Kerry King

Kerry King has a BA in Economics from Fordham University. She started her career with PepsiCo in 2000 and currently works in category management supporting the eastern half of the United States. She joined EQUAL, PepsiCo’s diversity and engagement group for driving awareness of LGBTA diversity; promoting dignity and respect; and fostering individual development and success, in 2009. Kerry started volunteering at PrideWorks in 2010 and joined the board in 2015.

Mathew Thoennes

Mathew Thoennes holds a BSEE from Purdue University and a MS Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts. He joined IBM in 1982 and has work primarily in the Research Division during his career. He has been active in PFLAG since 1997 and the local chapter since 2001 and has been a member of the steering committee for the local chapter. He also has served on the GLSEN Hudson Valley board. Matt joined the PrideWorks Conference in 2003 and has handled finances and registration for the conference. He has been awarded the GLSEN Hudson Valley Leadership Award for his contributions to the PrideWorks conference and for co-leading the creation of a not for profit organization to organize the PrideWorks Conference in the future.