2018

Ken Yeager

Ken Yeager

Ken was the first openly gay elected official in Santa Clara County. He was first elected to public office in 1992. He has served as a Trustee of the San José Evergreen Community College District, Councilmember of City of San José, District 6, and as Supervisor of Santa Clara County’s Fourth District where he served as Board President in 2010 and 2013.

He has chaired the San José City Council’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Ethics, Caltrain Joint Powers Authority Board, Valley Transportation Authority, Health and Hospital Committee, and FIRST 5 Santa Clara County. 

Evan Low

Evan Low

At the age of 31, Assemblymember Low became the youngest Asian American legislator to have been elected to the Assembly in state history. In 2015, together with Assemblymember Ian Calderon (D-Whittier), he launched the first in the state California Legislative Technology & Innovation Caucus. The Caucus comprises of a bi-partisan group of Senators and Assemblymembers who view this as a statewide effort to ensure that California remains the global leader in technology and innovation. As chair of the state LGBT legislative caucus he has elevated and increased the visibility of LGBT issues in our state and around the country.

Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith

As the CEO of a twenty thousand-employee organization, Jeff Smith genuinely cares about all his employees as people.  He treats all people with dignity and respect.  He does so consistently and without fanfare. When it comes to supporting the LGBTQ community at-large, Jeff has never feared political ramifications.  In fact, he has sometimes acted bolder than we even dared to ask. 

Cassie Blum

Cassie Blum

Cassie Blume’s nearly 12-year career of serving LGBTQ youth in Santa Clara County began in October 2006 when she started overseeing the DeFrank Youth Program. Two years later, under the auspices of Family & Children Services, she oversaw the creation of the LGBTQ Youth Space and built it into a thriving center that provides critical resources and support services for our community’s youth, their families and their schools.