Having grown up in El Paso, Texas, a city situated right on the border between the United States and Mexico, Gonzales grew up in what he calls a “safe haven.” El Paso’s population is predominantly Mexican and Mexican American, just like Gonzales. Having grown up in a middle-class home, Gonzales said his upbringing was “comfortable.” Most of those around him looked like he did and sounded like he did. Still, being Mexican American did come with the inherent “othering” in a primarily white America in the 1990s. Through the media and public discourse, Gonzales knew that his Mexican American identity wasn’t easily accepted elsewhere.

But while his Mexican American identity was relatively safe in El Paso, that wasn’t the same for his queerness. Much like many LGBTQ+ people in the 1990s, particularly in Mexican and Mexican American communities, Gonzales’ queer identity wasn’t as visible and represented as much as his ethnic identity.

In middle and high school, Gonzales was able to travel outside of El Paso as part of student council and sports.

“When I was taken outside of that majority environment, I took notice of how people could see me as different and how they may think differently about me,” said Gonzales. “It was in the way that I said my name or certain words, and maybe in the slight femininity in my bodily expression. These moments taught me not only about discrimination, but also about injustice and oppression, and it got me to think about how others experience these social issues.”

Throughout his professional career, Gonzales has centered his intersecting identities as catalysts for his ongoing endeavor to combat injustice, discrimination and inequality, especially those faced by communities of color. Prior to joining the HRC Foundation, he served as the Executive Director of Safeguarding American Values for Everyone in South Florida and was the chief of staff and communications operations manager at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

Without having fully embraced these intersecting identities, and being able to fully be himself in every and all spaces, the advocacy work he does now and has done previously would not be possible, Gonzales said.

Gonzales credits his coming out experience as the segue to his fight against LGBTQ+ discrimination and hate. He said that initially, his parents were concerned with him being bullied for openly being himself.

“I told my mom that by coming out, whenever someone used any derogatory term with me, I can then own my identity to push back,” said Gonzales. “I could confront that hate by being my true self. In order for my advocacy work to truly be resilient against that hate, I needed to own up to who I was fully and openly.”

“In my heart and in my mind, I’ve gravitated toward dealing with social issues instead of stepping away from them. It’s deliberate,” said Gonzales. “My lived experiences as a Mexican American, cisgender queer man have shaped how I have arrived at this work today,” said Gonzales. “I benefited from the support of my family and friends when I came out in the mid-90s, but I still experienced bias and discrimination. Those experiences moved me to action to protect myself and to fight for our community.”

Having received a bachelor of arts degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a master’s degree from the City University of New York’s Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at The Bernard Baruch College in New York, Gonzales ventured to Miami, Florida, where, in 2000, he got involved with the movement for LGBTQ+ equality. Just two years later year, Miami-Dade County had a ballot measure to consider removing sexual orientation as a protected class from its human rights ordinance. Gonzales volunteered with a local LGBTQ+ organization to challenge the measure, but that, he said, was just the beginning.

“That experience spurred greater involvement in community building and organizing. That was like an awakening,” said Gonzales. “It was through that experience as a volunteer that I discovered my passion and calling for fighting for our community, which led to a professional pivot where I ended the career track that I was on, went to graduate school where I earned a master’s in public administration, and then focused my career in the nonprofit sector.”

All of these experiences, Gonzales said, have transformed themselves into the tools he now has in his “toolbox for resilience and power” — the tools he carries with him as he continues his professional venture as one of the leaders at the HRC Foundation.

“Everything that I’ve gone through both in my personal and professional life has been for the purpose of obtaining the essential tools to better know how to advocate for myself and for others,” said Gonzales.

One of those tools, according to Gonzales, is knowing that his identities, namely being queer and Mexican American, are “intertwined” and “informed of one another.”

“These identities are intricate and are always at play,” said Gonzales. “I do feel a responsibility to provide my voice in the conversation so that there is an inclusion of Latine voices and an inclusion of queer voices.”

It’s because of that push for intersectionality in every and all professional spaces that Gonzales came to bring his passion and expertise to the HRC Foundation.

“I’m here because of the shift in leadership and because of a conscious shift to intentionally and positively impact communities of color,” said Gonzales. “When I noticed that shift, I told myself, ‘there’s a place for me at HRC.’ I wanted to be part of the way HRC is moving forward in this movement for LGBTQ+ equality. I’m very proud to be here. There’s an obvious change under Kelley Robinson’s leadership, and I’m here to be part of that legacy. I’m invested in the transformation of this organization, and I also know that other leaders within the organization are invested in me.”

As HRC President, Robinson knows that the organization needs people like Gonzales to ensure LGBTQ+ equality makes strides across many aspects of life.

In his role for the HRC Foundation, Gonzales helps lead a team dedicated to implementing positive change and impact for LGBTQ+ people in everyday sectors like employment, education, youth wellbeing, child welfare and healthcare. Through his work, Gonzales frequently works with young LGBTQ+ people and allies who are building their own toolboxes to later apply to their future advocacy work.

“By working closely with these young folks, I am absorbing so much information about where their minds are and how they perceive the world around them,” said Gonzales. “They’re reacting to the political and social environment that we all find ourselves in very interestingly. It’s fascinating. There’s bidirectional learning. We all, as leaders, have to consider how we go about succession, because we need to prepare them to be future leaders.”

Gonzales said that he continues to be motivated by seeing a “more diverse and multicultural environment” not only within advocacy spaces, but in general. “That warms my heart,” said Gonzales. “Diverse communities are rich and complex, but you don’t get to benefit from so many different ideas and experiences with homogeneous communities.”

Of particular concern in today’s political environment for Gonzales are the attacks on DEI initiatives, which Gonzales said are the “antithesis for progressive movements.”

“These spaces cannot afford to be neutral,” Gonzales said. “There are far too many incredibly powerful ideas and perspectives to benefit from. We need to find ways to coexist, to continue being diverse. There’s too much beauty in that and it can’t be sacrificed.”

As for the future, Gonzales’ goals are optimistic and clear.

“There is so much more to accomplish in the movement,” said Gonzales. “I’m here to focus on the most pressing needs of the community, turning the tide on how trans and non-binary people are thought about and treated in our society. I’m here for the passage of the Equality Act to ensure our community has broad protections that override the patchwork of anti-LGBTQ+ state policies that we’ve seen enacted recently. Ultimately, that's queer joy. I’m here to work hard and see our community live fully, authentically, where our quality of life is under little to no threat. I want all of us to have our own toolbox to fight back against hate and discrimination while being resilient and joyful.”

Read additional profiles of HRC staff members in previous issues of Equality.