Our Chicago: Channyn Lynne Parker, new CEO of Equality Illinois
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Equality Illinois was founded in 1991 as the Illinois Federation for Human Rights.
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The mission was to ensure the basic civil rights of LGBTQ+ people across the state.
This month, a new CEO is taking the helm of the organization, and she's making history.
Channyn Lynne Parker is the first Black, transgender woman to lead Equality Illinois.
Most recently, she's served as CEO of Brave Space Alliance. Her career's also taken her to the University of Chicago and Howard Brown Health among other stops.
Parker says the summation of all her work and experience "brought me to where I'm at."
The guiding principle throughout her career, "that everyone wants a good life. Everyone deserves to be seen and heard and valued. Not just through words, but through action."
Parker says she knows what it's like to be overlooked and counted out "because of identity... So, it is my mandate and responsibility to ensure that I am a good advocate and champion for those who also need to be heard as well."
She believes that people have more in common, than not.
"I believe that we just express our desires in different ways. So, for me, it is my goal to say 'Look, we've all got to make it out of this together in one piece. And the more we can lock arms, the better off we'll be," she said.
