Galaei Welcomes Tyrell Brown as New Executive Director

Tyrell Brown, Director of GALAEI
Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar

Galaei, a Queer and Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) social justice organization, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Tyrell Brown as its new Executive Director. The Board of Directors is confident that Tyrell’s appointment will enable Galaei to continue its founding mission of providing a safe space for Philadelphia’s Latinx/o/a/e community while expanding its reach to serve all queer, trans, black, brown, indigenous, and people of color.

After an exhaustive search, the Board of Directors identified Tyrell as a strong and committed community organizer, unanimously voting for their appointment. As the Deputy Director of Galaei, Tyrell has led with compassion, creating an environment where people feel empowered to educate and enlighten themselves. Guided by the wisdom of ancestors and elders, Galaei is confident that Tyrell will encourage its family to continue building and restoring a just and caring world.

Tyrell joins a distinguished line of Galaei leaders who have stewarded the organization for over 30 years, including founder David Acosta and Gloria Casarez, among others. Tyrell is a well-known community organizer in Philadelphia, recognized for their grassroots political efforts, coordination of children’s programming for the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference, directing summer camp programs for Wynnefield Residents Association, leadership in last year’s highly successful PRIDE festivities, and coordination of pandemic aid efforts. Despite facing numerous obstacles, Tyrell has used their experiences to compassionately and genuinely advocate for a world of healing, justice, and equity for all. They embody the kindness and thoughtfulness that Galaei hopes to foster within the community.

With their dedicated service and hard work at Galaei, Tyrell has demonstrated insight and leadership that will help Galaei continue to thrive. The Board of Directors of Galaei is united in promoting Tyrell to the position of Executive Director and is committed to supporting their continued dedication to Galaei’s critical mission of service to Philadelphia’s queer and trans community of color.

Founded in 1989 by David Acosta, GALAEI (the Gay and Lesbian AIDS Education Initiative) opened its doors to confront the pain, hurt, and fear resulting from the loss of LGBTQ+ Latinx lives to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Galaei has since evolved and widened its embrace to continue serving the Latinx community while providing and facilitating queer educational services, community wellness, and healing historical harm. Galaei is committed to creating access, opportunities, sexual empowerment, and economic development for all QTBIPOC individuals while fighting systemic oppression, structural racism, discrimination, and white supremacy.

Tyrell is an organizer, activist, and community leader with deep roots in the Philadelphia QTBIPOC community, having spent their entire life in Philadelphia and the tri-county area. As a preschool teacher, Tyrell has a deep understanding of the complex hurdles that the community encounters, particularly in Philadelphia. Tyrell is also a children’s programming coordinator, having directed the Wynnefield Residents Association’s camp programming and co-developed children’s programming at the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference (2017-2020).

Tyrell is committed to achieving reparations, ending white supremacy, systemic abuse, and imperialism of all kinds. They stand for true equality and building a city and world that is equitable, full of opportunity, and abundance. Tyrell is a proud cat-daddy to “Bernie” and enjoys sports, writing poetry, music, and meeting new people.

Galaei is proud to welcome Tyrell to the organization and looks forward to continuing its critical work in providing a safe and empowering space for Philadelphia’s queer and trans community of color.

Tyrell Brown, Director of GALAEI

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