Remembering lesbian activist-community leader Gloria Nieto
Northern California lost one of its leading lights this September with the passing of Gloria Nieto, the lesbian activist, journalist, radio host, and longtime community leader.
The 67-year old Nieto died last September 6 at her home in Ben Lomond near Santa Cruz due to health complications stemming from cancer.
Jo Kenny, her spouse, told the Bay Area Reporter that Nieto had been battling with cancer for many years: “She was fighting cancer for four years minus a day.”
Gloria Nieto: Connecting the communities
Kenny said her partner, Glo (as she was fondly known), had the ability to create and connect with larger communities.
This served Nieto in good stead when she was working on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for eight years. She also worked as secretary of the DNC’s LGBT Caucus.
When Nieto was working with the DNC, Kenny said, she saw that there were no transgender people affiliated with the committee or close to anyone on the committee
Kenny said, “Rather than her trying to talk to people, she deliberately invited trans people to the table and put people in the DNC in contact with trans people.”
“It was something she was really proud of,” she added.
Quietly accomplishing so many things
Nieto was the first Latina lesbian to address a presidential nominating gathering at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.
In Northern California, she sat on the board of the Santa Cruz Women’s Health Center and became the outreach director for the Santa Cruz AIDS Project.
In 2005, she became the executive director of the Familia Center, Lyon-Martin Women’s Health Services (now the Lyon-Martin Community Health) in San Francisco.
She had become a grand marshal of the Santa Cruz Pride, Santa Fe Pride, and Albuquerque Pride parades. She was also chosen twice Woman of the Year in Santa Cruz County.
In 2014, both Kenny and Nieto were awarded the Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award by the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz County.
In 2019, she was cited as an LGBTQ Trailblazer at the Queer Youth Leadership Awards.
A few words about Gloria Nieto
Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), who had been friends with Nieto for more than 30 years, said: “If it was health care, civil rights, or social justice, she was at the forefront for decades.”
Describing her as a “tough fighter”, former San Jose city councilmember and Santa Clara County supervisor Ken Yeager said: “She will be very much missed.”
Friend and colleague, Leslie Conner, CEO of Santa Cruz Community Health, said: “I’m grateful to have known her. She will always be in my heart.”
Despite her declining health, Nieto was still able to speak at those that gathered at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse last June after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
A memorial for Nieto is being set for next spring at the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Santa Cruz.