Participants include representatives from PFLAG, Lost-n-Found, Atlanta Pride and Atlanta Dream
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Dream will host a special virtual Pride panel Thursday, June 25 beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET. The panel, which will focus on LGBTQ+ and race issues in Atlanta, will be streamed live on the YouTube.
Dream guard Renee Montgomery will lead an All-Star group of panelists. Wil Bryant (Atlanta Pride), Nasheedah Bynes-Muhammad (Lost-n-Found) and Ann Vitale (PFLAG Atlanta) will join the WNBA veteran on the panel. Autumn Johnson will moderate the special Pride Month event.
Montgomery, an 11-year vet and two-time WNBA Champion, enters her third season for the Dream. When she is not shooting three-pointers for the Dream, Montgomery has been an in-studio analyst/host for FOX Sports South and NBA TV, a color commentator for the College Park Skyhawks and served as a host for Food Truck Diaries on WSB-TV. When she is not in season or hosting, Montgomery engages with the community through her self-named non-profit, the Renee Montgomery Foundation.
Bryant currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for The Atlanta Pride Committee, Inc. Prior to his service as Chair, he served as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Membership and Governance Subcommittees. Bryant has a high-level of experience in service leadership involvement at organizations centered on HIV prevention and treatment, community outreach, small business development, and reducing recidivism.
Bynes-Muhammad, a leader in the non-profit space, is the Chief Operations Officer at Lost-n-Found Youth in Atlanta. She manages all areas of business operations for the non-profit focused on helping LGBTQ homeless youth. She has worked in nonprofit Management and Public Health since 1996 when she served as the Young Men’s Health Program Manager at Youth Pride. She is also a member of the Trans Housing Atlanta Project, the Icon House of Mizarahi and has walked “Femqueen Realness” in the House-Ball community for many years.
Vitale is Co-president of the PFLAG Atlanta Board and facilitator for Atlanta Gender Variations: Parents supporting parents of transgender children. She has been an ally of Atlanta’s LGBTQ community for 25+ years beginning with her work at Positive Impact providing mental health services for those affected by HIV.
Johnson is currently a sideline reporter for the NBA 2K League. A former three-sport athlete, she has worked as a color analyst and reporter for ESPN+, WJBF News Channel 6, R3play.TV and more. Johnson received a degree in Journalism and Emerging Media Studies from Kennesaw State University.
The WNBA and Atlanta Dream recently announced the 2020 WNBA season will tip-off this July with a competitive schedule of 22 regular-season games followed by a traditional playoff format at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. This season marks the organization’ 13th in the WNBA. The Dream have qualified for the playoffs nine times, winning conference titles in 2013, 2011 and 2010.
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