Interviewees

Chris Jarvis has been working as an LGBTQ activist in Fresno and the Central Valley for 20 years. He was a founding member of the nonprofit Gay Central Valley and became the President of that organization. Gay Central Valley operated the Fresno LGBT Community Center in the Tower District until 2017. They also opened the first LGBT Community Center in Merced. He is currently working with Qistory, a project of Community Link, which documents the history of the LGBTQ community in the Central Valley. He is also the host of “It’s A Queer Thang”, a radio program aired on KFCF 88.1 on the third Friday of every month.

Peter Robertson has been an “agent of change” on behalf of Fresno’s disenfranchised and marginalized communities for 35 years. He is passionate about serving others and strives to lead by example. He was a founding member of United Student Pride, a co-founder of the Fresno Reel Pride Film Festival, and named a grand marshal for the inaugural Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade. He has continued to advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and respect for students and alumnx, as well as faculty and staff.

Marsha was the youngest member of the Tulare County Democratic Central Committee at 19, President of Students for McGovern at College of the Sequoias. The influence of the strong feminists and her own coming out led her to become a spokeswoman and leader in the women’s and lesbian and gay movement, as President of the National Organization for Women, and the first co-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Caucus of the statewide California Democratic Council. In 2017 she was a Grand Marshal of Fresno Rainbow Pride, In 2019 she received the “Queer Hero 2019” Award from Common Space, and Fresno League of Women Voter’s 100 Notable Women, 2020. She is currently the President of the Fresno, National Women’s Political Caucus, Fresno Stonewall Democratic Club, and Fundraising Committee Chair of the Fresno Democratic Central Committee.

Dan Waterhouse is a Fresno native and had lived in the area nearly all his life. He wrote for News Link and Community Alliance for many years and volunteered with community groups and Rainbow Pride.