The Davis Phoenix Coalition appoints Sandré Henriquez Nelson as new executive director

New leadership discusses organization mission and goals moving forward

By HANNAH OSBORN — city@theaggie.org

Effective Sept. 1, Sandré Henriquez Nelson became the new executive director of the Davis Phoenix Coalition. Vice Mayor Gloria Partida preceded him in the role as head of the local nonprofit, best known for hosting Davis Pride. 

Henriquez Nelson joined the Davis Phoenix Coalition shortly after the organization's founding in 2013 to help plan the first Davis Pride, which took place in 2015. Prior to joining the leadership of the nonprofit, he volunteered through the Pop Warner Little Scholars organization and the Breaking Barriers Community Services Center in Sacramento, where he gained experience as an executive director. 

“My work up until this point has been supporting the mission of the organization,” Henriquez Nelson said. “But my real focus was creating and producing Davis Pride, and also helping guide the LGBTQ policy of the organization.”

Henriquez Nelson described the experience of seeing the growth and impact of Davis Pride in the local community.

“When we first started Davis Pride, we were excited if 50 people showed up,” Henriquez Nelson said. “I think that first year we had 500 people, and now we’re well over 7,500 people that attend throughout the day. We are very excited to see that growth and get out there.”

Though the organization is known for its LGBTQ+ advocacy, its goals and resources extend beyond one group. In addition, previous leadership has focused on expanding from the Davis area to establish a presence throughout Yolo County.

“We do more than Pride, even though that is our biggest visibility event,” Henriquez Nelson said. “We do other things. We help our immigrant community. We help out students, no matter if they are LGBT or not. We are just a resource here in Yolo County, and I definitely want to take that vision and that mission and just keep it moving forward.”

Moving forward as executive director, Henriquez Nelson said he plans to further the work that the Davis Phoenix Coalition can do for local marginalized communities.

“The one big thing I want to make sure we do is coalition building with several organizations, because if we can’t handle it, maybe we can work with another organization who can,” Henriquez Nelson said. 

To identify community concerns for the organization to focus on as it enters a new period of leadership, Henriquez Nelson will be hosting a series of listening sessions. These events will allow for direct communication and engagement about where the coalition should focus resources going forward.

“If we know about it, then we can work, we can talk with our connections,” Henriquez Nelson said. “I definitely want to make sure we rally our volunteer base to help drive that.”

As a primarily volunteer-based organization, building upon the coalition’s current volunteer numbers is also an area of focus for Henriquez Nelson, an invitation he extends to the student population.

“We are always excited to work with our Aggie community,” Henriquez Nelson said. “We have an internship program we encourage students to come and participate in and help up run different aspects of our organization.”

Information for those wishing to volunteer, attend a listening session or learn more about the work of the Davis Phoenix Coalition can be found on the coalition’s website. 

Written by: Hannah Osborn— city@theaggie.org