Latest news with #RyanBos
Business Wire
8 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
WorldPride Chooses Transcend as Official Privacy Technology Partner
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Transcend, the privacy infrastructure company that helps the world's greatest brands unlock growth, is proud to announce our selection by the Capital Pride Alliance as the privacy technology vendor of choice as part of the WorldPride DC 2025 celebrations. As the 'Official Privacy Technology Partner,' Transcend is honored to support the work of the Capital Pride Alliance in advancing inclusivity, equity, and privacy during this historic global event taking place in Washington, D.C., from May 17–June 8, 2025. 'Transcend is deeply proud to be selected by the Capital Pride Alliance as their privacy infrastructure provider, and to announce our designation as 'Official Privacy Technology Partner' of WorldPride DC 2025,' said Ron De Jesus, Field Chief Privacy Officer at Transcend. 'This collaboration reflects our commitment to supporting the LGBTIQ+ community while upholding the highest standards of privacy and data protection. Our infrastructure will help ensure that everyone can engage in these historic events with confidence and security.' In the LGBTIQ+ community, privacy is not just a regulatory necessity, but a key enabler of efforts for equality, visibility, and justice. By ensuring that personal data is handled with the utmost respect and care, and with full user agency, Transcend helps provide a digital environment where individuals can fully participate in their communities while retaining control of their personal information. 'Against the backdrop of this historic event, we're thrilled to share our selection of Transcend as the Capital Pride Alliance's privacy technology vendor of choice, and the Official Privacy Technology Partner of WorldPride DC 2025,' said Ryan Bos, Executive Director of the Capital Pride Alliance. 'Their commitment to privacy and inclusion has already made a meaningful impact across both the LGBTIQ+ community and the privacy industry. We look forward to implementing Transcend and working together to ensure a safe, empowering, and transformative experience for all.' Transcend is an established advocate for LGBTIQ+ rights, beginning with its sponsorship of the "LGBTQ+ Allies Afterparty" in 2023, a fundraising event coinciding with the International Association of Privacy Professionals' Global Privacy Summit. Since then, Transcend has been a marquee sponsor for several subsequent events, helping raise over $1M for SMYAL, LGBT Tech, and other queer nonprofits. Earlier this year, Transcend's Field Chief Privacy Officer Ron De Jesus and the LGBTQ+ Allies Afterparties team received the IAPP Leadership Award in recognition of their efforts on this front. For additional information about WorldPride DC 2025, visit the WorldPride DC website ( About Transcend Transcend is the privacy infrastructure that unleashes growth for the world's leading brands. By automating data and consumer preference governance at the systems layer, Transcend helps companies unlock AI, personalized experiences, and growth with speed and confidence. Transcend replaces the patchwork of manual tools with a unified, efficient, and secure governance platform. From consent and preference management, privacy requests, AI governance, assessments, and risk mitigation, Transcend operationalizes modern privacy across every system and user touchpoint. Recognized for rapid growth and innovation, in 2024 Transcend was named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and LegalTech's Data Solution of the Year. Founded in 2017 by Ben Brook (CEO) and Mike Farrell (CTO), Transcend is based in California's Bay Area. For more information, visit About the Capital Pride Alliance The Capital Pride Alliance (CPA), located in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the LGBTQ+ community all year long, through educational programs, major events, fundraising, outreach, and advocacy, providing platforms for visibility, and supporting the work of our many community organizations and local businesses. About WorldPride DC 2025 WorldPride DC 2025, hosted by the Capital Pride Alliance, will take place in the heart of the nation's capital from May 17 to June 8, 2025. The global celebration will feature two weeks of parades, festivals, marches, exhibits, and cultural programming. For more information, visit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
This year, WorldPride in the nation's capital is a protest
As a wave of federal crackdowns on LGBTQ+ rights collides with a historic anniversary, Washington, D.C., is bracing for what will be its first and the most politically charged WorldPride in history. From May 17 to June 8, millions are expected to converge on the nation's capital, not just to celebrate but to protest. At the center of it all is Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, leading a team of more than 1,000 volunteers preparing for the largest Pride event the city has ever seen. WorldPride 2025 comes as a celebration and a clarion call. Hours after retaking office, Donald Trump signed an executive order stripping federal recognition of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex identities. IDs must now reflect a person's sex assigned at birth. Civil rights protections are being rolled back. Funding for gender-affirming care has been cut. The administration calls it 'biological truth.' Advocates call it erasure. 'This is what Pride is for,' Bos says. 'Whether you're marching in protest or dancing in the street, you're resisting being told you have no value.' This year's WorldPride coincides with Capital Pride's 50th anniversary and is planned as a direct rebuke. In addition to the Pride parade and festival, organizers are planning a protest rally at the Lincoln Memorial and a march to the Capitol on June 8. While protest is a constitutional right, permits are needed for structures and stages on federal land. Bos says his team is working with the National Park Service and expects approval. But he adds, 'If the federal government were to deny our permits, I think we would expect a national outcry. And if anything, it could galvanize our community in ways we haven't seen in a long time.' 'Even before the election, we were planning for a parade and protest, but now that march has a whole new urgency,' he says. 'It's about defiance.' Organizers expect more than 3 million attendees, and Bos believes Trump's policies may boost turnout. 'There are people who never thought of coming to WorldPride because they saw it as just a party. Now they see its purpose. Now they feel the need to show up.' While some international groups like the African Human Rights Coalition have announced a boycott, Bos believes pulling out sends the wrong message. 'It's about being visible and heard,' Bos says. 'Pride has always been protest.' And protest, he adds, comes in many forms. 'Some people think it means signs and chants,' Bos says. 'But the act of dancing in the street — of showing joy when you're being told to disappear — that is protest.' Bos, who is white and cisgender, says those with privilege have a duty to show up. He acknowledges that many transgender people, especially those coming from abroad, may not feel safe attending WorldPride. Several countries have already advised their trans citizens about attending the event, and even Bos and his fellow D.C. organizers have cautioned trans and nonbinary visitors about potential trouble. Organizers warned trans and nonbinary travelers to exercise caution, given the Trump administration's requirement that visa applications reflect a person's sex assigned at birth. 'There will be those who choose to come, even though they are afraid and may be putting themselves at risk,' he says. 'We want to do our due diligence to provide as much support as possible. But especially for those of us who are less at risk, we need to show up in droves for those who can't.' For those unable to attend, a partnership with Outright International's March for All allows allies to march on their behalf, wearing bibs with their names. Despite the cultural backlash, WorldPride is moving forward. Booz Allen Hamilton pulled its sponsorship, and the Kennedy Center canceled programming. But others, like Wegmans, remain committed. Bos admits, 'There are moments I worry no one will come. And then I remember what we're fighting for.' The Advocate's— or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting June 19.
Washington Post
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
He's throwing WorldPride in Trump's backyard. Who's with him?
Ryan Bos has a huge party to pull off — or several parties, spanning weeks and involving road closures all over Washington, more than a hundred contracts, 25,200 reusable drink cups, a 1,000-foot long rainbow flag and Shakira. Bos is the executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, which this year is in charge of planning and executing the festivities around WorldPride, which run through early June. It's a huge feat of logistics, and that's before you consider the politics: This year, the LGBTQ+ celebration is being held in the backyard of a government that has targeted transgender rights and made major cuts to HIV prevention programs. At the Kennedy Center, President Donald Trump has promised 'NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA'; the alliance relocated some events from the arts institution to other venues 'to ensure our entire LGBTQ+ community will be welcome.' Some corporate allies have withdrawn their financial support or asked not to be explicitly associated with the celebration.
Globe and Mail
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
World Pride comes to Washington in the shadow of, and in defiance of, the Trump administration
The World Pride 2025 welcome concert, with pop icon Shakira performing at Nationals Stadium, isn't until May 31. But for host city Washington D.C., the festivities start with a string of localized Pride events beginning with Trans Pride on Saturday. Hundreds of LGBTQ+ rallies, seminars, parties, after-parties and after-after-parties are planned for the next three weeks across the nation's capital, including Black Pride and Latin Pride. It all culminates in a two-day closing festival on June 7 and 8 with a parade, rally and concerts on Pennsylvania Avenue by Cynthia Erivo and Doechii. The biannual international event typically draws more than a million visitors from around the world and across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. But this year's events will carry both a special resonance and a particular sense of community-wide anxiety due to the policies of President Donald Trump's administration. Trump's public antipathy for trans protections and drag shows has already prompted two international LGBTQ+ organizations, Egale Canada and the African Human Rights Coalition, to issue warnings against travelling to the U.S. at all. The primary concern is that trans or non-binary individuals will face trouble entering the country if passport control officers enforce the administration's strict binary view of gender status. 'I think it's a fair assumption that the international numbers won't be as high due to the climate and the uncertainties,' said Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance. 'At the same time we know that there's an urgency and importance to showing up and making sure we remain visible and seen and protect our freedoms.' Opposition to transgender rights was a key point for Trump's presidential campaign last year and he's been following through since returning to the White House in January, with orders to recognize people as being only male or female, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for females, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threaten research funding for institutions that provide the care. All the efforts are being challenged in court; judges have put some policies on hold but are currently letting the push to remove transgender service members move forward. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found support for some of his efforts. In February, Trump launched a takeover at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, publicly promising to purge drag shows from the institution's stages. Within days of that takeover, the Kennedy Center abruptly pulled out of plans to host the International Pride Orchestra as part of a week-long series of World Pride crossover events entitled Tapestry of Pride. In the wake of that cancellation, the Capital Pride Alliance cancelled the entire week and moved some of the Tapestry events to alternate venues. Some potential international participants have already announced plans to skip this year's events, either out of fear of harassment or as a boycott against Trump's policies. But others have called for a mobilization to flood the capital, arguing that establishing a presence in potentially hostile spaces is the precise and proud history of the community. 'We've been here before. There is nothing new under the sun,' said D.C. Council Member Zachary Parker, who is gay. 'While this is uncharted territory a fight for humanity is not new to those in the LGBTQ+ community.' A recent editorial in the The Blade by Argentinian activist Mariano Ruiz argued for 'the symbolic weight of showing up anyway,' despite the legitimate concerns. 'If we set the precedent that global LGBTQI+ events cannot happen under right-wing or anti-LGBTQI+ governments, we will effectively disqualify a growing list of countries from hosting,' Ruiz wrote. 'To those who say attending World Pride in D.C. normalizes Trump's policies, I say: What greater statement than queer, trans, intersex, and nonbinary people from around the world gathering defiantly in his capital? What more powerful declaration than standing visible where he would rather we vanish?' The last World Pride, in 2023, drew more than 1 million visitors to Sydney, Australia, according to estimates. It's too early to tell whether the numbers this year will match those, but organizers admit they are expecting international attendance to be impacted. Destination D.C., which tracks hotel booking numbers, estimated that bookings for this year during World Pride are about 10 per cent behind the same period in 2024, but the organization notes in a statement that the numbers may be skewed by a 'major citywide convention' last year that coincided with what would be the final week of World Pride this year. Still, as the date approaches, organizers and advocates are predicting a memorable party. If international participation is measurably down this year, as many are predicting, the hope is that domestic participants will make a point of attending. 'The revolution is now,' said Parker, the D.C. council member. 'There is no greater demonstration of resistance than being present and being you, and that is what World Pride is going to represent for millions of folks.'
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
World Pride comes to Washington in the shadow of, and in defiance of, the Trump administration
The World Pride 2025 welcome concert, with pop icon Shakira performing at Nationals Stadium, isn't until May 31. But for host city Washington D.C., the festivities start with a string of localized Pride events beginning with Trans Pride on Saturday. Hundreds of LGBTQ+ rallies, seminars, parties, after-parties and after-after-parties are planned for the next three weeks across the nation's capital, including Black Pride and Latin Pride. It all culminates in a two-day closing festival on June 7 and 8 with a parade, rally and concerts on Pennsylvania Avenue by Cynthia Erivo and Doechii. The biannual international event typically draws more than a million visitors from around the world and across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. But this year's events will carry both a special resonance and a particular sense of community-wide anxiety due to the policies of President Donald Trump's administration. Trump 's public antipathy for trans protections and drag shows has already prompted two international LGBTQ+ organizations, Egale Canada and the African Human Rights Coalition, to issue warnings against travelling to the U.S. at all. The primary concern is that trans or non-binary individuals will face trouble entering the country if passport control officers enforce the administration's strict binary view of gender status. 'I think it's a fair assumption that the international numbers won't be as high due to the climate and the uncertainties,' said Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance. 'At the same time we know that there's an urgency and importance to showing up and making sure we remain visible and seen and protect our freedoms." There's major anxiety over Trump's approach to LGBTQ+ rights Opposition to transgender rights was a key point for Trump's presidential campaign last year and he's been following through since returning to the White House in January, with orders to recognize people as being only male or female, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for females, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threaten research funding for institutions that provide the care. All the efforts are being challenged in court; judges have put some policies on hold but are currently letting the push to remove transgender service members move forward. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found support for some of his efforts. In February, Trump launched a takeover at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, publicly promising to purge drag shows from the institution's stages. Within days of that takeover, the Kennedy Center abruptly pulled out of plans to host the International Pride Orchestra as part of a week-long series of World Pride crossover events entitled Tapestry of Pride. In the wake of that cancellation, the Capital Pride Alliance cancelled the entire week and moved some of the Tapestry events to alternate venues. Some potential international participants have already announced plans to skip this year's events, either out of fear of harassment or as a boycott against Trump's policies. But others have called for a mobilization to flood the capital, arguing that establishing a presence in potentially hostile spaces is the precise and proud history of the community. 'We've been here before. There is nothing new under the sun," said D.C. Council Member Zachary Parker, who is gay. 'While this is uncharted territory … a fight for humanity is not new to those in the LGBTQ+ community.' Supporters say showing up would carry symbolic weight A recent editorial in the The Blade by Argentinian activist Mariano Ruiz argued for 'the symbolic weight of showing up anyway,' despite the legitimate concerns. 'If we set the precedent that global LGBTQ I+ events cannot happen under right-wing or anti-LGBTQI+ governments, we will effectively disqualify a growing list of countries from hosting,' Ruiz wrote. 'To those who say attending World Pride in D.C. normalizes Trump's policies, I say: What greater statement than queer, trans, intersex, and nonbinary people from around the world gathering defiantly in his capital? What more powerful declaration than standing visible where he would rather we vanish?' The last World Pride, in 2023, drew more than 1 million visitors to Sydney, Australia, according to estimates. It's too early to tell whether the numbers this year will match those, but organizers admit they are expecting international attendance to be impacted. Destination D.C., which tracks hotel booking numbers, estimated that bookings for this year during World Pride are about 10% behind the same period in 2024, but the organization notes in a statement that the numbers may be skewed by a 'major citywide convention' last year that coincided with what would be the final week of World Pride this year. Still, as the date approaches, organizers and advocates are predicting a memorable party. If international participation is measurably down this year, as many are predicting, the hope is that domestic participants will make a point of attending. 'The revolution is now,' said Parker, the D.C. council member. 'There is no greater demonstration of resistance than being present and being you, and that is what World Pride is going to represent for millions of folks.' ___
