Pride WA CEO Dr Lauren Butterly has signalled a bigger role for Pride WA beyond the annual PrideFEST, Northbridge parade and Fairday celebrations.
Dr Butterly was speaking on Friday at the annual Pride Luncheon at Crown Perth, an event that brought together community groups, rights advocates and business leaders. The legal academic and ABC broadcaster recently joined the organisation taking over from inaugural CEO Choon Tan.
Prior to the appointment for Choon Tan in 2021 the organisation has been run for decades by a group of enthusiastic volunteers, but had always struggled to maintain institutional knowledge, and build infrastructure or capacity. Committee members regularly departed citing burnout as a reason for stepping down from its board.
Butterly said alongside her arrival the organisation has also recently recruited Daniel Bruce as the Chief Operations Officer. Bruce was previously Operations Manager at Artrage and Fringe World and has a long background in events management.
“We’ve got really exciting plans for 2024 and beyond, and the organisation is also becoming a 365-day-a-year organisation.” Dr Butterly said.
While Pride’s activities have for many years been focused on events in November, Dr Butterly said the organisation was now focused on making sure they represented people throughout the rest of the year as well and would be building on their calendar of events and opportunities.
In recent months Pride WA has taken over the management of Pride Professional Networking drinks, the bi-monthly gathering that brings together members of the LGBTIQA+ community from all professional background. Their event held at The Royal Hotel this week drew a massive crowd of close to 200 people.
For older members of the community, the move signals a return to the type of community building and advocacy that Pride WA took part in decades ago, when their monthly ‘Fruits in Suits’ event was a staple of the local events calendar.
Delivering the closing remarks at Crown’s Pride Luncheon Dr Butterly encouraged allies and corporate stakeholder to show their support for LGBTIQA+ people and communities throughout the year.
Graeme Watson
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