Welcome to New Haven, Dr. Summers. Credit: New Haven Pride Center Facebook image
The New Haven Pride Center has tapped a long-time LGBTQ+ advocate, Thinkubator founder, and professional therapist to serve as the local nonprofit’s next executive director.
The appointment of Dr. Edward Summers, 43, was announced by the Pride Center on Monday. Wednesday will be his first day at the 50 Orange St. office.
Summers fills a role last occupied by Juancarlos Soto, who stepped down in April. According to his LinkedIn, some of Summers’ most recent roles include Vice President of Administrative Affairs at Anaheim University, Director of the Cadence Institute for Policy & Society, and Executive Director of Pridelines.
On Monday, Summers told the Independent that in his new role, he plans to bring with him a lifelong commitment to uplifting marginalized communities — work he began at the Diego-Beekman complex in the South Bronx.
When he was nine years old, Summers said his landlord burned down apartments for insurance money, reflecting a well-documented pattern of Bronx homes catching on fire through the 1970s and 1980s.
He described the South Bronx at the time as a neglected neighborhood, filled with “pockets of poverty” and “a lot of abandoned buildings.” Met with apathy and inaction from local officials, tenants gathered in a community meeting to figure out how to save their homes.
Summers’ mom brought him to that meeting. There, he piped in with a question: “What if the tenants get together and try to buy the building?”
That’s the first example Summers could remember of engaging in community advocacy. Since then, he’s started a nonprofit workforce development group for Bronx youth, served in strategic roles for multiple universities, and worked as a therapist specializing in LGBTQ+ affirming therapy and substance use disorders.
Now, he’s moving from New York City to New Haven to take over the Pride Center.
Summers cited the political climate as a major reason why he pursued the role.
“During a time where we are seeing our democracy attacked” and “the rights of our community” threatened, said Summers, “we need people who are going to fight for our community.” He’s looking forward to moving into a Westville home with his partner and two puggles (pug-and-beagle mixes) and joining the city’s “beautiful community.”
At the Pride Center, he’ll be working with a little less than ten staff members and interns.
Top of his priority list is helping LGBTQ+ community members get through the holidays. “Some families may not still be accepting of a person’s identity or sexual orientation,” said Summers. “That is hard.”
“While some people are on their way back home to spend time with their families,” many LGBTQ+ individuals instead convene with their “chosen family,” defined as a group of people that provide kinship and support to each other. For the people who can’t celebrate with their families, Summers wants to make sure the Pride Center is a warm, safe space to gather.
Given the continued uncertainty over federal SNAP benefits, Summers also wants to make sure the pantry is fully stocked through winter. Ahead of Thanksgiving, he said they’re planning a giveaway of 20 turkeys and side items.
Longer term, he’s talking to residents, other advocacy groups, and staff members about new or different ways that the center can serve the LGBTQ+ community.
He praised the Pride Center as a “connective tissue” linking the community to resources for “housing, therapy, and medical services,” and he’s exploring whether it makes sense to bring some of those services in-house.
For example, the closure of Youth Continuum has affected LBGTQ+ youth, many of whom lack stable housing. Summers said he wants to consider whether the Pride Center can play a direct role in housing young people.
That same question extends to mental health care. While the Pride Center currently refers people to outside providers, Summers has observed some LGBTQ+ organizations employing therapists on staff. He’s considering whether to expand the center’s mental health resources or continue primarily connecting people partner clinicians.
Given the looming threat of future federal budget cuts under the Trump administration, he’s also focused on diversifying funding sources for the Price Center so they can weather potential losses. Some financiers include individuals, foundations, and Connecticut — a state that, emphasized Summers, has been “so supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.”
“I know that the next three years are going to continue to be challenging,” said Summers. “I want to make sure that the New Haven Pride Center remains sustainable: an organization that advocates for policies that empower the LBGTQ+ community and a place where “individuals can come to get the resources they need.”