2024 Cultivating Community | https://nceca.net/2024-cultivating-community

A recording of the compelling discussion led by Troy Williams of Equality Utah is now available on YouTube at @WatchNCECA. As part of NCECA’s 2024 Cultivating Community initiative, this session examines Utah House Bill 257 and delves into Equality Utah's strategic efforts to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion in the Salt Lake City region. Learn more.

Utah House Bill 257, titled “Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying, and Women’s Opportunities,” has generated discourse and concern in Utah and nationally. This session provided a platform for an in-depth discussion on the legal and social dynamics influencing policy development and advocacy work, offering Troy's insights on work that advocates and advances equity and justice.

Troy Williams

For the past two decades, Troy has been a community organizer for LGBTQ Utahns. In 2004, he became community affairs director of 90.9 FM KRCL. He was the executive producer and co-host of the talk show RadioActive. In 2010 the Salt Lake Tribune dubbed him "the gay mayor of Salt Lake City."

Troy's work has since been featured in the New York Times, Anderson Cooper 360, CBC Q, Democracy Now!, The Advocate, OUT Magazine, and Interview Magazine. In 2010, he co-wrote the award-winning play The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon and appeared in the Errol Morris film Tabloid in 2011. Troy also appeared in the HBO original documentaries Believer and Mama's Boy. In 2022, The Advocate Magazine named Troy as one of the 50 LGBTQ Champions of Pride.

Troy became the executive director of Equality Utah in the fall of 2014. In 2015 he helped pass Utah's historic LGBTQ non-discrimination protections in housing and employment. In 2016, he led efforts to rename 20 blocks of downtown Salt Lake City as "Harvey Milk Boulevard". In 2017 he worked to successfully overturn the state's 'No Promo Homo' law which prohibited discussion of LGBTQ issues in the classroom. In 2023 his team successfully passed legislation to protect minors from the dangerous practice of conversion therapy with unanimous votes in the Utah Legislature.