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LYRIC’s Toni Newman Calls Joe Biden & Kamala Harris Victory “Historic and Heartening”

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LYRIC’s Toni Newman Calls Joe Biden & Kamala Harris Victory “Historic and Heartening”

8 November 2020 – San Francisco, CA: Following today’s announcement of a victory for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Toni Newman, Interim Executive Director for San Francisco’s esteemed nonprofit LYRIC (www.lyric.org) called the election “historic and heartening.”

 “The Trump administration has been a constant assault on the lives, livelihoods and loves of the LGBTQ+ communities and an existential threat to the future of our LGBTQ+ youth,”  said Newman. The fight is far from over, but today we can all breathe a little easier and hold our queer heads a little higher. Today is a moment both historic and heartening as opposed to the last four years that have been histrionic and disheartening.”

LYRIC is the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading organization offering expertise in youth workforce development, healthcare navigation, individual counseling, and group-based community building to marginalized low-income LGBTQQ+ youth.  In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, LYRIC has continued its vital work for LGBTQQ youth in our community.

Newman is the former Interim Director for Employment Services at the San Francisco LGBT Center and a consultant for the Transgender Strategy Center. Toni is a graduate of Wake Forest University and current candidate for her Juris of Doctorate (JD). Toni served as the Executive Director for St. James Infirmary and the Director of Development for Maitri Compassionate Care, and previously served as the Interim Director of Development & Communications at To Help Everyone Health and Wellness Centers and as a Strategic Fundraiser, Volunteer Recruiter, and Legislative Aide for Equality California. Additionally, Toni is a best selling author, noted for her memoir I Rise – The Transformation of Toni Newman released in 2011, which is based on the poem I Rise by Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor, Dr. Maya Angelou. 

LYRIC’s mission is to build community and inspire positive social change through education enhancement, career trainings, health promotion, and leadership development with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) youth, their families, and allies of all races, classes, genders, and abilities. For more information and to make a donation, go to www.lyric.org