Dave Hayward is a journalist and actor who wrote for publications including The Advocate, OUT Magazine, Frontiers, People, and Backstage Magazine. In 1972 he helped organize the first official Atlanta Gay Pride March. As a part of the Georgia Gay Liberation Front, he has been involved in every Atlanta Pride since, serving as Grand Marshal in 2016. He and his former partner, Greg James, created the first two Atlanta LGBTQ film festivals, the first of which opened in 1979. After the 1988 Democratic National Convention, Hayward co-founded the first Atlanta chapter of ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. Since 2002, he has coordinated Touching Up Our Roots, Inc.: Georgia’s LGBT History Project, which he co-founded with Berl Boykin. Hayward wrote the 50 year narrative for an LGBT themed exhibit at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and launched the LGBT Institute at the Center in 2015. He currently serves on the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Global Advisory Board.