SAN DIEGO – In celebration of LGBT Pride Month and as part of its ongoing commitment to cultural diversity and responsible banking, Union Bank, N.A., has partnered with KPBS to honor two remarkable individuals as local heroes. The 2014 LGBT Pride Month honorees are: Rev. Canon Albert Ogle, president of the St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation, and Robert Gleason, chief executive officer and president of Evans Hotels. They will be recognized in June at a private dinner celebration with their families and executives from KPBS and Union Bank.
Since 1998, KPBS and Union Bank have collaborated on the Local Heroes program and recognized nearly 200 honorees. The program pays tribute to exemplary leaders who are making a difference and enriching the lives of others by improving their community, region and the world at large. The 2014 LGBT Pride Month honorees demonstrate a shared commitment to providing their communities with the tools to thrive in today’s changing world.
In addition to the LGBT Pride Month local heroes, honorees were identified during Black History Month (February); Women’s History Month (March); Jewish American Heritage Month (May); Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May) and will also be recognized during Hispanic Heritage Month (September/October); Disability Awareness Month (October); and American Indian Heritage Month (November).
“The Local Heroes program is an opportunity to showcase our vibrant and diverse communities, and we are pleased to recognize these outstanding LGBT Pride Month heroes who work tirelessly to enrich the San Diego community,” said Union Bank Senior Executive Vice President Pierre P. Habis, head of Community and Private Banking. “We’re pleased that through our partnership with KPBS we’re able to showcase these remarkable leaders.”
“We are pleased to partner with Union Bank as we celebrate the work of these inspiring community leaders,” said Tom Karlo, KPBS general manager. “These honorees strive to not only aid the local LGBT community, but the greater San Diego community and the world at large, and we are delighted to feature each incredible story in our programming.”
The 2014 honorees for LGBT Pride Month are:
Rev. Canon Albert Ogle is founder and president of the St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation, an organization that addresses human rights, health and education through faith, and empowers grassroots organizations in many countries to advocate for LGBT rights and AIDS prevention. Rev. Ogle moved to the United States in the 1980s. He served as the youth director of the Los Angeles LGBT Center while serving as one of the first openly gay clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. He later joined AIDS Project LA as its first planning director and was responsible for creating the first AIDS prevention plan for California. Rev. Ogle is a contributor to the Erasing 76 Crimes blog, which addresses the human toll of 76 countries’ anti-gay laws and the struggle to repeal them. He is working on his memoir, and writes a column for the San Diego Gay & Lesbian News called “RGod2,” which explores faith and religion from an LGBT perspective.
Robert Gleason is chief executive officer and president of Evans Hotels and an ardent supporter of numerous community organizations. He is a former adjunct faculty member in the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University and chair of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and the City of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture. He is also co-chair for the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast, and a trustee of Francis Parker School. Mr. Gleason is a former chair of the San Diego LGBT Community Center, the San Diego LGBT Community Leadership Council and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. In 2009, Mr. Gleason was honored by San Diego Pride as a Champion of Pride. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University and a Juris Doctorate from the School of Law at the University of San Diego.
KPBS features a wide range of LGBT Pride Month programming during June. For more information or to nominate a future local hero, please visit www.kpbs.org/heroes or unionbank.com/heroes.
