OutFront Kalamazoo Announces 2026 Winter Gala Award Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2026
CONTACT:
Heather Sanford, Communications Manager
269-349-4234
heather@outfrontkzoo.org
KALAMAZOO, MI – OutFront Kalamazoo is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Winter Gala Awards. A long-standing tradition, these awards recognize and celebrate exceptionally significant contributions toward OutFront Kalamazoo’s mission to create a just, inclusive, equitable, and supportive environment for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions within and beyond Kalamazoo County. Most of the awards are selected through a community-wide nomination process, ensuring that the nominees are representative of the LGBTQIA+ within and beyond OutFront Kalamazoo’s immediate network; two awards, the Volunteer of the Year Award and Employee Excellence Award, are selected internally by OutFront Kalamazoo leadership.
The Community Partner Award honors a group or organization that has demonstrated significant partnership with OutFront Kalamazoo in the prior year. This award is being given to YWCA Kalamazoo for supporting OutFront’s ongoing transitional housing program efforts as well as for hosting a series of “solidarity sessions” throughout 2025 that sought to connect people and organizations across complex and interrelated issues including LGBTQIA+ justice, racial equity, disability advocacy, and more.
The Terry Kuseske Education Award honors an individual, group, or organization that has made significant advancements in the field of education for LGBTQIA+ students of Southwest Michigan. Oakley Briar (they/them) was selected to receive this year’s award for their valuable contributions toward LGBTQIA+ equity, inclusion, and belonging through their work at Kalamazoo College’s Center for Civic Engagement and as the facilitator for the LGBTQIA+ employee affinity group on campus.
The Community Leadership & Impact Award honors an organization or business that has gone above and beyond in promoting LGBTQIA+ equality, justice, and/or inclusion. This award is being given to two recipients this year:
Jacob Johnson (he/him) was selected to receive this award for the years of work he has put into fostering partnership between Bell’s Brewery and Kalamazoo Pride and securing invaluable support for Kalamazoo Pride through sponsorships, fundraisers, marketing, volunteer efforts, and more.
José Calderón (he/they) was selected to receive this award to honor the impact of his combined work as owner of local drag troupe The Kunty Kittens, as a director at Cares Sexual Wellness Services, as a member of the Kalamazoo Pride planning committee, and more.
The OutFront Advocacy Award honors an individual, group, or organization that has demonstrated a commitment to LGBTQIA+ advocacy in Southwest Michigan. This year’s award is given to Jess Cagle (she/her), a local parent who brought the community together in support of transgender and gender-expansive youth after a policy stating explicit protections for transgender students was quietly removed from a local school district.
The Jim Knox Humanitarian Award honors an individual, group, or organization that has shown devotion to the welfare of the LGBTQIA+ community of Southwest Michigan. Dr. Martha Golubski (she/her) was chosen to receive this award for her work as Director of Training at Meredith Psychological and Testing Services, where the supervisee who nominated her for this award commends her for providing “compassionate, knowledgeable guidance to clinicians working with LGBTQIA+ clients, ensuring that care is affirming, ethical, culturally informed, and responsive to the unique experiences of the community.”
The Volunteer of the Year award is determined by OutFront Kalamazoo’s staff and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary volunteer service to the organization in the prior year. Three individuals were selected to receive this award:
Erin Bissonnette (she/her) is a long-time volunteer at OutFront Kalamazoo, who has supported several events including Kalamazoo Pride and Trans Day of Remembrance, as well as supporting the Gender-Affirming Care Fund. Erin is also well-known in the community for volunteering with the Dapper Hammer, The Cinderella Project, Girl Scouts, and more.
Pamela Kane (she/her) recently joined OutFront Kalamazoo’s team as a Front Desk Volunteer, and has gone above and beyond to embrace her role welcoming members of the community to OutFront Kalamazoo and providing thoughtful, informed support to each inquiry that comes her way.
Jaclyn Brett Lewis (they/them) facilitates two youth groups at OutFront Kalamazoo and has earned the reputation as a youth-designated “safe adult.” Jaclyn is affirming, compassionate, and models safety through relationships in all of their work with LGBTQIA+ youth. OutFront’s youth leaders often use Jaclyn as the "Gold Standard" example for what they would like to see from adults in their community.
The Employee Excellence Award is a new award, and is selected by OutFront Kalamazoo’s executive leadership to recognize a staff member who has demonstrated exceptional work in the prior year. The first-ever recipient of this award is OutFront’s Housing Navigator, Moses Okecho (he/him), for his continued commitment to helping every person who approaches OutFront Kalamazoo seeking housing support and resources.
Additionally, OutFront Kalamazoo is awarding the Terry Kuseske LGBTQIA+ Youth Scholarship to Stella Gibb (they/them). Gibb is Youth Ambassador for Connections, OutFront’s youth group for LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 through 18, and an active member of the Kalamazoo Youth Pride Steering Committee. Gibb was selected to receive this scholarship through an application process and will be awarded $1000 toward education at a public or private university in the state of Michigan.
All award winners will be honored at the 2026 Winter Gala, which will take place on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum. Tickets to the event are available now at https://www.outfrontkzoo.org/gala.
OutFront Kalamazoo is a non-profit, charitable organization whose mission is to create a just, inclusive, equitable, and supportive environment in Southwest Michigan for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions.
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