2025 GRAND MARSHALS
Layshia Clarendon
Layshia Clarendon is a recently retired 12 year WNBA veteran point guard. In her 2 terms as WNBPA Vice president she helped negotiate a groundbreaking CBA Agreement that will serve as a bedrock for women’s professional sports leagues moving forward. In 2018 Clarendon Captured gold with Team USA in the Fiba World Championships. The previous season, Layshia was named a WNBA All-Star, led the league in total assists, and broke the franchise record for assists in a single season with the Atlanta Dream.
Clarendon was Cal’s leading scorer while in college where they led the Golden Bears to the first Final Four in school history. During their senior season, she was an All-Pac-12 first-team selection and the Pac-12 women’s basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In 2022, Layshia was inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Fame. Clarendon is a noted social advocate, speaker, and writer, who is often asked to lend their voice and opinions on various social topics. In 2020, Layshia Clarendon became the first out trans and nonbinary player in WNBA history. As an anchor athlete for Athletes for Impact, Layshia launched The Layshia Clarendon Foundation in 2021 to help broaden healthcare access for trans and nonbinary people. They have also been published in The Players’ Tribune, Mic, Esquire, and ESPN. You can currently find Layshia working as an analyst for the Golden State Valkyries and women’s college hoops.
“It is an honor to be one of the Grand Marshal's for Oakland Pride. I am extremely proud to live in the great city of Oakland and represent our breathtaking community!”
W. Kamau Bell
W. Kamau Bell is an Emmy & Peabody Award-winning TV host, filmmaker, comedian, husband, and dad. He is on the road for his new comedy tour, “Who’s With Me?” Tickets are available at www.wkamaubell.com. Kamau is the reigning champion of Celebrity Jeopardy! where he won $1,000,000 for DonorsChoose. He has also written a chapter in Michael Lewis’ newest New York Times bestselling book, Who Is Government? - The Untold Story of Public Service. Kamau is also the host of the ACLU’s official podcast At Liberty. He also writes weekly about America on his bestselling Substack newsletter, also called Who’s With Me?
For seven seasons, he was the host and executive producer of the five-time Emmy Award-winning CNN Original Series United Shades of America, available to stream on Max. In 2023, he won an Emmy for his HBO documentary 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed. He also won a Peabody Award for his 2022 Showtime docu-series We Need to Talk About Cosby. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book and the author of The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. His comedy special, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix. Kamau is on the board of directors for DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that helps teachers raise money for class projects, and Live Free, a nonprofit dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization. Kamau is also the ACLU’s Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice. In 2023, Kamau and his wife Melissa Hudson Bell co-founded Who Knows Best Productions, a media production company in Oakland, CA. He cares too much and sleeps too little.
“It is absolutely one of the honors of my career to be a grand marshal at Oakland Pride. It is right up there with winning Celebrity Jeopardy, being awarded four Emmys, and having Ericka Huggins tell me that she would happily show up to my kid’s school to help me straighten out a teacher, if I needed her to. When I moved to Oakland in 1997, as a young 24 year old who had only met one openly gay person, I never could have imagined that being honored by Oakland Pride was in my future. I am only here because of the LGBTQ+ folks who have allowed me to be in community with them, build with them, call me in when I’m wrong, and who have shared my work when I do something that they believe is worthy. I also have to give a special shoutout to one of my best friends, Martha Rynberg. She was exceedingly patient with me and my journey to being an ally when she didn’t have to be.”
Patrik-Ian Polk
Known as the "Father of Black Gay Cinema,” Patrik-Ian Polk and his two decades of groundbreaking work have been called “the blueprint” by Black queer artists like Lena Waithe (The Chi, Master of None, Twenties), Justin Simien (Dear White People), Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight), Stephen Canals (Pose) and Elegance Bratton (The Inspection).
A native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Polk made his filmmaking debut in 2000 with Punks, the first U.S. film centering Black gay characters, produced by Babyface and Tracey Edmonds.
In 2004, he created the first Black gay TV series, Noah’s Arc, a comedy following the lives of four Black gay friends in Los Angeles, and its follow-up feature film, Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom-- receiving the GLAAD Award for Best Film and three NAACP Image Award nominations.
Polk’s other film credits include The Skinny, starring Jussie Smollett and Blackbird starring Oscar-winner Mo’Nique. Other TV credits include the Being Mary Jane series finale movie, Showtime’s The Chi and STARZ drama, P-Valley-- for which Polk won his first NAACP Image Award.
This summer Polk premiered Noah's Arc: The Movie, a brand new installment of the series, currently streaming on Paramount+.
"I'm thrilled to be chosen as a grand marshal for Oakland Pride! Two decades ago, we premiered my series NOAH'S ARC in Oakland, and I've returned many times over the years. The Oakland LGBTQ community has always supported me and my work, so it's only fitting that we celebrate NOAH'S ARC's 20th anniversary during the city's Pride weekend."
Tim Nguyen
‘Tim’ Nguyen, PA, MPH is a committed healthcare professional and advocate with over a decade of experience in primary care, HIV medicine, psychiatry, and public health. His work focuses on delivering compassionate, community-based care to marginalized populations, with a strong emphasis on LGBTQ+ health equity. Tim’s dedication extends beyond the clinic—he’s a passionate mentor who has helped train future clinicians to provide inclusive, affirming care for LGBTQ+ individuals. His holistic approach to medicine integrates the mind-heart-body connection, and his public health leadership informs a systems-level understanding of how social determinants impact health outcomes.
As Grand Marshal for Oakland Pride, Tim is honored to stand with the vibrant LGBTQ community of Oakland. His selection reflects a lifelong commitment to visibility, justice, and advocacy.
“It’s a privilege to walk alongside a community that continues to inspire resilience, joy, and transformation. Pride is more than a celebration — it’s a movement, and I’m proud to be part of it.”
Somos Familia Bay
Somos Familia Bay is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland dedicated to creating a world where Latinx immigrant, LGBTQ+, and low-income families are supported, affirmed, and empowered. Since our founding in 2007, we have worked to strengthen families through bilingual education, mental health support, and community advocacy.
Our mission is to build inclusive communities where every young person can thrive and every family feels equipped to support their child’s full identity. We provide culturally responsive programs such as free coaching in Spanish, youth and parent support groups, leadership development, and family engagement workshops. We also advocate for equitable education, housing, and health policies that reflect the realities of Oakland’s diverse working-class and immigrant families.
Somos Familia Bay has become a trusted resource for schools, faith communities, and community organizations across the Bay Area. By centering the voices of youth, parents, and caregivers, we work to break cycles of isolation and replace them with networks of resilience, pride, and joy.
Together with our partners and supporters, we envision a future where Latine and LGBTQ+ youth are not only safe but celebrated for who they are, and where families have the knowledge, resources, and power to help them succeed.
“To serve as a Grand Marshal for Oakland Pride is to celebrate the strength and resilience of LGBTQ+ youth and families. At Somos Familia, we know that mental health, education, and community advocacy go hand in hand and we are proud to create spaces where young people and their families are informed, supported, and celebrated.” –Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez, Somos Familia, Executive Director.
