We are excited to announce the recipients of this year’s Stanford Pride Award of Merit and the 2025 Stanford Pride Trailblazer Award.
Stanford Pride Trailblazer Award
- Mitchell Lunn (he/him), MD ’10
- Juno Obedin-Maliver (she/her), MD ’10
- Tim’m West (he/him), MA ’02
Stanford Pride Award of Merit
- Brian Cheu (he/him) ’85
- Fred O. Smith Jr. (he/him), JD ’07
Dr. Mitchell R. Lunn and Dr. Juno Obedin-Maliver are Co-Founders and Co-Directors of The PRIDE Study (pridestudy.org), a national, online, prospective, longitudinal cohort study of sexual and gender minority individuals based at Stanford. Dr. Lunn is Associate Dean for Research and Associate Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Obedin-Maliver is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University School of Medicine. Through The PRIDE Study, Dr. Obedin-Maliver and Dr. Lunn are demonstrating impactful leadership and advancing LGBTQIA+ health equity at a time when federal policies are being implemented to create barriers to research and health care for LGBTQIA+ people, especially transgender and nonbinary people.
Tim’m West has been an activist in the LGBTQ+ community for over two decades. Tim’m is an educator, youth advocate, poet, hip-hop artist, and author of several books. He currently serves as Executive Director of the National Center for Civil and Human Right’s LGBTQ Institute since 2023, where he is focused on the mission of advancing LGBTQ equity through research and education. Prior to his current role, Tim’m led Teach for America’s national LGBTQ+ Community Initiative, advancing safer and braver classrooms for LGBTQ educators and students preK-12. He was previously Director of Youth Services at Chicago’s Center on Halsted, served on the inaugural faculty at Oakland School for the Arts, and taught English and coached basketball at Cesar Chavez Public High School for Public Policy.
Brian Cheu retired from his role as Director of Community Development at San Francisco’s Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development earlier this year after serving for 16 years in that role. Prior to that role, he served as Executive Director at Chinese for Affirmative Action, Executive Director at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, Executive Director at the Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center (LYRIC) and was a member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commissionʻs LGBT and HIV Unit. Brian has dedicated himself to civil rights and social justice, including LGBTQ+ rights. He has served as the co-chair of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, board chair of Community United Against Violence, co-chair of LIFE Lobby (the predecessor to Equality California), and on the board of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF). He was a board member for Stanford Associates from 2016-22, and he was a board member at the Haas Center from 2008-2014. Brian served on the Stanford Pride board from 2001-2003. While at Stanford he served on the GLAS Steering Committee and co-led the Gay and Lesbian Counseling Group.
Fred O. Smith Jr., joined Stanford Law School in July 2025 as a professor of law. Fred is a nationally recognized scholar in constitutional law, the federal judiciary, and federal courts. His groundbreaking scholarship explores critical issues at the intersection of law, equity, and democracy, consistently centering the experiences and rights of marginalized communities. As an openly gay Black scholar and leader in the legal community, Fred has used his platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, racial justice, and broader inclusion within the legal profession. Fred’s presence at Stanford Law School is a testament to his brilliance and a powerful source of representation and inspiration for future generations of Black and LGBTQ+ students and scholars.
Join us in celebrating our awardees at this year’s Stanford Pride Gala on October 18, 2025!