Who we are
We are a coalition of community members studying LGBTQ resilience in San Antonio.
Principal Researchers
Dr. Amy L. Stone
Amy L. Stone (they/them/theirs) is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Trinity University, a liberal arts college in San Antonio, Texas. Their research includes the study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) politics and the incorporation of LGBT individuals into groups (e.g., communities, cities) and the law. Their book, Gay Rights at the Ballot Box (2012, University of Minnesota Press) is the first systematic analysis of how activists in political campaigns fight anti-gay initiatives. They are also the author of Cornyation: San Antonio’s Outrageous Fiesta Tradition, and co-editor of Out of the Closet, Into the Archives: Researching Sexual Histories. They have published in journals such as the Annual Review of Sociology, Sexualities, Journal of Homosexuality, GLQ, and the Journal of the History of Sexuality. Current research includes a four-city comparative study of how LGBT individuals and communities develop cultural citizenship through their integration into urban festivals in four cities in the South and Southwest, including Mobile Mardi Gras and San Antonio Fiesta. They are currently a deputy editor of Gender & Society.
Robert Salcido, Jr.
Robert Salcido, Jr., (he/him/his) is a social justice advocate and activist at the local, state, and national level. He has extensive experience working with issues of equity, diversity and inclusion, LGBTQ+ education, and nondiscrimination. It is this experience that has made him sought after for workshop facilitation, trainings and speaking engagements.
Salcido holds a dual role as the statewide field coordinator for Equality Texas, the largest statewide LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group in Texas. He oversees field operations to include educational initiatives aimed at creating a greater understanding of discrimination issues. He also serves as the executive director and board chair for The Center – Pride Center San Antonio.
Currently he is an Interdisciplinary Research Leaders fellow led by the University of Minnesota and supported by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation studying LGBTQ resiliency in South Texas. Salcido is also a past fellow with Freedom For All Americans LGBT-University and the Victory Fund’s Victory Empowerment Institute.
Robert is committed equity and inclusion of underrepresented individuals and is active in various capacities in the community. He served on the San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce board of directors from 2011-2015, San Antonio Mayor’s LGBT Advisory Committee and the Mayor’s Council on Police-Community Relations from 2015-2017 as well as the leadership team for the Community Alliance for a United San Antonio (CAUSA). He is a founding member of Orgullo de San Antonio LGBT LULAC Council 22198 and served as council president from 2014 – 2018.
Salcido was awarded the LGBT Chamber’s Rodric E. Fitzgerald’s Volunteerism award in 2012, an Outstanding Leadership award from LULAC in October 2015, Public Citizen of the Year in March 2016 by the National Association of Social Workers of Texas Alamo Area Branch, Man of the Year by the League of United Latin American Citizens Texas District 15 in June 2016 and in October 2016 the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers recognized Robert as Public Citizen of the Year for 2016. Named one of 2015 Most Influential by Out In SA Magazine and one of 20 Most Captivating People in 2015 by the San Antonio Current. Most recently, the National Diversity Council recognized him for his outstanding LGBT Leadership in 2018.
A native of New Mexico and raised in Amarillo, Texas; San Antonio has been his home since 2001. He attended West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas where he studied marketing. Prior to joining the nonprofit sector full-time he had a 15-year career in insurance marketing and sales.