Quincey J. Roberts Sr. Appointed Inaugural Executive Director of LGBTQ+ Advancement

Mayor Michelle Wu today announced that Quincey J. Roberts Sr. will serve as the inaugural Executive Director for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement. In this role, Roberts will lead the Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement, which works to empower, protect and advance the rights, dignity, and advancement of LGBTQ+ residents. He is charged with ensuring City Hall connects with and serves the needs of the LGBTQ+ community across all neighborhoods. The office will reside in the Equity and Inclusion Cabinet led by Chief Mariangely Solis Cervera. This announcement was made today at the City of Boston’s Pride Kick-Off event.

"I’m thrilled for Quincey’s leadership to ensure city services are connecting with and serving our LGBTQ+ residents across all of our neighborhoods," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "Quincey’s passion for advocacy, equity, and building community will help Boston advance and protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Bostonians.”

“I've had the opportunity to work with Quincey and I have witnessed his love and respect for our LGBTQ+ community,” said Mariangely Solis Cervera, Chief of Equity and Inclusion. “This is a historic moment for us, he understands the beautiful complexities of our intersectional identities and knows that we have a lot of work to do to build a City for everyone.”

As the former LGBTQ+ community liaison in the Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS), Roberts worked to encourage, facilitate, and maximize the community’s input and participation in local government and address their needs by connecting them with city services. Roberts also served as the Education and Outreach Manager for the Boston Human Rights Commission.

“I am honored to lead the newly formed Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement,” said Quincey J. Roberts, Sr. “Mayor Wu and her Administration’s work has been bold, purposeful and historic and I am excited to be a part of that. We have been waiting for decades for a space to call our own in city government and I look forward to advancing this critical work!”

Serving the LGBTQ+ community has always been the center of Roberts’ work. In 2009, Roberts and his partner Corey Yarbrough co-founded the Hispanic Black Gay Coalition (HBGC) , which worked to inspire and empower Hispanic, Latinx, and Black LGBTQ+ through activism, education, outreach, and counseling. Roberts led HBGC in executing its leadership development programs, support groups, and an annual Youth Empowerment Conference, the largest gathering of LGBTQ+ youth of color in New England.

Roberts also worked with the Union United Methodist Church and Justice Resource Institute to establish The Youth Lounge, a youth drop-in space that offered after school programs and activities to LGBTQ+ youth of color under the age of 21. Roberts’ work with the Union United Methodist Church earned him a seat on the Board of Trustees in 2013. This made him the youngest and first openly gay trustee of the congregation.

In his spare time, Roberts enjoys traveling, Art Collecting, Documentaries, game nights and brunch on Sundays. He currently lives in Dorchester with his husband Corey Yarbrough of five years. The two have a growing family, co-parenting a beautiful son Quincey Roberts Jr. with long time friend Victoria Mills.

Mayor Wu recently announced the creation of the Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ+ Advancement. This office will be responsible for developing policy, community oriented programming, and providing resources for the city’s multiracial, multigenerational, multicultural and multilingual LGBTQ+ community. Throughout June, the City of Boston and Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement will be celebrating National LGBTQ+ Pride month by hosting, supporting, and amplifying events that serve the local Queer community. For more information regarding the Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement and Pride month events, please visit boston.gov/lgbtq.