Stonewall Community Service Award Cesar A. Reyes

Cesar A. Reyes was born in Mexico City, Mexico and immigrated to the United States when he was eight years old. He has called San Diego home ever since. He graduated from Mission Bay High School and went on to study graphic design at the University of California, San Diego. Following university, Cesar has been employed in all aspects of publishing over the past 20+ years. He was instrumental in the startup and evolution of three LGBTQ+ publications based in San Diego. He continues to serve as Creative Director for Metrosource Magazine which publishes three print editions (NY, LA, and national) and as Creative Director for GED Magazine which focuses on the southwest region of the country. Cesar is well known in San Diego for his artistic talents, creative design, and community involvement. He was named 2023 Volunteer of the Year by the North County Philanthropy Council.

Cesar and his partner JP realized their combined talents, experience, and work ethic made for excellent relations with the community at large. The two began consulting for local businesses on a variety of projects such as event organizing, project management, and business rebranding. Eighteen months ago, they developed and launched their own publication, The WORD San Diego thewordsd.news. The mission of The WORD is to inform, educate, and inspire San Diego’s LGBTQ+ community. In collaboration with Pride in Media, Cesar and JP also create and produce the Official Pride Guides for San Diego, Long Beach, and Downtown Los Angeles. Despite all of the media consolidation in recent years, they believe there will always be a need for reliable and informative local news outlets, especially in the LGBTQ+ community where true representation matters. Now more than ever, the community needs ways to uplift our successes, voice our struggles, and inform about available resources.