# # # Press Release # # # June 8, 2012

DHS Pride Celebrates June Pride Month, DHS Sec. Napolitano Honored with Award for Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Pride (DHS Pride) honored DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano with its Award for Service on June 7th. The DHS-recognized employee association commemorated LGBT Pride Month at a Pride Ceremony featuring Sec. Napolitano and other DHS leadership, and an accomplished guest speaker, Amanda Simpson.

In the DHS Pride Award for Services inaugural year, DHS Pride honors DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano based upon her many years of dedicated public service, her unwavering support of DHS personnel, her intense support of a DHS based on unity and inclusion and her support of DHS policies and protections for LGBT personnel. When receiving the award, the Secretary spoke about the large number of LGBT leaders in DHS, as well as specific accomplishments that many of the components have put forth to advance LGBT equality. We need to recruit and retain the best people from across the country to fill our jobs, and that means leaving no pool of talent untapped, the secretary said. Amanda Simpson, Special Assistant to the Army Acquisition Executive in the Department of Defense and the first open transwoman political appointee in the U.S. government, delivered the keynote address. Simpson discussed how there are many written rules in society, but the strongest rules are the ones that are not talked about. Attempting to go against these rules is really quite difficult, Simpson said. While we write and enforce rules that are written, we need to look at those that are not written. She drew on this theme, and encouraged the audience to seek out diverse thinkers, diverse viewpoints, and diverse influences to ensure that the audiences work did not become untested or stuck in a rut.

The event concluded with DHS Pride Board Member Juan Torres announcing upcoming events for the organization, including DHS Prides first-ever participation on Washington, D.C.s CapitalPride Festival, the creation of regional chairs so DHS Pride could begin hosting events nation-wide, and the announcement of new social gathering and networking opportunities. DHS Prides June Ceremony was the culmination of six months of hard work. June, 2012 will be DHS Prides third anniversary, and its first with an elected Board of Directors, active Social and Communications committees, ratified by-laws, a successfully-launched website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed, and a three-fold increase in membership since June 2011. Seizing this momentum, DHS Pride is eagerly working to increase its membership. We are working hard to ensure DHS Pride will become something our members can be proud of, said DHS Pride President Adam Sulewski. We are finalizing the foundations of our organization, and planning for a future where DHS Pride is engaged with DHSs LGBT workforce to identify and address issues of importance to our membership, and to demonstrate just how much the LGBT community can contribute to ensuring the safety and security of our country. We are very honored by the attendance of DHS and DHS component leadership, and look forward to future engagement with the Department. DHS Pride, Inc. is a non-stock corporation in the State of Maryland, and currently has a pending 501(c)(3) application. Information about DHS Pride and rights/protections/issues for DHS LGBT personnel can be found at www.DHSPride.org, or Twitter @DHS_Pride. To join DHS Pride or receive additional information, the organization can be reached at: DHS.Pride.Information@gmail.com.

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