About Alex Villafuerte
Alex Villafuerte is San Diego Pride's Marketing & Communication Manager. He oversees the marketing for all of Pride's events & programs. Outside of Pride, he has a love for the outdoors, the San Diego brew scene, and naps.
Let Me Introduce You To…
Edward (Eddie) Condreay, Festival Entrance Manager
He / Him / His
“Hello, Hi, Welcome to the San Diego Pride Music Festival. Enjoy your day!” “Hello, Hi, Welcome to the San Diego Pride Music Festival. Enjoy your day!” “Hello, Hi, Welcome to the San Diego Pride Music Festival. Enjoy your day!”
Born and raised in San Diego County, Eddie attended Santana High School (Santee, CA) and joined the Marines in 2006. He served nine years in the Marines as a Combat Marksmanship Instructor and as a Flight Deck Coordinator on the USS NIMITZ, the Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier. He is now completing his undergraduate degree in Organizational Leadership from National University and plans to pursue his Master’s to become a Business Analyst.
What does the Festival Entrance Manager do?
My job is fantastic! Seriously, I get to welcome 40 – 50 thousand guests to the Pride Music Festival. I oversee and am responsible for two festival entrances, (the main entrance and the Juniper Road entrance), ten metal detectors, close to 25 security personnel, and more than 150 volunteers to ensure our festival guests are welcomed and enter into the festival in a safe manner. At the Festival Entrance, we focus on customer experience and service. Our guests experience begins with my team, and I want to ensure that we are ready to welcome people to Pride with a warm, friendly, welcoming smile.
Why do you volunteer with San Diego LGBT Pride?
This is only Eddie’s second year volunteering with San Diego Pride. In 2016, one of most successful Pride Festival’s ever, Eddie was the Festival Entrance Manager.
After the Marine Corps, I wanted to get more involved in the San Diego LGBT community; Pride is that place that provided me a connection and a sense of purpose and community. I’ve met and worked with some wonderful, dedicated, and funny people at Pride. The 2016 Festival Entrance team did a marvelous job, and I wanted to come back and be a part of the team and lend my talents to helping make Pride 2017 even better than 2016.
What are you reading right now?
The Elephant in the Room: How Relationships Make or Break the Success of Leaders and Organizations by Diana McLain Smith. The Elephant in the Room is a systematic look at how relationships determine the success of leaders and their enterprises. I’m fascinated by organizational relationships and how the two, leaders and relationships, can determine outcomes.
What’s the last movie you saw (DVD or in the theatre)?
Beauty and the Beast. It was date night with my boyfriend Chris Flick, also a Pride volunteer, and Disney provided the magic.
Coffee or tea?
Tea. Earl Grey.
What are you listening to right now?
I’m tuned into ‘Pride’ music on Pandora.
What should people know about you?
I have a curious, very curious nature, and I will ask a ton of questions to learn more. I learned teamwork while in the Marine Corps. I tend to be a little bit sarcastic, but my bark is worse than my bite. Oh and I try to live the Marine Corps motto Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful) every day of my life.
When you aren’t volunteering with Pride, where might you be found?
School. Library studying. Working at Carl’s Jr (I’m a Shift Lead) or driving for Uber. And sometimes, just hanging out with Chris.
What advice do you have for someone coming to Pride?
Take in Pride. Experience Pride. Experience the full capacity of Pride. You are in a safe place to be who you want to be, so take advantage of all that Pride—the Festival and the Parade—has to offer.
What are you looking forward to for Pride 2017?
Seeing all my 40 – 50 thousand friends again. Seriously, I enjoy seeing people’s faces light up when they walk through the Festival entrance – a big smile comes over their faces, and you can see them begin to relax and feel like they are home. I’m also looking forward to seeing the festival entrance team and working with them again this year.
Be Part of the Pride Family!
If you’re interested in volunteering with San Diego Pride, we’d love to have you! Please follow the link below to learn more about how you can be involved in your community!
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