Seattle Pride Awards Stacy Bass-Walden the 2026 Ackerman Award for Service

Honoring Stacy Bass-Walden: 2026 Ackerman Award for Service Recipient

The Ackerman Award for Service is given annually to an outstanding leader who exemplifies the heart of Pride: community, courage, and care. Nominated by the community, this award is a celebration of service rooted in resistance and love.

This year, Seattle Pride is proud to recognize Stacy Bass-Walden with the 2026 Ackerman Award for Service.

For 12 years, Stacy has built Alki Beach Pride from a small gathering in her apartment into a thriving annual community celebration centering queer and BIPOC identities in West Seattle. As one of the few Black lesbian Pride founders in the state, she is committed to reclaiming space and mentoring the next generation of LGBTQIA2S+ organizers.

Stacy and her wife Jolie founded Alki Beach Pride in 2014, creating it as a space for marginalized voices, which is a mission that remains deeply significant given West Seattle’s history of redlining and systemic exclusion. Much of her organizational work has been self-taught, balanced alongside a 30-year career as a massage therapist. Despite these challenges, she dedicates countless volunteer hours to ensuring events remain accessible and inclusive, transforming a landscape once defined by discrimination into one of visibility and solidarity.

When asked what moments in her community work meant the most, Stacy didn’t hesitate:

“Those moments when I’m told about the experiences attendees have had, especially when it’s their first ever Pride event experience, and how they felt so welcomed even though they attended the event solo, but ended up creating new friendships and relationships while at the event.”

Stacy also shared that among her most meaningful work, alongside Alki Beach Pride, has been her service on the volunteer Medic Massage Team for the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials, reflecting a life dedicated to showing up for her community in every form it takes.

For Stacy, her wife Jolie is the one who’s lifted her up along the way.

“Jolie remains an essential moral support advisor to me personally for Alki Beach Pride. Although she is no longer involved in formal planning, her support is vital; she provides the constant encouragement, especially when planning gets so stressful. She helps me navigate those emotions while figuring out the complexities of organizing our growing community events.”

The transition from hosting small apartment gatherings to managing full street closures with stages, performers, and local vendors has been a significant undertaking — one Stacy leads with pride as a self-taught organizer dedicated to building a safer, more inclusive neighborhood Pride.

Named after Marc Ackerman, its inaugural recipient, the Ackerman Award for Service recognizes those whose efforts inspire meaningful change, foster inclusion, and reflect the core values of advocacy, accessibility, and community impact. Ackerman’s enduring dedication to LGBTQIA2S+ equity and empowerment through his longtime volunteer role as the Seattle Pride Parade director laid the foundation for this award.

“The Seattle Pride Awards Review Committee was genuinely moved by the caliber of nominations we received this year,” said Patti Hearn, executive director of Seattle Pride, “Each have made profound impact on Seattle’s queer community, whose service and leadership are cause for celebration.”

Three additional finalists were honored at the event for their significant contributions and impact on Seattle’s LGBTQIA2S+ community:

Jessa Davis (she/her)

Executive Director of the Organization for Polyamory and Ethical Non-Monogamy (OPEN) and a leader in advancing equity for chosen families, Jessa serves across multiple community roles including Co-Chair of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission and Board Secretary for Queer Power Alliance. Her advocacy for non-monogamy and chosen family has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, CNN, and The Guardian. A transgender woman who relocated to Seattle from Texas to escape harmful legislation, Jessa now channels that experience into helping others fleeing hostile jurisdictions find safety and community here.

“Being part of Seattle’s queer community has given me a sense of community and a genuine investment in this city as my home. Being here gives me such joy and a strong hope for the future. I consider every day that I have the opportunity to serve our community to be such a great privilege.”

Rikki Pittman

A leader in healthcare and advocacy, Rikki advances inclusive healthcare by helping reshape medical systems to better reflect diverse gender identities. A 2026 UW JEDI Award recipient, she brings more than 15 years of experience spanning education, clinical change, and LGBTQIA2S+ advocacy, with work spanning organizations including Gay City (now Seattle’s LGBTQ Center), Seattle Queer Film Festival, and GSBA. Her ongoing work to change requisition forms in genetics, work she describes as “small but significant,” exemplifies her belief in systemic, lasting change.

“Changing requisition forms may seem like a very small change, but I think it will make a huge change in my field of genetics. More importantly, I hope that it makes the community that we serve feel seen, included, and accepted.”

Bishop Steven Sawyer

Founder and CEO of Pacific Northwest Black Pride, Bishop Sawyer is a longtime leader advancing equity for Black LGBTQIA2S+ communities. With more than 20 years of service across faith, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors, including his former role as Executive Director of POCAAN, he has built platforms for advocacy, health, and community connection. His civic leadership spans the Arcus Foundation LGBTQ Leadership Group, Out in Front Leadership Cohort, and Center for Black Equity.

“My great-grandfather taught me that leadership means showing up when your community needs you most, even when it is unpopular or uncomfortable. His example helped shape my understanding of justice, advocacy, and service, and I carry those lessons into every room I enter and every role I hold today.”

Seattle Pride is deeply honored to uplift Stacy Bass-Walden as our 2026 Ackerman Award for Service honoree, and to celebrate Jessa, Rikki, and Bishop Sawyer as this year’s exceptional finalists. Together, they remind us what community really means, and what Pride is truly for.

Join us in celebrating these leaders and all those who make Pride what it is: a movement, a celebration, and a rally.