The board of directors of the Utah Pride Center (UPC) has named Stacey Jackson-Roberts as the organization’s new CEO. She comes to UPC from Washington, D.C., where she has spent the past 20 years doing work “related to the intersection of law and policy.” She served on the Judiciary Committee staff of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, where she was involved in the delivery of integrative healthcare to underserved communities. She also was a program administrator at American University Washington College of Law, where she earned a graduate certificate in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Jackson-Roberts was born and raised on a cattle ranch and dairy farm in Beaver. “With family ties in more rural parts of Utah, she knows what it’s like to grow up in communities that are less affirming to LGBTQ+ individuals,” UPC said in a release. Jackson-Roberts said she plans on using that life experience to focus on increasing resources in more remote parts of the state and in systemically marginalized communities.
“As a transgender kid growing up in a small town in the outskirts of Utah, it was hard to find belonging and acceptance,” said Jackson-Roberts. “I know there are LGBTQ+ youth in more rural parts of the state that need the support, that need to know the Utah Pride Center is there for them and wants them to feel heard, loved and accepted.”
Before moving to D.C. Jackson-Roberts earned her bachelor’s degree in law and constitutional studies from Utah State University.