FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cathy Renna, Communications Director, [email protected] or 917-757-6123
Miami, FL, September 4, 2025
The National LGBTQ Task Force’s annual gala, now dubbed the “Be You Ball,” will take place at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla. on October 11, 2025.
Dominique Jackson, the actress known for her role as Elektra on POSE FX and ballroom icon, will host of the Be You Ball.
Jackson’s community work has been a hallmark of her career, fighting for trans rights on the ground and in the digital space. She’s raised awareness of the constant, rising violence against trans communities. Her autobiography, The Transsexual From Tobago, shines a light on these issues and details Jackson’s pursuit to build a better life in the U.S.
On screen, Jackson is a constant voice for issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community, leading the 2025 Netflix documentary “I’m Your Venus” as an executive producer. The project dives into the history of ballroom icon Venus Xtravaganza’s life and murder. Xtravaganza’s supporters detail the 30-year journey of capturing her killer. Before her murder, she participated in interviews released in the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning.
Jackson is Task Force family, receiving the National Leadership Award at the 2023 Gala in the spirit of the Forever Strong, Unapologetically Queer theme for her leadership and dedication to amplifying trans rights through her celebrity as a platform.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dominique back to the Task Force for our very first Be You Ball, a time to highlight and celebration queer joy. Dominique’s presence embodies what this event stands for: authenticity and power,” Task Force President Kierra Johnson said. “Dominique’s alluring charisma and unapologetic love for the trans and queer community will shine brightly as she hosts the first gala in a new era for The Task Force.”
The Be You Ball will celebrate local honoree David Jobin, the CEO/President of Our Fund Foundation, with the Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award from the National LGBTQ Task Force, an organization whose relentless advocacy has shaped and strengthened our community for decades,” Jobin said. “To have my name mentioned alongside friends, colleagues, and personal heroes like Liz Schwartz, Jim Pepper, Cindy Brown, Robin Schwartz, and Jerry Chasen is both humbling and inspiring.”
Jobin’s storied work in arts and culture includes a career in theater management for over 20 years along with performances with various Gay Men’s Chorus throughout Pennsylvania, California and Florida. By 2009, Jobin became an executive director of Washington DC’s Gay Men Chorus until 2013.
From 2013 to 2015, Jobin served as the executive director for the Stonewall National Museum & Archives organization, where he oversaw the launch of the Stonewall Gallery on Wilton Drive located at the intersection of South Florida’s queer community.
At the Our Fund Foundation, Jobin leads the queer-advocacy organization whose philanthropic mission solidifies LGBTQ wealth in a series of grants, investments and donations. “At a time when LGBTQ rights are under direct attack in Florida and across the country, this recognition is a reminder that our work is far from finished,” Jobin said.
Task Force President Johnson seconded Jobin’s remarks of his award, citing his “lifetime of servant leadership in pursuit of full, queer liberation.”
“Through his storied career serving as executive director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, then the director of the Stonewall National Museum & Archives, and now the CEO/president of Our Fund Foundation, he has been a guardian of our history and helped to forge our future,” Johnson said. “The National LGBTQ Task Force has worked hand-and-hand with David in his role at Our Fund Foundation and with our partners at The Miami Foundation through our joint initiative, the LGBTQ+ Equity Fund. We are thrilled to honor and celebrate all that David has done and continues to do to help LGBTQ+ people survive and thrive.”
Formerly the Task Force Gala, the Be You Ball will take place on National Coming Out Day and will gather the queer community to celebrate, amplify, and raise funds for South Florida’s local LGBTQ+ community and the work of the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Tickets are live and can be purchased here. Sponsorship options for the Be You Ball are also available.
About the National LGBTQ Task Force
The National LGBTQ Task Force builds power, takes action, and creates change to achieve freedom, justice, and equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. As the progressive voice of the LGBTQ movement and the LGBTQ voice of the progressive movement, the National LGBTQ Task Force organizes people and money in pursuit of liberation for all.
-30-
