2025 Pride in Excellence Awards Recipients
Dallas City Council members hosted the 2025 Pride in Excellence Awards Reception today in celebration of pride month on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
The awards reception, which included special words from Council Members Omar Narvaez and Chad West recognized LGBTQ+ leaders in Dallas in the fields of business, civic engagement, public service, arts & culture, and philanthropy. Awards were distributed to the following community leaders:
Kirk Myers-Hill Pioneer in PRIDE Award
Odessa Jenkins
Odessa ‘OJ’ Jenkins is a successful coach, executive, and CEO of the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC). Jenkins is the winningest head coach in women’s tackle football history, with a staggering 91–5 career record, and a seven-time national champion. She is also an in-demand global speaker and leadership coach, and the founder of multiple nonprofits, including Got Her Back, dedicated to uplifting girls and women in football.
She previously served as the CEO of Bonfire, a leadership development company focused on empowering women leaders through transformative programs and experiences. A disruptor in tech, Jenkins was part of the executive team at YourCause, a Texas-based tech and philanthropy company that exited to Blackbaud for $157 million.
In addition to her leadership in business and tech, Jenkins has built one of the premier women’s sports leagues in the country, creating unprecedented opportunity, visibility, and equity in football for women and girls. She was an inaugural participant in the NFL’s first Women’s Careers in Football Forum and one of the first women to earn the coveted Bill Walsh Diversity Internship in an on-field coaching position.
Jenkins is a proud member of the Dove Body Confident Collective, an all-star squad of influential female voices in sports assembled by Dove to support its Body Confident Sport initiative. The campaign aims to help young female athletes feel more confident in their bodies and on the field. The collective includes icons like Billie Jean King, Venus Williams, Sabrina Ionescu, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Kylie Kelce, Emma Navarro, and Jenkins.
She has been featured on The Today Show, NBC, Sports Illustrated, Essence, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, NFL Network, and more. Jenkins was named one of Sports Illustrated’s most influential and powerful women in sports, voted Culture in Sports’ 2022 Sports Leader of the Year, and received the 2023 Leigh Steinberg Denicola Humanitarian Award. In 2024, Essence recognized her as one of the Top 25 Black Women Changing the World of Sports, and in 2025, she was honored on the urve Power List, recognizing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary leaders making lasting impact in their communities.
Heralded as one of the top inclusive leadership experts in the country, Jenkins is fiercely committed to building a more equitable world for all.
The Adam Medrano Excellence in leadership award
Ahmad Goree
Ahmad Goree is a lifelong public servant carrying out God’s calling to help our people overcome the many disparities we face day in and day out. Ahmad has worked for the federal government advising six presidential cabinet members and helping generate over $6.7 billion to small businesses and creating over 50,000 jobs in the Dallas area.
Social justice is a real, non-stop job for Ahmad. Most notably, he played a pivotal role in seeking justice for the late Muhlaysia Booker, a Black transwoman murdered in Dallas in 2019. In 2023, he led meetings with the White House, US House of Representatives Minority Leader, US Department of Justice, FBI, Dallas County DA and others, which resulted in a 50-year prison sentence for Muhlaysia’s killer and evaluations in federal policies. Last year, he traveled to DC to encourage federal officials to develop policies that protects the voting rights of the LGBTQ community. As a result, Dallas County changed their poll worker training to make sure this community can vote without fear of discrimination or intimidation.
In January, Ahmad championed the Dallas Police Department’s leadership to start a Police Chief’s Anti-Hate Advisory Council, which now is represented by 15-member community members from every sector of the city to help keep Dallas free from hate.
Ahmad is currently a member of the Texas Southern University School of Business Advisory Council, member of the board of directors for Texas Pride Community Foundation, Board President of the Muhlaysia Booker Foundation, member of the VisitDallas 2026 FIFA World Cup Bid Committee, Dallas County DA’s Advisory Council, and the Mayor of Dallas’ Anti-Hate Advisory Council. He has led Dallas Southern Pride at time of uncertainty but brought thousands of visitors and an economic impact of $3 million to Dallas. Ahmad was named Hero in the Dallas Voice’s 2024 Heroes and Villains feature. He was also honored as a Dallas Business Journal and Fort Worth Business Press 40 under 40 honoree, North Texas LGBT Chamber’s Community Excellence Awardee, and Dallas Black Chamber’s A. Maceo Smith Emerging Leader. He is born and raised in Dallas, where he attended H. Grady Spruce High School. Ahmad graduated from Jarvis Christian College with a degree in History, earned his Masters in Political Science from Dallas Baptist University and currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.
Outstanding Leadership in Community Impact
Kelly Drake
Kelly Drake is a proud native of Dallas Texas. Spent most of his early years growing up in Pleasant Grove and has resided in his Casa View neighborhood for 34 years. He enjoyed a 32 year career in adult post-secondary education as a director & National Director of admissions. During that time for many years he served as the President of the Metroplex Assn of Career Schools and on the Board of Directors of the Career Schools & Colleges of TX in Austin.
For 20 years Kelly was a deacon at White Rock Community Church a predominately LGBT congregation. A congregation hit hard by the AIDS crisis. It was during this time Kelly became an advocate for persons estranged in their life due to their sexuality and those living with HIV. Kelly has lived with HIV /AIDS for 34 years and became disabled retired in 2015. He currently is a precinct chair for the Dallas County Democratic Party, is an active member of White Rock United Methodist Church and is on the Reconciliation Ministry taskforce. He is the past chair & has been on the the board of Directors of Owenwood Farm & Neighbor Space in far east Dallas since 2021.Also since 2021 he was appointed by CM Paula Blackmon to represent District 9 on the City of Dallas MLK Advisory Board. A role he greatly enjoys. He has a passion for mentoring and coaching folks going through the disability process. Finally Kelly is a doggy daddy and foster to many fur babies and a proud uncle, great uncle, great great uncle to around 100 nieces & nephews, he’s lost count.
Outstanding Leadership in Arts and Culture
Ruth Thunderhawk
Ruth Thunderhawk (she/they) is a two-spirit Dallas native who has resided in the DFW area her entire life. She is an enrolled tribal member of the Northern Cheyenne nation of Montana and a descendant of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Ruth volunteers with MMIW Texas Rematriate, a Native-led grassroots organization that aims to support families and survivors who have been affected by the MMIW/P (missing and murdered indigenous women/people) crisis in Native communities. Ruth’s role in this organization is to lead the monthly IndigiQueer kinship events. Every month, Ruth helps create a space for the IndigiQueer relatives and community within the DFW area. While the aim of MMIW Texas Rematriate is to help families and survivors affected by the MMIP crisis, the organization also recognizes that building community and creating kinship relations is essential when it comes to healing from the many traumas this community has faced. Native and Indigenous culture is a collectivist culture, we believe in creating strong community foundations and we understand that we heal by being there for one another in times of need. This, as well as assuring 2SLGBTQ+ voices are never left out, is what drives Ruth to do the volunteer work that she does.
Outstanding Leadership in Business
Michelle Carpenter
Born to a Cajun Airman and Eddoko homemaker, Chef Michelle Carpenter was born in Tokyo. and spent her childhood in Wichita Falls, Winn Parrish in Louisiana, and San Antonio.
Chef Michelle trained under Tokyo sushi masters in La Jolla before returning to work in Texas. After working for leading sushi restaurants in Dallas for over a decade, Chef Michelle opened her own concept in 2007. Zen Sushi in the Bishop Arts was the Oak Cliff neighborhood’s first sushi bar. Her menu reflected her story: marrying Edo-style technique to regional ingredients.
In 2022, Chef Michelle fulfilled her lifelong dream to open a Cajun-Creole concept that paid homage to the other component of her heritage. Restaurant Beatrice is named after her Mammaw, Beatrice Carpenter, who farmed, gardened, smoked, pickled, jammed, and lived a life of minimal-waste, honoring all ingredients. A James Beard Foundation Finalist in 2023, Restaurant Beatrice celebrates Louisiana gastronomy and its rich gumbo of cultures and people. Chef Michelle continues her pioneering ways as her restaurant is the first B Corp Certified restaurant in the state of Texas. She also launched the Women in Restaurants Leadership Program with Dallas College in 2023.
Outstanding Leadership in Health and Human Services
The Senior Source
Since 1961, The Senior Source has enhanced the quality of life for older adults in greater Dallas. In 2024-2025, the organization served 25,000 clients, mobilized 3,000 volunteers, and educated 22,000 individuals on aging issues. As the only agency in Dallas focused solely on comprehensive services for seniors—who are the city’s fastest-growing population—The Senior Source is dedicated to protecting their rights and promoting their well-being through programs such as elder financial safety, caregiver support, guardianship, long-term care advocacy, and senior volunteering.
Committed to the LGBTQ+ community, The Senior Source partners with key organizations like the Coalition for Aging LGBT, The Resource Center, and Lambda Legal to provide education, mental health support, and legal resources. Since 2017, it has co-hosted the Annual Summit on Aging with the Coalition for Aging LGBT, offering vital services and education for LGBTQ+ older adults. The organization also holds training credentials from S.A.G.E., reflecting its dedication to this community.
Outstanding Leadership in Public Service Award
Marisa Gonzales
Marisa Gonzales is a public health professional with over 25 years of experience in the field. Passionate about educating and empowering communities to make sound decisions about their health. Mobilizing vaccine clinics and screenings to serve the underserved and historically ignored communities in Dallas County to create healthier more sustainable communities.
Throughout her career at Dallas County Health & Human Services, Marisa began her public health journey in STI/HIV as Disease Intervention Specialist (contract tracer or disease detective), STI/HIV Surveillance Coordinator, followed by Field Operations Manager. She specialized in congenital syphilis and serological interpretation.
From there she transferred to Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP)Division where she was the Public Health Educator. This really opened her eyes to public health as she educated the community on topics like disaster preparedness and recovery, West Nile Virus, Chikegunya Virus, Zika Virus, and Ebola.
After a short time in PHEP, Marisa became the Public Information Officer which again shifted her view of public health. Media relations and social media was the focal point of her job.
Currently, she is the Community Outreach Program Manager, which is responsible for conducting and overseeing pop-up clinics in the community.
Marisa has also worked Hurricane Ike (08), Harvey (17) response, Ebola response, Zika/Chik-V/West Nile Virus response, COVID and Mpox responses, and any other emerging public health issues that arise.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Texas Woman’s University and is a certified Community Health Worker (CHW).
When she’s not advocating for the community, Marisa loves spending time with her beloved family and her French bulldog “Chula”.
Outstanding Leadership in Philanthropy
Paul Von Wupperfeld
With over 35 years of LGBTQ+ community activism, Paul Von Wupperdeld has been a driving force in advocacy and leadership. He chaired Texas Instruments’ Pride Employee Network and co-founded and chaired the Out & Equal Workplace Advocates DFW chapter. Paul served on the AIDS Interfaith Network (AIN) board and was chair of the Resource Center board for two years during the pandemic, a period that included the purchase of land for Oak Lawn Place. He served on the Resource Center board for approximately eight years and currently co-chairs a $12 million comprehensive campaign for the Resource Center’s Health Campus.
Additionally, Paul is vice-chair of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum board and has co-chaired galas for Dallas Summer Musicals (now Broadway Dallas), Dallas Theater Center, Dallas Symphony, and Dallas Museum of Art.
Lifetime Mensch Legacy Award
David Taffet
In recognition of David Taffet—a tireless advocate, journalist, and broadcaster whose unwavering dedication has profoundly shaped Dallas’ LGBTQ+ community.
David’s impactful career spans decades, from his influential reporting for Dallas Voice to co-hosting Lambda Weekly, the longest-running LGBTQ+ talk show in the nation. His commitment to elevating LGBTQ+ voices and advancing equality has earned him numerous honors, including the Raymond Kuchling Humanitarian Award.
Through his activism, board leadership, and storytelling, David Taffet has left an indelible legacy of courage, visibility, and justice—helping to create a more inclusive and equitable Dallas for all.
