Pride & Persistence

Join us for an inspiring evening of conversation, performance, and community at Pride & Persistence. This special program centers the lived experiences, creative power, and cultural leadership of Candace Nguyễn / Candace Persuasian, a Boston-based artist, storyteller, and community advocate, alongside Daunasia Yancey, activist, artist, founder of Boston Black Pride, and a widely respected voice for Black queer community building. Today, Daunasia serves as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement, working to empower, protect, and uplift LGBTQIA2S+ residents across Boston.

Through performance and conversation, the evening will explore and celebrate themes of trans joy, queer liberation, identity, resilience, and community care.

Moderated by Giselle Byrd, Executive Director of The Theater Offensive, this gathering will offer a powerful space for reflection, affirmation, and connection-bringing together community members, allies, and partners from across arts, advocacy, science, and culture.

Giselle Byrd is the Executive and Artistic Director of The Theater Offensive in Boston, Massachusetts, making her the first Black trans woman to lead a regional theatre company in the United States. A Tony Award-nominated leader, Byrd is passionately continuing and amplifying the organization’s mission to uplift and elevate the work of queer and trans artists of color, LGBTQIA2S+ youth, and their allies through bold, community-centered storytelling rooted in art and social justice.

With more than a decade of experience in talent management, production, casting, script coverage, fundraising, and brand partnerships, Byrd has built a career dedicated to championing artists and expanding opportunities for underrepresented voices. Prior to joining The Theater Offensive in 2023, she worked at The Katz Company in New York, where she managed the careers of actors, musicians, activists, and content creators while developing partnerships with organizations and brands including Gucci, Google, Netflix, GLAAD, BET, and The WNBA.

Byrd also made history as the first Black trans woman appointed to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, where she serves as Vice-Chair of the Programming and Planning Committee.

As a producer, Byrd was the first transgender woman accepted into the Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Filmmaker Program. Her recent work includes Grammy-nominee Diovanna Òbafunmilayo’s When We Arrive As Flowers, producing alongside actress Alexandra Billings, and starring in Candyland, by David Gil, which premiered at NewFest in 2024 and was most recently screened in Paris at A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival. Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Byrd earned her B.F.A. from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Daunasia Yancey (she/her) is a Black queer femme leader who has been organizing for justice since childhood—starting the first Gay-Straight Alliance in a Massachusetts public middle school. She founded the Boston chapter of the Black Lives Matter Grassroots Network in 2014, leading mass mobilizations and policy advocacy for Black communities.

She is also the founder of The Rest Rail, a wellness organization providing cost-free vacations to BIPOC organizers, and Pay A Black Woman, rooted in economic justice and visibility. Daunasia also traveled to Rio de Janeiro to spotlight anti-Black state violence ahead of the Olympic Games.

Today, she serves as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement in Boston, working to empower, protect, and uplift LGBTQIA2S+ residents citywide.

Candace Nguyen (she/her) is a Vietnamese Trans woman who is a Boston local. She was born and raised in Dorchester, being the first one of her family to be born in the US. She is a graduate of UMass Boston with an individualized major in Asian American Studies. 

Candace is most known for her performing in the drag scene in Boston as Candace Persuasian where she co created a show with an all trans cast at Jacques Cabaret, the oldest LGBTQ+ establishment in the US. 

Candace has also been deeply involved with working in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) community. She started off at MAP for Health, which is an organization that is dedicated to improving AAPI sexual health education on topics such as HIV and STDs. Candace has also worked with the Boston Alliance of GLTBQ Youth(BAGLY), Fenway Health, and Massachusetts General Hospital helping Trans and Gender Non Binary folks to get Gender Affirming Surgery to serving as a Community Relations Specialist for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement (MOLA) working on Queer issues and advocating for brave spaces in the city that she loves so much. Candace's current role in the city is one of the executive assistants for the Environment Cabinet. 

Candace even cameoed in Beyoncé’s Renaissance film after Beyoncé read her sign that says Trans is Beautiful in a sold out stadium which led her to be featured on PinkNews, Billboard, GayTimes and more. Candace has worked with BAGLY, Fenway Health, and Mass General Hospital. She was the recipient of the 2022 Trans Excellence Award presented to her by the Mass Trans Political Coalition. 