Grace Sterling Stowell — the executive director of Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Youth (BAGLY) and a pioneering activist and leader in the LGBTQ youth, transgender and social justice communities for over 40 years — was among this year’s four honorees at the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA) 2025 Annual Spring Awards Breakfast on June 6, 2025, at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in Boston. MPHA bestowed its highest honor, the Paul Revere Award, on Grace for having “made a lasting and transformative impact through her dedication to the promotion and development of public health in Massachusetts.”   

Noted MPHA, “As a gender nonconforming child growing up queer and transgender in the 1960s, Grace’s personal experiences of harassment, discrimination and violence served as a catalyst for her activism in the feminist, racial justice, holistic health, and LGBTQ movements of the 1970s.

“In 1980, Grace joined the founders of the newly formed Boston Alliance of LGBTQ Youth (BAGLY), one of the earliest LGBTQ youth groups in the nation. As BAGLY’s first (and only) executive director, Grace led youth and adult leaders in its expansion from a Boston-based, all-volunteer, grassroots social support group, to an established statewide nonprofit organization, including the AGLY Network of Massachusetts. BAGLY’s youth-led programs were among the first of their kind, and have served as a local and national model and resource for LGBTQ youth leadership development and community organizing.

“In the 1990s, Grace was a leader in the pioneering national movement to expand community organizing, advocacy, and support for the LGBTQ youth and transgender communities. Grace was a founding member of several local and national LGBTQ youth and transgender advocacy organizations, including the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) for LGBTQ youth, and she is believed to be the first openly transgender person to address the health care issues of trans youth with senior staff at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA.

“As executive director of BAGLY, founding member of both the MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth and the MA Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Commission, Steering Committee member of the MA Transgender Political Coalition, and Board member of Breaktime, Grace continues to advocate for the needs of LGBTQ youth and transgender communities throughout the Commonwealth. Most recently, Grace was among the leaders of the successful effort to add gender identity to the Massachusetts non-discrimination laws in 2011, expand gender identity protections in public accommodations in 2016, and defend gender identity protections at the statewide ballot box as part of the Freedom MA Yes On 3 Campaign in 2018.

“Grace is now the longest-tenured transgender executive director in the nation (and one of the few leading a non-trans-specific organization), and she has been the recipient of numerous awards for her work, including the National LGBTQ Task Force’s “Susan J. Hyde Activism Award for Longevity in the Movement” award in 2010. While Grace has served many roles in her community work over the past four decades, she remains especially honored to be known as “Mother” (and now “Grandmother!”) by three generations of LGBTQ youth.”

The other three 2025 MPHA award recipients were:   

• Shari Nethersole, M.D., Vice President for Community Health and Engagement at Boston Children’s – Augustus Hinton Award for Public Health Leadership in Medicine
• Cheryl Sbarra, J.D, Executive Director and Senior Staff Attorney at the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards – Lemuel Shattuck Award
• Victoria Selser, Epidemiologist with the City of Fitchburg Health Department – Local Public Health Leadership Award

“This year’s awardees exemplify the power of partnerships to bridge policy and practice with values of equity, fairness, and community,” remarked Carlene Pavlos, MPHA Executive Director. “Grace, Shari, Victoria, and Cheryl each offer shining examples of what is possible when we center those most impacted by health inequities. Each one inspired us with their integrity, vision, and deep love for their communities. And they reminded us of the power we hold when we come together for health, justice, and community.”

— from an MPHA press release

More: mapublichealth.org

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