NEW YORK CITY, MARCH 7, 2017—PFLAG National—the nation’s largest organization uniting families, allies, and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ)—today announced it will honor CNN political analyst Ana Navarro with the Straight for Equality in Media award at the Ninth Annual Straight for Equality Awards Gala on Monday, March 27, 2017 at the Marriott Marquis New York in Times Square. Longtime CNN anchor Don Lemon will present the award to Navarro.

“With a wider political divide than ever before, as a nonpartisan organization we felt it was important to honor different ally voices of support for the LGBTQ community, and Ana Navarro is such an ally,” said PFLAG National Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Kohm. “She has spoken out on important issues of LGBTQ equality like the freedom to marry, safe schools, and, more recently, on so-called ‘bathroom bills.’ She has also been outspoken on other issues of fairness and inclusion for women, people of color, and immigrants. We are thrilled to honor her on our stage this year.”

Straight for Equality^TM—a national outreach and education project created by PFLAG National— invites, educates, and engages the next generation of allies joining together with LGBTQ people in the effort to achieve equality for all. Straight for Equality awards are presented to individuals who are transforming the way that LGBTQ people are understood and treated, using their talents and platforms in their respective fields to empower others to become engaged and outspoken allies for fairness, diversity, and inclusion.

Navarro is a well-known Republican strategist and a political analyst for CNN and CNN en Español. Respected on both sides of the aisle for her straight shooting and candor, she frequently appears in the media, on Meet the Press, Anderson Cooper 360, and The View, to name a few. Navarro most recently served as the national Hispanic co-chair for Governor Jon Huntsman’s 2012 campaign, and previously served as ambassador to the United Nation’s Human Rights Commission. She was born in Nicaragua, and in 1980, as a result of the Sandinista revolution, she and her family immigrated to the United States.

“I believe LGBTQ people have the same exact rights—including to life, liberty, love, marriage and children—as I do,” said Navarro. “I don’t deserve an award for that. But I am grateful to PFLAG for giving me one.”

The Ninth Annual Straight for Equality Awards Gala will be held on Monday, March 27, 2017 in New York City at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. For information on how to sponsor the #S4EGala2017 or to purchase tickets or a table, please visit pflagchapters.wpenginepowered.com/2017Gala or call (202) 467-8180 x 218.

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PFLAG is the nation’s largest organization uniting families, allies, and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. PFLAG is committed to advancing equality through its mission of support, education, and advocacy, and has more than 400 chapters and 200,000 supporters crossing multiple generations of American families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. To learn more, visit pflagchapters.wpenginepowered.com, like us on Facebook (/pflag), or follow us on Twitter (@pflag).