As any regular reader of dsm magazine knows, we’re longtime advocates for equal opportunity for all. And we recognize that society has been slow to acknowledge the contributions of its minority groups. In one small step to address that, we have partnered with the advocacy group One Iowa to honor community leaders who have made our state better for all Iowans.
Our LGBTQ Legacy Leader awards celebrate the courage and convictions of Iowans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. Long marginalized socially and politically, they have nonetheless worked to improve the world around us. We also selected one individual from outside the LGBTQ community to honor as an Ally, someone who has embraced and promoted LGBTQ Iowans as friends and colleagues. The 2019 honorees are:
Legacy Leaders
• George Belitsos (Ames)
• Karen Mackey (Sioux City)
• Sharon Malheiro (Des Moines)
• Sonia Reyes-Snyder (Des Moines)
• Jeorgia Robison (Cedar Rapids)
• Jonathan Wilson (Des Moines)
LGBTQ Ally
• Terri Hale (Des Moines)
Learn about the honorees on the following pages and hear from them in a video, created by Duane and Dylan Huey of Good Plan Productions, on our website, dsmMagazine.com. Join us in honoring—and being inspired by—this remarkable group at a public reception Oct. 24 in the ballroom of the Temple for Performing Arts. Also at the event, the 2019 graduates of One Iowa’s Leadership Institute will be presented. Tickets are $50, available here through Eventbrite.com.
