Pride Toronto has named Olivia Nuamah its new executive director.
Six months after the role became vacant, Pride Toronto has chosen its successor, describing Nuamah on its website as a “community builder, mother and artist” with “25 years of experience working in both the non-profit and government sectors.”
Nuamah’s goal for this year’s Pride is to “be reflective of the communities it serves,” she said in a Q&A on the organization’s website.
“What I would like to do is put processes in place that promote greater dialogue about the objectives of the festival and what the community wants.”
Nuamah replaces former executive director Mathieu Chantelois who chose to step down in August 2016 rather than be investigated for what Pride Toronto called “serious allegations” against him.
READ MORE: Pride Toronto executive director resigns after allegations of racism, sexual harassment
Chantelois also fell under criticism for how he handled a Black Lives Matter protest at last year’s Pride parade, signing a list of demands from the organization that included barring police involvement from future parades.
In a statement released on Feb.10, Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders said he understands the LGBTQ communities “are divided” following a vote by Pride Toronto members last month to remove police floats and marches from their annual parade.
“To enable those differences to be addressed, I have decided the Toronto Police Service will not participate, this year, in the Pride Parade,” Saunders said.
The chief also said that police will continue to hold their annual Pride reception and that pulling out of the parade will have no impact on their ongoing outreach to LGBTQ communities.
READ MORE: Toronto police dropping out of this year’s Pride Parade
The next Pride month begins June 1.
With files from Adam Miller and David Shum
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