(Photo from Hope CommUnity Center’s website)
The Florida Diversity Council is awarding Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, executive director of Hope CommUnity Center, with an LGBTQ+ Leadership Award.
The award is granted to individuals that are active in advocating for inclusion and influencing positive change in the LGBTQ community. Sousa-Lazaballet has previously served as the Inclusion, Diversity & Equity senior specialist for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. He became the executive director of Hope CommUnity Center, an organization focused on advocating for individuals facing oppression in several capacities, in March.
“It is a huge honor to be someone like myself, an LGBTQ immigrant who has struggled throughout my life, to be recognized by an organization that works toward inclusion and making a change for the better,” Sousa-Lazaballet says.
The Florida Diversity Council works toward teaching organizations how to increase inclusion and diversity in communities across the state. By receiving the LGBTQ+ Leadership Award, Sousa-Lazaballet says it will help in providing further opportunities for the Hope CommUnity Center to increase inclusion across Orlando.
“It brings a light the work we are doing here to create safe spaces in our community for LGBTQ immigrants, and I think it will get the word out to more people about what we’re doing here,” Sousa-Lazaballet says.
Hope CommUnity Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and will soon be launching a support group for LGBTQ immigrants in Orlando. The center also organized Apopka’s first pride event in May.
Sousa-Lazaballet will be honored with the Diversity Council’s LGBTQ+ Leadership Award at The Signature Grand in Davie, Florida on June 7.
For more information on the Florida Diversity Council, visit FloridaDiversityCouncil.org.
