2024 GALA HONOREES

Assemblymember Chris Burdick - The Edie Windsor & Thea Spyer Equality Award

Assemblymember Chris Burdick joined the Assembly in January 2021, having previously served for seven years as Supervisor of the Town of Bedford. He sits on the Banks, Correction, Environmental Conservation, Housing, People with Disabilities, and Veterans' Affairs Committees. He also serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities, where he has focused on promoting employment opportunities in the public and private sectors. In 2023, Assemblymember Burdick was named one of City & State’s most prolific legislators, with the passage of 14 bills that session. Since taking office, he has sponsored bills in the areas of people with disabilities, housing, LGBTQIA+ rights, women’s reproductive rights, the environment, veterans’ issues, and many others. He also serves as a member of the Latino/Puerto Rican Task Force and the Asian- Pacific American Task Force.

Assemblymember Burdick has made an impact in his district by securing funding for local nonprofits and community-based organizations, fire departments, libraries, parks, playgrounds, and landmarks. Recognizing the importance of constituent services, Assemblymember Burdick and his staff have always made responding to constituents in need of assistance a top priority. Chris earned his B.A. in Economics and History from the University of California at Berkeley; his Masters in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; and his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall Law School. Before becoming Bedford Town Supervisor, Chris served as an attorney at Stewart Title Insurance Company of New York, where he was Chief Underwriting Counsel. He and his wife Illyria have been married for 39 years. They have three adult children and two granddaughters.

Steve Bass - The LOFT Ally Award

Steve Bass has had a lifelong passion for politics and government, working for the past 30 plus years to fight for those who might be forgotten or otherwise left behind. Currently, Steve serves as the Director of Intergovernmental Relations for Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a position he has held since the start of the Administration in 2018. As part of the Administration Steve has worked to pass transformative legislation in Westchester County. He worked on the County’s Earned/Paid Sick Leave legislation, which ensured that all of Westchester’s residents are entitled to paid sick leave. He worked to pass the Immigration Protection Act, which ensured that immigrants could call the police without being targeted for their citizenship status. He worked to cut taxes for Westchester’s residents, worked to secure legislation that would ensure salary transparency for any position advertised in Westchester County, worked to fight discrimination in cooperative housing, and fought for and secured a County-wide ban on conversion therapy.

Steve grew up in the Town of Greenburgh, where, in 2001, he was elected to the Greenburgh Town Board. Through this role, he pushed for a Community Preservation Fund dedicated to preserving open space, revised the Town’s ethics code to prevent real estate developers from donating to Town officials, was the liaison for the Greenburgh Nature Center, and lead efforts to ensure the Greenburgh Public Library was renovated and updated. Steve began his political and governmental career with Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, and through his career worked with dozens of prevalent elected officials: Steve worked for Geraldine Ferraro’s finance staff when she ran for United States Senate in 1998. He was hired by Latimer in 1999 to serve as a committee coordinator for the Westchester County Board of Legislators. In 2000, Steve worked on Bill Bradly’s campaign for President as an organizer in northeast Iowa during the critical first in the nation Iowa Caucus. When Ken Jenkins became Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators in 2010, Steve was made Legislative Director for the Board. In 2016, Steve worked for Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign to get out the vote in Pueblo, Colorado. Finally, in 2017, Steve worked on the George Latimer for County Executive campaign and played a significant role in the surprising victory against a strong incumbent.

Steve also serves as liaison for County Executive Latimer to the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, where he helps organize the County’s annual pride celebration and promotes the voices and perspectives of Westchester’s LGBTQ population. In his free time, Steve plays softball on the Grizzlies with the Big Apple Softball League, serves as Commissioner of a fantasy baseball league, and fulfils his duties as the Chair of the Greenburgh Democratic Town Committee, a position he was elected to in 2021.

Nonprofit Westchester - The LOFT's Business Ally Award

Nonprofit Westchester (NPW) is Westchester’s only membership organization solely dedicated to advancing the needs and interests of the county's nonprofit sector, the people served, and the nonprofit workforce. Representing more than 300 members, NPW’s vision is to build a thriving county with vibrant nonprofits and resilient, inclusive communities that value equity and inclusion, innovation, and integrity. The mission of NPW is to strengthen Westchester’s nonprofit organizations as they transform lives, empower communities, and drive positive change. This mission and vision are strengthened through advocacy and research, professional development and training, and collaboration and connection. Nonprofit Westchester is proud to represent the remarkable individuals and organizations shaping our county’s future - those who have shown extraordinary ingenuity, expertise and resolve in providing solutions to the issues and challenges faced by our neighbors and in creating opportunity for all members of our society.

Yonkers Pride - Community Impact Special Recognition

Yonkers Pride began as an idea in 2015. The idea originated after Mayor Mike Spano formed an LBGTQ Advisory Board in 2014. The Board, comprised of 7 residents from our community, met to discuss priorities on which we could advise the Mayor. The first meeting brought forth the idea of a flag raising to be held at City Hall. It was marked as the first for the LGBTQ Community in Westchester County. An early accomplishment of the Advisory Board was to work with the Mayor to achieve a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index; a rating which Yonkers still holds to this day. As an advisory board, we could not raise funds of our own. This issue inhibited our ability to create a festival in Yonkers when our thoughts turned to it in 2015. We sought out individuals to assist with an event, but the process stalled due to this funding problem.

In 2017 one of our new board members who also sat on the board of the Yonkers Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) suggested that if we asked the BID to be our fiscal sponsor perhaps, we could achieve our goal of a street festival. With the approval of Mayor Mike Spano, a secondary board was formed to work solely on this festival and Yonkers Pride became a reality. Thinking boldly, Yonkers Pride reached out to Ru Paul’s Drag Race to hire entertainers from the TV series. We began promoting the idea by having social events in downtown Yonkers and inviting the community to attend. These events were primarily held in local bars and restaurants but since then we have worked to become more inclusive by hosting family friendly events as well with partners at Yonkers Public Library and the Hudson River Museum. From our first Pride in 2018 we have grown in attendance from 5,000 attendees to an estimated 12,000 in 2024. Our vendor count has risen as well. We expanded our street festival to include a “Kids Zone” and allow more space for vendors in 2024. With the help of sponsorships and Firefighters Local 628, Yonkers Pride has sponsored a scholarship program for Yonkers high school students beginning in 2022. In 2023 we produced our first Mini Ball with international attendance.