Director Education & Advocacy

Jen LaBarbera is Director of Education & Advocacy for San Diego Pride where they direct the organization’s education & advocacy programs, training institute, civic engagement, international diplomacy, and coalition work. As a queer, mixed (Black & white), neurodivergent, nonbinary femme survivor, Jen works to advocate for policy to shape and change lives and is invested in the grassroots organizing and community engagement necessary to achieve true social justice and liberation.

In addition to their role at Pride, Jen also currently serves as the Vice President of Global Outreach & Partnership Management and Co-Chair of the Conference Committee of InterPride. They graduated from the Center’s YPC Academy in 2017, and have been an active member of the Young Professionals Council since 2015. As a writer, Jen has had two pieces published in anthologies focused on LGBTQ survivors and mental health.

Jen has over 20 years of experience as a political and community organizer and advocate for reproductive justice and LGBTQ+ equality in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Massachusetts. Additionally, prior to joining San Diego Pride, they worked as a librarian and archivist in San Diego, Boston, and Denver. They received their BA in the Study of Women and Gender and Government from Smith College and their MA in Library and Information Science from the University of Denver.

Jen resides in Normal Heights with their wife, Stacy, their dogs, Olive and Pickles, and their two cats, George and Ellie.