About the Project 

Gloria Casarez was the City of Philadelphia’s first director of LGBT affairs, appointed in 2008. During her tenure as director, Philadelphia adopted the broadest LGBT rights protection in the nation and ranked as the number one city nationwide for LGBT equality. Prior to that, Casarez was the executive director of GALAEI from 1999-2008, as well as a founding member of the Philly Dyke March and a long-time activist for marginalized communities. She married her long-time partner Tricia Dressel in 2011 in New York City. Casarez passed away on October 19, 2014, at the age of 42, after a valiant battle with breast cancer.