NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Leadership Award

The NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Leadership Award, sponsored by Randy Lovely and the Gannett Foundation, recognizes individuals who have made a positive impact on their newsrooms by increasing diversity and improving coverage of the LGBTQ community. The recipients of the award may not necessarily be active journalists themselves, but have nonetheless used their work to improve the news industry and the journalism profession.

This Year’s Winner

Ryan Williams

Ryan Williams is the recipient of the 2023 NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Leadership Award. Williams is the Digital and Special Events Producer at the D.C. Public Library. Since joining at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ryan has successfully produced the reopening of the MLK Library’s $211 million renovation, shepherded the library’s talent management initiative, created virtual programming and an in-house studio and production team for the library’s marketing, streaming and content goals. Prior to his time with the D.C. Public Library, he served as Director of Multicultural Initiatives and Foundation Outreach at NBC News, MSNBC and NBC News Digital. In 2016, he created NBC Out, the LGBTQ+ news division of NBC News Digital, which became an industry first for a legacy broadcast network. In 2015, he created NBCBLK, the African American news division of NBC News Digital, and led marketing, partnership and promotional efforts for NBC Out, NBCBLK, NBC Asian American and NBC Latino.

Williams has also been a devoted Lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). He served as Managing Director of the association from 2005 to 2011, creating programs and partnerships, co-chairing the association’s Convention committee, and producing events featuring President Joe Biden and Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. He is also a two-time recipient of NABJ’s President’s Award.

Past Winners

David Plazas

David Plazas

David Plazas is the recipient of the 2021 NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Leadership Award. Plazas is the Opinion and Engagement Director for the USA TODAY Network in Tennessee and for the Tennessean. He has written award-winning editorials and columns on...

Errin Haines

Errin Haines

Errin Haines is the recipient of the 2022 NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Leadership Award. Haines is editor at large and a co-founding member of The 19th, a nonprofit, independent newsroom focused on the intersection of gender, politics and policy. She is...

Arlyn Gajilan

Arlyn Gajilan

Arlyn Gajilan is the recipient of the 2019 NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Leadership Award. She is the deputy managing editor for operations at Reuters. Gajilan helps manage the news agency’s bureaus from Toronto to Santiago and San Francisco...

Carolyn Ryan

Carolyn Ryan

Carolyn Ryan is the recipient of the 2018 NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Leadership Award. She is the assistant managing editor at The New York Times. In this position she oversees the recruiting of journalists to The Times. Before she was...