Description

Join GSBA and Emcee Aleksa Manila and share your true colors with us at our 2023 Scholars Celebration Presented by T-Mobile on Saturday May 13 beginning at 10am. We'll gather for a delicious brunch at the Seattle Waterfront Marriott to meet our remarkable GSBA Scholars, hear their stories, and celebrate our graduating scholars with a keynote speech by Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange from UW Tacoma. Since its inception, the GSBA Scholarship & Education Fund has proudly invested over $6 Million in LGBTQ+ scholars and future leaders !You won't want to miss out on this heartwarming celebration of these talented LGBTQ+ students and their accomplishments.

If you have any dietary restrictions or special accessibility needs (wheelchair accomodations, use of an interpreter, etc) , please let us know at least 48 hours in advance by emailing membership@thegsba.org 

Don't want the celebration to end? Join us at Aleul Cellars in Ballard for a post-event get together anr raise your glasses to celebrate our scholars one more time!  RSVP for the Raise Your Glass HERE

About Aleksa Manila

Social activist by day, socialite by night. Aleksa Manila is a celebrated and respected drag personality. Originally from Manila, Philippines, she now calls Seattle, Washington home.

Aleksa is a favorite emcee/host, speaker/panelist, performer/model at many events in the region because of her smart and sassy presence onstage and her ease of engaging her audience and over the years, she has been recognized for her community efforts in advocacy and social justice. 

In 2012, she founded Pride ASIA whose mission is to celebrate, empower and nurture the multi-cultural diversity of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer communities through the Asian Pacific Islander lens.

In her professional career, Aleksa when "not-in-face" is the Program Manager at Pubic Health - Seattle & King County focused on health disparities that impact marginalized groups in King & Snohomish counties (National HIV Behavioral Surveillance); worked as Program Manager of the Immigrant, Refugee & Undocumented Outreach Program, Program Coordinator of Project NEON and Program Supervisor of Addiction Services at Seattle Counseling Service where s/he dedicated 16+ years in behavioral health and social service. 

, Mr. George Takei.

About Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange: 

Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange was appointed to serve as Chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma in September 2021. As the chief executive officer of the campus she provides leadership on all campus matters. She has a wide range of experience in higher education administration and has been a leading advocate for diversity and inclusion throughout her career.

Dr. Lange has been an active contributor to many civic and educational boards both locally and nationally to advance educational excellence and inclusion. She currently serves on the boards of Pugh Capital Management, the Seattle Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Washington Campus Compact, AAA Washington and the Seattle Art Museum. She is a past national president of the Women in Engineering Pro-Active Network.

She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Washington State Association of College Trustees’ 2020 CEO of the Year, Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2021 Director of the Year and 2011 Woman of Influence, and the 2013 UW College of Education Distinguished Alumni Award.

Menu Options:

All served with market fresh fruit & berry bowl, freshly baked muffins & pastries (contains nuts), orange juice, freshly brewed regular & decaffeinated coffee, selection of hot tea

Regular:

Scrambled eggs with chives and cheddar cheese

Crisp bliss potatoes, caramelized onions, with caramelized onions, scallions, chicken apple sausage

Vegetarian:

Brioche French toast | V

vanilla maple syrup, Chantilly, whipped butter

Vegan:

Tofu and vegetable scramble | VG

Breakfast potatoes, with caramelized onions, scallions, roasted tomato

Event Schedule

10:15 - 11:00 AM
Reception in Grand Pacific Foyer- Enjoy a coffee and mix and mingle with fellow GSBA members and scholars

11:15 AM-12:30 PM
The Grand Ballroom- Scholars Celebration program and Brunch

Thank you to our Title Sponsor T-Mobile, our Event Sponsors Symetra, Carter Subaru, Amazon, Swire Coca-Cola, and PwC as well as our Media Partner The Puget Sound Business Journal, and the official photographer of GSBA Scholars Celebration, DIWAS Photography.