2007 Honorees:

ALLY AWARD: When native Nashvillian Iris Buhl started volunteering for Nashville Cares twenty years ago, it was only the start of a litany of dedication and service to her community. She has served on the boards of University School of Nashville (USN), Planned Parenthood, and Nashville CARES, where she was also on staff as Director of Development from 1995-1998. She was appointed by Mayor Bill Purcell to the Charitable Solicitations Board of Metropolitan Nashville, which she chaired for two years. She currently lives in Nashville with her husband of forty-one years, Mike Buhl.

EQUALITY AWARD: Marisa J. Richmond, Ph.D. is the President of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) and Chair of TEP’s Public Policy Committee. However, her commitment to serve her community goes far beyond Tennessee. She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) as the Congressional Lobbying Coordinator, and on the Board of Advisors of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). This fall, Richmond traveled the state for “Vote No on 1” and met almost daily with legislators to discuss current legislation and how it affects the GLBT community.

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD: A native of Kentucky, Christopher Sanders came to Nashville fourteen years ago to pursue the M.Div. at Vanderbilt University. He is the Director of Development at St. Luke’s Community House, an Episcopal organization that serves the working poor of West Nashville. His community involvement is focused on the GLBT community and the Episcopal Church. He currently serves as president of the Tennessee Equality Project of which he was a founding board member. Previously he was president of the Nashville GLBT Chamber of Commerce. Under his guidance, the Nashville Association of Professional Persons (NAPP) went from being a social/networking venue to a fully operating GLBT Chamber of Commerce.