Meet Up North Pride’s First Executive Director

We sit down with Adrienne Brown-Reasner ahead of UNP Week

Adrienne Brown-Reasner started her new job as the first executive director of Up North Pride (UNP) just three weeks before the nonprofit’s biggest moment of the year. Up North Pride Week runs Sept. 24-29 to celebrate northern Michigan’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Brown-Reasner has worked in marketing, nonprofits, and Pride-based events for decades, and she says she’s excited to return to her hometown to be part of UNP’s 10th anniversary and the next decade of progress in northern Michigan.

Express: You’re from northern Michigan originally. Tell us about growing up here and why you wanted to come home.
ABR: Well, first of all, Traverse City is the most beautiful place in Michigan, and it always has had a very, very special place in my heart, even as a very young kid. … It’s such a unique area too, because it does have this very small-town feel. But at the same time, it has the larger city type amenities and activities going on—there’s always something to do, no matter what time of year it is. … I’m really, really excited to actually get to say it’s home again.

Express: How did you hear about the UNP job and what led you to apply?
ABR: A friend of mine from the Pride Center [in Grand Rapids] saw it, and was like, “Hey, you should look at this.” I have many, many years in the nonprofit world as a board member, as a committee member, a volunteer, as well as working on staff with the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum.

I just really loved the idea of being able to take that experience to a place that means so much to me. If I had known a group like this existed, especially as a high schooler, it would have made my coming out process so much easier, much more comfortable, because I would know that there are other people like me, that there are resources out there, that if there were things I needed, that I’m not alone.

Express: How do you think TC has changed over the years in terms of inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community?
ABR: I think there’s more outward support; you can see more flags. There’s more businesses that make a point of saying that they are supportive of the community. … It does feel like the city, especially downtown, is more open-minded and is more supportive, making sure that everyone feels welcome.

But on the flip side of that, if you get a little further outside of Traverse City in some of the smaller communities where it’s not as obviously supportive—especially for people who may be just coming to realize who they are, who they identify as—it may not feel like they can safely do that in some spaces. So in some ways, definitely, it’s [grown by] leaps and bounds to be more open and supportive than it used to be. But in some places, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Express: Tell us about your Pride work in Grand Rapids.
ABR: I have been working with the Pride Center in GR for about 10 years in a few different areas, but very specifically, I have been the lead facilitator for the youth group, which is a weekly kind of drop-in program for ages 13 to 17…[where] the kids get to really, truly just be themselves. … Then at the same time I worked with the Pride Festival Planning Committee, and we’re always preparing for the huge groups of protesters that are going to show up, and what the church is going to say, and having to fight to be able to exist in a very public space.

Express: There’s a lot to celebrate, but still a long way to go. What issues do you see facing Michigan’s LGBTQ+ community right now?
ABR: Well, it being such a frenzied political environment, that automatically brings a few things to the surface. There are a lot of question marks right now for the community on who may be elected, who may not be elected, what policies may be put in place or totally knocked down.

We have made a lot of forward movement. We do have a lot more rights. We do have a lot more protections as a community than we’ve ever had. But there is always a little bit of that worry of, how long will we have them?

We have this now, and that’s wonderful. Let’s celebrate that. Let’s also acknowledge that the work’s not done, because there’s more to do to make sure that all of these rights and protections are solidified and won’t be able to be taken away.

Express: What kind of message do you hope to share with the LGBTQ+ community in NoMi with your tenure in this new role?
ABR: My biggest hope is that we can really make some strides to make Up North Pride a true community resource. It’s more than planning a really amazing event, which obviously everyone looks forward to. But it can also be [helpful] if you’re someone that’s maybe looking at how to change your name and you don’t know where to start. Or you are new to the area, and you just want to meet other people that have something in common with you.

I also really want to listen to what the community wants the organization to be doing. It’s not just what I feel like doing but a community resource.

And I would certainly like to focus more on having some youth-focused events and programming, because they’re going to be the ones that are going to be carrying this organization forward 10, 15 years from now.

Express: What do the next few weeks and months look like on the job?
ABR: The big things right now we are really looking are, what are the things that we did this year that worked really well? What are things that we want to improve on? What are maybe some new things as we start over the next few weeks and over the next couple of months, looking at what is ahead in 2025? There was just a community talkback listening session to get feedback from community members coming off of a survey as well earlier this summer.

So it’s a lot of really critical thinking of what programming are we doing, what could we be doing, or what could we add and grow to be doing even better? The next few months are definitely focused on what’s next and how do we build off of the successes that we’ve had the last 10 years.

Express: What event(s) are you most excited for during UNP Week?
ABR: This will be my first time to attend all of Up North Pride Week because it’s always fallen at the same time as a couple of other events here in Grand Rapids that I’ve been a part of. But just looking through past pictures and listening to people’s stories, I’m really excited about the Visibility Rally and March. … There’s something that’s very powerful about watching that unity, the large group together for a common purpose, for a common cause. I’m really excited to be a part of that.

Express: What would you tell someone who has never attended a Pride event but is considering doing so this year?
ABR: You may have a friend, you may have a family member, you’re going to have a neighbor [or] someone that you know that is part of the [LGBTQ+] community. So if you come in showing that you are supportive of them, that you are there for them, that you are a safe person that they can come to if they feel like they need to talk to someone … then you’re seen as a not just supportive but accepting person for who they are and who they identify as.

Up North Pride Week Events

Sept. 24: Here:Say/Queer:Say Storytelling at The Alluvion, 7-9pm (ticketed; $15)
Sept. 25: Pride Ride & Sign Making Party at F&M Park, 6-9pm (free)
Sept. 26: Pajama Party at Hotel Indigo, 6-9pm (ticketed, ages 18+; $30)
Sept. 27: Comedy Night at City Opera House, 8-9:30pm (ticketed; $20 admission + $4 fees)
Sept. 28: Visibility Rally & March at F&M Park, 4pm (free)
Sept. 28: Drag Night & Silent Disco at the Open Space, 6pm-midnight (free)
Sept. 29: Big Gay Brunch at the Open Space, 11am-2pm (free)

Learn more and get tickets at upnorthpride.com/events.

P.S. Northport Pride will host their 2024 Tea Dance on Sept. 29 from 2-6pm at Faro in Northport. The event is hosted by The Chetcuti Evans Foundation with special guest Monique Madison and The Kunty Kittens and music by DJ Jay Harnish. Tickets are $30.

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