Leadership

Richmond Pride Board of Directors

  • Chadwick H. (he/him) – Executive Director

    Chadwick H. (he/him) – Executive Director

    Chadwick is the Executive Director of Richmond Pride. He has experience with involvement in national LGBTQIA+ organizations, along with those more localized to the cities he has resided in over the years (San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Honolulu). These experiences give him a unique perspective and approach on localized issues within his hometown of Richmond. He was actively involved in the overturning of Proposition 8 in California, as well as the push for marriage equality in both Hawai`i and California before they were made legal by the Supreme Court decision.

    His educational career led him from the public school system of Madison County, to graduating early from highschool in order for him to obtain a degree in both Evolutionary Biology and Computer Science from Stanford University in California. Chadwick is also a U.S. Navy veteran from the latter era of D.A.D.T. (Don't Ask, Don't Tell), having been enlisted for four years concurrently with his higher education. He has used both his education at Stanford University and experience in the U.S. Navy to found several businesses throughout the United States and to establish himself as a leader in technology and entrepreneurship. 

    He has been involved with several nonprofits over the years. These nonprofits range from a therapeutic program called the HIV Care Wellness Program at the Quan Yin Healing Arts Center, to the San Francisco Sexual Health Clinic that provided free testing and counseling to everyone in the community, but especially the LGBTQIA+ communities. He was also one of the first medical trial subjects of Project T(enofovir) through the San Francisco Health Department, which was the precursor study for the use of tenofovir as a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (aka PrEP). He was involved with several nonprofit drag organizations throughout California and Hawai`i, personally raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to give back to his community.

    Chadwick currently lives with his partner/fiance of 14 years, with their two bulldogs and farm of animals. He and his partner have been residing in Kentucky since 2018, when they moved back to take care of his mother who had terminal cancer. After her passing, he decided to stay around to help make his community into a more inclusive place. That led to his co-founding of Richmond Pride, along with Tommy and Christopher, in 2019.

  • Megan B. (she/her) – Chair

    Megan B. (she/her) – Chair

    Dr. Megan Bloomer is a quirky and rebellious corporate executive with a proven track record of shaking things up and challenging the status quo. She was named one of Fortune Magazine’s Innovative Leaders of the Year under the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work rankings. She has facilitated workshops for TED and pushed the boundaries with her TEDx talk on creating safe space inside of corporate environments. In 2021, Megan was recognized as one of the Top 50 Corporate Social Responsibility Leaders by DiversityFIRST and in 2022, she was awarded the Excellence in Leadership Award from the National Diversity Council.

    Megan is an executive coach specializing in helping women and queer folks master the unwritten rules of Corporate America in order to shatter every ceiling holding them back from the growth and success they want in their career.

    Megan has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies, a Master in Environmental Policy and Management, a Master of Business Administration, and PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies. She has studied across the world, from the urban jungle of Manhattan to the rainforest of Queensland, Australia and her work spans Fortune 500 companies, governmental organizations, academia, and non-profits.

    Megan currently serves on the Board of Directors for several non-profit organizations and charitable foundations including The Cheesecake Factory Oscar and Evelyn Overton Charitable Foundation, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Madison County, and the DEI Advisory Board for Syneos Health. Besides serving as the Chair for Richmond PRIDE, Megan is also currently the Vice Chair for Prescott College Board of Trustees. She is also an active member of The Junior League of Lexington. In her free time (when there is any), Megan volunteers for several dog rescues and serves as a foster home for special needs French Bulldogs – three of which have become her forever children. Megan enjoys traveling and finding great “hole-in-the-wall” food spots. As a queer woman, it is important to Megan to spend time mentoring and coaching LGBTQ youth and young adults in her community. In every aspect of her life, Megan follows her passion to make the world a more just and equitable place.Megan’s diverse and unique career allows her to bring a variety of skill sets to board positions. She is DEI, ESG, CSR, and Sustainability expert while also have a strong skill set in governance, finance, mentoring, networking, and corporate structure. Megan has vast experience serving on and/or chairing finance, governance, fundraising, and nomination committees.

  • Tommy H. (he/him) – Vice Chair/Event Director

    Tommy H. (he/him) – Vice Chair/Event Director

    Tommy Helmick is the Vice-Chairperson and the Events Coordinator for Richmond Pride. As a full time realtor in central Kentucky, Tommy works to  help LGBTQIA+ community members receive equal and fair housing. Tommy is passionate about volunteering his time throughout the year in home and park restoration, Special Olympics and various other events that he’s part of through  his real estate brokerage. When he’s not working, he enjoys gardening on the farm and spending time with his family and pets.

    Tommy was born and raised in a military family and lived in Germany until the age of 9 when he moved  to Elizabethtown, Kentucky. After graduating from community college, he moved to California where he earned  a Bachelor's of Arts in Marketing from San Francisco State University. During his time, he worked with a gay travel company, hosting events around the U.S. to collect and provide safe travel destinations for the LGBTQ+ community. Networking  across the nation helped him see the accomplishments and the struggles that we as a community continue to face.

    After returning to Kentucky in 2018, he collaborated with other like minded individuals and local businesses to bring the first Pride to Richmond Kentucky in 2019. His goal was and continues to be to bring awareness and  foster safe space for the community to be their authentic self.

  • Braidyn B. (they/them) – Fundraising/Marketing

    Braidyn B. (they/them) – Fundraising/Marketing

    Braidyn Browning is a non-binary author, digital marketer and Kentucky transplant. An Oklahoma native, Braidyn earned their Bachelor of Science in Communications from Oklahoma State University. Following college, they began their career in corporate marketing where they delivered on print/digital advertisements, creative strategy, dynamic and cross channel marketing campaigns and more. Capitalizing on a unique opportunity presented by COVID, Braidyn left the corporate marketing space to kickstart a life long dream.

    Over the course of 2 years, Braidyn built out a tiny home on wheels and began to travel the United States while working freelance from the road.During their time as an entrepreneur, Braidyn worked exclusively with LGBTQ+ owned and affirming businesses, individuals and non profit organizations to deliver digital campaigns, marketing strategy and event planning/execution. Braidyn fell in love with Kentucky and settled down in Richmond following an event they planned and executed called Queers in the Country. Over the course of the 3 day event, Braidyn became attached to the beauty of the holler and began to form bonds with the incredible local queer community.

    As part of Richmond Pride, Braidyn has the honor of amplifying the stories and experiences of rural LGBTQ+ community members through storytelling, copywriting and various marketing efforts.

  • Jeff C. (n/a) – Entertainers

    Jeff C. (n/a) – Entertainers

    Jeff Chandler, whose drag personna is know as Katrina Victim, was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

    Katrina attended culinary school in New Orleans and worked in the industry for 24 years. In 2005, Katrina moved to Kentucky after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. 

    In 2011, Katrina moved to Lexington, KY and fell in love with the community. In 2018, Katrina started getting more involved in local drag and participated in charity events with the Imperial Court of Kentucky, raising funds for local organizations. 1 year ago, Katrina became the host of Open Stage at Crossings Lexington. Within that year, Katrina also created other show locations and is currently hosting a show regularly at Dreaming Creek Brewery in Richmond. 

    Katrina was a part of the talent for Richmond’s first annual Pride in 2020 and was asked to host at Pride 2022. Katrina also hosted all of the drag shows at Pride 2022 in Lexington as well. Recently, Katrina started a production company to give local entertainers more opportunities to be part of events and bring a diverse showcase to the public. Katrina’s main mission is to bring diversity into the community because community is all we have. 

    When Katrina is not in drag, you can find this human working from home, hanging out with Katrina’s 3 dogs, playing video games, or spending time with Katrina’s partner. Katrina enjoys good food and loves to cook good food as well.

  • Charley H. (He/Him) - Board Member

    Charley H. (He/Him) - Board Member

    Charley was born and raised in Richmond and has been a lifelong resident of the community. His family roots go back several generations deep here. 

    He is the owner of Dreaming Creek Brewery in Richmond which hosted the first ever Pride Festival in Richmond in 2019 and the second one in 2022. He has made Dreaming Creek Brewery a welcoming place for everyone. Dreaming Creek hosts all kinds of events from Drag shows to Church groups, not to mention several fundraisers for various local charities and groups. Dreaming Creek Brewery also won the Chamber of Commerce, small business of the year for 2022. He is also the president of the Kentucky Guild of Brewers.

    He is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and sits on the Network Security bachelor’s degree committee there. 

    He owns a small farm where he and his wife Shawna have raised their two children, JC and Kennedy. They have six dogs, one cat, one guinea pig, six chickens and a turtle.

    In his spare time, he is a private pilot who loves taking people up for a sightseeing flight around Madison County. He also loves brewery hopping in new locations to try the local beers. 

    He plans to walk the Camino de Santiago with his daughter Kennedy in June of 2023 which has been on his bucket list for years.

  • Jennifer P. (she/her) - Board Member

    Jennifer P. (she/her) - Board Member

    Jennifer is an operations analyst for a global technology company and has over 20 years experience in the financial industry.
    She was raised in Berea and has lived in Kentucky most of her life. She graduated from Madison Southern High School in 1997 and moved to Richmond to attend Eastern Kentucky University.
    She moved to Lexington in 2000 where she began her career in financial services. It was here
    that she fell in love with the community.
    Her family picked up and moved to Knoxville, TN for a couple of years where she also found community and participated in the pride parade and festivals there. They moved back to
    Richmond in 2019 and has lived there since.
    In light of recent events going on in this country, and more importantly, our state, she feels our community needs more support now than it ever has.

1 of 7