Today we’d like to introduce you to Elliot Williamson.
Hi Elliot, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Throughout the past twenty years I’ve spent in Athens, I have worked to reinforce the bonds that make Athens such a tight-knit city. As a teenager, that looked like driving classmates to the Boys and Girls Club to volunteer or teaching hundreds of UGA students how to crochet. Later, it grew into working with organizations like Casa de Amistad, where I tutored English, helping families overcome language barriers to access local resources and community. When my work took me away from Athens, I still focused on improving my local environment, from advocating on behalf of polar bears and sea ice in the Arctic Circle to encouraging industry growth in Atlanta at the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
But through it all, Athens has been home. Living here as an out gay man, I’ve experienced how powerful it is to feel truly integrated into a community, whether it’s marching in the Pride Parade, donning a pink wig for Queer Prom, or simply chatting openly about my boyfriend with my retired bridge partners. Athens Pride and Queer Collective has been a big part of that sense of belonging, helping fuse queer culture in the heart of our city.
Now, as Executive Director, I see my role as carrying that mission forward: listening deeply to our community, creating spaces where people feel affirmed, and making sure Athens continues to be a place where everyone, especially our LGBTQIA+ neighbors, can thrive.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey hasn’t been without bumps and detours, but I’ve always had people to guide me back on track. There’s something about Athens’s culture that brings out the supportive side of people, and I’ve always felt reassured that even a stranger here would help me out, whether asking for directions or connecting me with communities that shaped my future. Sometimes a detour on life’s journey takes you to interesting places, like how it took me to our local bridge club where I got to spend time with Athens’s coolest retired folk before returning to my path.
My biggest anchor has been my twin brother, Logan. With the same friends, same sports, same university, same hobbies, and even the same sexuality (he’s even gayer than I am), we’ve learned to push each other to be the best versions of ourselves – we even were co-valedictorians together. He helps me up when I stumble, and I’ll shout when he’s not being heard.
Because of him, my road has been smoother than most, and that inspires me to do the same for others. If someone is struggling to come out or searching for a community that feels like home, I’ll be by your side. I’ll stand beside them and use my voice until theirs stands strong on its own.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Athens Pride + Queer Collective is dedicated to the advancement of equity, affirmation, diversity, and wellness of queer populations in the greater Athens area by working with historically marginalized communities through outreach, social connection, education, and events. We do this on three levels: community, group, and individual.
At the community level, our biggest events, our PrideFest and Pride Parade, bring more than 5,000 people together each year to celebrate queer joy and provide local artists and musicians with the largest platform many have ever had. At the group level, we create spaces for connection through support groups, such as our Trans Support Group and Youth Support Group, and by building bridges between queer-focused organizations and queer-owned businesses. On an individual level, we’re especially proud of our Gender-Affirming Care Grant, which has helped Georgians have their outside selves reflect their authentic selves through life-changing surgeries — five just this year alone.
What sets us apart is that we’re not just about throwing events; we’re about creating lasting change in our community. We celebrate loudly, but we also show up quietly when someone needs support. At our core, Athens Pride + Queer Collective is here to affirm, uplift, and stand beside every queer person in our city, and we hope you will join us in making Athens just a little more colorful.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
As the Executive Director of Athens Pride and Queer Collective, I’m only the newest chapter in a story that’s been unfolding for decades.
Queer Athenians have been here for well over a hundred years, but in 1971, inspired by Stonewall, two UGA freshmen, Bill Greene and John Hoard, took a step forward and out of the shadows. They founded the Committee on Gay Education and fought the university for the right to hold Athens’s first queer dance. Thanks to their courage, more than 500 people showed up that night to celebrate openly – including Ricky Wilson and Keith Strickland of the B-52’s – laying the groundwork for LGBTQ+ visibility in our city.
Years later, Annette Hatton and GLOBES (the Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Employees Support Group) organized Athens’s first Pride event – a Pride Picnic held at a local park. From then and for decades after, the Pride Picnic was held to bring Athenians together and celebrate queer joy.
Athens Pride and Queer Collective evolved directly from GLOBES and the Pride Picnic. We acquired our Non-Profit status in 2015, and we have accomplished much since then. In only the past four years under the leadership of our recent presidents Cameron Harrelson, Danielle Bonanno, and our current president Becky Loccisano, we’ve launched Athens’s inaugural Pride Parade, secured four rainbow crosswalks in the heart of downtown, and distributed tens of thousands of dollars to support gender-affirming care.
Our progress has always been collective, fueled by those who came before and those who walk with us now. I’m proud to stand on their shoulders and excited for what we’ll build together in the years to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.athenspride.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athensprideandqueercollective
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthensGAPride
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/athens-pride
Image Credits
Images taken by Cassie Wright
