vicki randle

Voice and Visibility Award

A San Francisco native, Vicki now resides in Venice Beach, rides a custom 1994 Harley-Davidson FXR, watches lots of hockey, runs and bikes with her Siberian husky and reads. Having done just about everything one can accomplish in the music industry, Vicki began her solo recording career in 2007. Her first project, "Sleep City," contains all original works, and was produced by the legendary Bonnie Hayes.

Celebrated singer-songwriter and pioneer of women’s music, Cris Williamson, will present Vicki with the Voice and Visibility Award.

Learn more about Vicki:
www.vickirandle.com
MySpace page

will phillips

Fierce Ally Award

Will Phillips, the biggest little LGBT rights hero of 2009, is a 10-year-old 5th grader from West Fork, Arkansas who refused to stand and recite The Pledge of Allegiance in class one day last fall, as a show of solidarity with his LGBT friends. As a burgeoning someday-lawyer, Will paid careful attention to the language of The Pledge, and after careful deliberation on his own, decided he did not believe The Pledge was living up to its promise of "liberty and justice for all." As he himself put it on CNN, "I’ve grown up with a lot of people and I’m good friends with a lot of people who are gay and I think they should have the rights all people should, and I’m not going to swear that they do."

Since then, he has been the subject of ridicule and pranks at school, but forthright Will doesn’t see his quiet act of protest ending any time soon. He continues to be a proud and strong ally to the LGBT community and hopes to one day realize his dream of becoming a lawyer.

His wonderfully supportive parents, Laura and Jay, are doing their best to simply stay out of his way and support him and help him become the conscientious, knowledgeable, and courageous young man he is growing up to be.

Mother, activist, and founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Judy Shepard , will present Will with the Fierce Ally Award.

Learn more about Will:
CNN video
Arkansas Times article
Huffington Post article

judy shepard

Presenter

After tragically losing her 21-year-old son, Matthew, in a murder motivated by anti-LGBT hate, Judy was determined to prevent others from suffering her son’s fate. Judy and Dennis Shepard turned their grief into action and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation, dedicated to working toward the causes championed by Matthew during his life: social justice, diversity awareness and education, and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

Standing as the founding president, Judy travels across the nation speaking to audiences about what they can do as individuals and communities to make this world a more accepting place. In 2009, she published a memoir, The Meaning of Matthew, exploring the family’s mourning and discussing the prosecutions of Matthew’s assailants.

Learn more about Judy:
www.matthewshepard.org
NPR audio

cris williamson

Presenter

Known as a singer-songwriter and pioneer as a lesbian political activist, Cris Williamson’s music and insight provided a catalyst for change in the creation of women-owned record companies. Decades before indie labels were the norm, and years before women had any real access in the industry, in her own way, Cris Williamson was busy changing the face of popular music. Heralded by The Boston Globe as "a brilliant lyricist and composer," Cris's music has always defied categorization. Cris has as shared her talents with an incredibly diverse array of artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Holly Near, Vicki Randle, and Laurie Lewis. She also played a part in Kate Wolf's tribute CD. Cris is currently writing her memoir and recording a series of albums. Cris’s upcoming release, GiftHorse, a follow-up to her 2008 release, Fringe, continues the theme of returning home – in body, spirit and memory.

Learn more about Cris:
www.criswilliamson.com
MySpace page