For Further Event Information:
215-732-3378 or
www.equalityforum.com
info@equalityforum.com

For Further Press Information:
Fleischman Gerber & Associates
Deborah Fleischman
215-735-7356

YOUNG GAY AMERICA CO-FOUNDERS
MIKE GLATZE AND BENJIE NYCUM RECEIVE
EQUALITY FORUM'S NATIONAL ROLE MODEL AWARD

Equality Forum presents its most prestigious honor, the 8th annual Tom Stoddard National Role Model Award to Mike Glatze and Benjie Nycum, co-founders of Young Gay America (YGA) on Friday, May 2 at The Kimmel Center with a stellar tribute. The Award recognizes the work on their website (www.younggayamerica.com) and over 75,000 km of road trips, which connect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) youth worldwide with powerful, life-affirming messages. The gala will also feature tributes by Broadway actors from The Laramie Project, and musical salutes by American Idol 2002 finalist Jim Verraros and Munich's Gay Schwuhplattler.

Equality Forum, formerly PrideFest America, presents the world's most comprehensive programs about the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community on April 28-May 4 in Philadelphia. Equality Forum features 76 programs and social events by 95 regional, national and international GLBT organizations.

Admission to the Tom Stoddard National Role Model Award is available through the website at www.equalityforum.com.

"Mike Glatze and Benjie Nycum are being honored for their extraordinary work with Young Gay America (www.younggayamerica.com), a groundbreaking website that connects GLBT youth," said Malcolm Lazin, Founder and Executive Director of Equality Forum. " This year's National Role Model Award also reflects Equality Forum's focus on GLBT youth."

Young Gay America is dedicated to improving the lives of GLBT youth. Founded by Benjie Nycum and Mike Glatze, YGA's mission is to educate and inform GLBT youth about their importance in society by placing their individual stories on the Internet; to foster and encourage the exchange of their ideas; and to promote positive self-image and sense of belonging.

Since March 2001, Benjie Nycum and Mike Glatze have taken road trips around North America documenting the lives of GLBT youth for Young Gay America's website at www.younggayamerica.com. The pair founded Young Gay America to educate and inform GLBT youth about their importance in society by featuring their personal stories on the internet; encouraging public discourse on issues pertinent to them; providing a GLBT youth forum; and promoting an overall sense of promise, positive self-image, and sense of belonging. Since their journey began Nycum and Glatze have interviewed over a thousand young people, taken over 8,000 photographs, visited 60 towns and cities, and driven over 46,500 miles.

YGA has recently completed the JIM IN BOLD Heartland Tour, during which they interviewed GLBT youths from Utah to Lebanon, PA. These candid interviews will be featured in JIM IN BOLD, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Glenn Holsten, produced by Equality Forum in collaboration with PBS, Young Gay America and MTV, with its world premiere on May 2 prior to the award presentation. JIM IN BOLD is a powerful account of the profound impact of homophobia on GLBT youth.

YGA is also represented at Equality Forum's art exhibit Exuberance!, a photo exhibit of over 300 GLBT Youth in North America at The University of the Arts running April 23 through May 4. Capturing the uniqueness, vitality and pride of GLBT youth across the country, Exuberance! was culled from over 8000 photographs by Glatze and Nycum with additional photographs by Rachelle Lee Smith.

Glatze and Nycum will also participate on Saturday, May 2 in the 6th annual Jim Wheeler National Youth Panel, a forum exploring current issues among GLBT youth. Moderated by Benjie Nycum of Young Gay America, panelists include Elizabeth Wheeler, the sister of Jim Wheeler; American Idol 2002 finalist Jim Verraros; Young Gay America organizer Scott MacPhee; and Derek Henkle, who successfully sued his school district for failure to protect him against harassment.

Since its founding in 1993, Equality Forum has become the world's largest annual gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) symposium and festival. It has expanded from a three-day conference of 15 regional organizations to a full week of events featuring international, national and regional leaders on a broad range of compelling issues. With 76 programs and social events presented by 95 regional, national and international non-profit organizations, Equality Forum is the most in-depth program of the emergence of a vibrant international GLBT community and its civil rights aspirations.

For further information, call 215-732-3378 or visit the website at www.equalityforum.com.

##########