HRC Foundation on Friday announced that
it would honor figure skater Adam Rippon at its upcoming Time to
THRIVE conference.
The sixth annual event will be held
February 15-17 in Anaheim, California.
The group previously announced that
Earvin “EJ” Johnson, the son of Magic and Cookie Johnson, would
be honored at the event.
Rippon and Johnson will each be honored
for their LGBT advocacy with HRC's Upstander Award. Brian Coleman,
the American School Counselor Association's 2019 “School Counselor
of the Year,” will also receive HRC's Upstander Award.
Rippon, the first openly gay male
athlete to medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, is an
outspoken supporter of LGBT rights.
“By being out and proud, Adam is
taking LGBTQ visibility to a whole new level and inspiring countless
LGBTQ youth around the world with his incredible talent and
personality,” Vincent Pompei, director of HRC's Time to THRIVE
conference, said in a statement. “He isn’t afraid to use his
platform to speak out for equality, and we are proud to honor him at
this year’s Time to THRIVE.”
After appearing on E!'s Rich Kids of
Beverly Hills, Johnson became the subject of his own reality
television series, EJNYC, which ran for one season on E!
“E.J. is a powerful role model to
LGBTQ youth everywhere – showing through his work to end LGBTQ
homelessness that all young people deserve a safe and inclusive place
to thrive, and an equal chance to succeed in all aspects of their
lives,” said Pompei. “Time to THRIVE was founded to provide
cutting edge training and resources to educators and other
youth-service providers across the country who are committed to the
success of all young people, and we are proud to honor E.J. for
embodying the values of this inspiring event.”
Coleman is the department chair for the
counseling team at Jones College Prep High School, a public school in
Chicago.
“We are thrilled to honor Brian
Coleman for his work to ensure that all young people have a safe and
inclusive place to learn, and an equal chance to thrive in all
aspects of their lives,” Pompei said. “Brian demonstrates to
youth-serving professionals what is possible, and we couldn’t be
more proud to honor him at Time to THRIVE – a conference founded to
provide cutting edge training and resources to educators and others
across the country who are committed to the success of all young
people.”
HRC also previously announced that
Betty DeGeneres, the mother of Ellen DeGeneres, and transgender
rights advocate Jazz Jennings would be among the guests attending
this year's conference. The group will also honor Judy and Dennis
Shepard, the parents of Matthew Shepard, with an Upstander Award
during the Time to THRIVE conference.