🔹 About the Presenter

Jim Parrott is a longtime advocate, community builder, and storyteller. He worked as a professional librarian at the University of Waterloo from 1970 to 2007, and has been active in the local LGBTQ2+ community for over 50 years.

Jim’s involvement with the University of Waterloo’s queer community began in 1971, when he joined what would become Glow. He remained involved with the group from 1971 to 1981 and again from 1991 to 2001. In 1992, he launched Glow’s first discussion group and facilitated it for the next nine years.

Beyond campus, Jim was active in the local Pride Committee during its first five years (1996–2000), and has served as Editor of the Grand River Rainbow Historical Project since its launch in 2011. He’s also been a driving force behind SPECTRUM – Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space – since its founding in 2012, serving as Executive Director from 2014 to 2021 and facilitating community groups since 2013.

For over two decades, Jim and his husband William Pensaert have been proud to live openly and visibly in Waterloo Region — strolling hand in hand, embracing their lives with joy, love, and a visible commitment to authenticity.