QUEERSPACE collective Executive Director & Founder Nicki Hangsleben receives Brian Coyle Award for Outstanding Leadership & Service to the LGBTQ+ Community from Human Rights Campaign

Executive Director & Founder Nicki Hangsleben at Human Rights Campaign Minnesota Dinner

We're overjoyed to share that our Executive Director & Founder Nicki Hangsleben received the Brian Coyle Award — For Outstanding Leadership & Service to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Community — from Human Rights Campaign Minnesota at their Minnesota Dinner on October 18, 2025.

Named after local legend Brian John Coyle (1944–1991), this award honors leaders who carry forward his legacy of advocacy and community transformation. Coyle was the first openly gay Minneapolis City Councilmember, and a champion for affordable housing, human rights, economic development, environment, accessible transportation, and marriage equality. Coyle’s fearless leadership helped lay the foundation for LGBTQ+ politics in Minnesota, paving the way for milestones like the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Brian Coyle Award from Human Rights Campaign Minnesota

From all of us at QUEERSPACE collective, we’re deeply grateful for this recognition of Nicki’s vision and our shared mission. What began as a bold dream in 2020 has grown into a powerhouse organization making waves across Minnesota and beyond — through intergenerational mentorship, inclusivity consulting, group programs, and our new youth center in Minneapolis.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this journey and continues to show up for the futures of Queer youth. It truly takes a collective. Watch Nicki’s full acceptance speech here — transcript included below.

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"I’ve always wanted to make the world a better place.

Since I was a kid.

I remember seeing images in the 80s of starving children in Ethiopia and asking my mom if we could send the one dollar a month to help provide food and an education.

In college, a few friends and I started a group called Sisters for Social Justice.

We organized conferences on domestic abuse and the exploitation of women in the media — and even got our professors to have their classes attend.

At the time, I was studying psychology and teaching students with autism in Minneapolis Public Schools. I was sure I’d become a teacher… maybe even a social worker. And then — I remembered… I liked math.

So I switched gears, applied to the Carlson School of Management, and got a degree in accounting. And honestly… I felt like a bit of a sellout.

About a year in, I met with my favorite women’s studies professor and told her my new plan.

Her response completely surprised me and was a total gift.

She said, “Nicki, that’s so great!” “Every nonprofit needs a great CFO!”

That changed everything for me and got me excited to think about how I could use this new degree, these new skills, to make a difference.

It led me to Minnesota Public Radio — one of Minnesota’s largest and most successful nonprofits — and later into the world of international development where I traveled the globe, working with farmers, cooperatives, governments, and businesses to reduce poverty and strengthen their communities.

In 2020, when the world stopped, I was in the middle of an MBA at St. Thomas — and I started to feel this pull to do something closer to home. I saw young Queer and Trans kids in our community struggling. Depression, anxiety, suicide — all rising.

At that same time, I was listening to the podcast Making Gay History by Eric Marcus. And I was inspired — by the stories of those who came before us, and by how it only takes one person using their talents… to stand up for what’s right… and to make the world a little more equal.

I grew up in the nineties with a gay mom. When I came out in my late teens, I already had a network of support — and I knew how rare that was. I wanted other young people to have that too.

So, with fewer than ten mentorship programs for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in the entire country, I teamed up with local organizations and community leaders — and together, we launched QUEERSPACE collective.

In just four years, we’ve built a strong mentorship program, provided inclusivity training to more than a hundred organizations, and — most recently — opened a 2SLGBTQIA+ youth center in the heart of Minneapolis.

And next year, we’ll launch a mentorship app to reach rural kids across the Midwest — with a vision to grow it nationally, so every Queer and Trans kid who feels alone, and every parent who’s struggling, can find the resources and support they need.

We do this work with our community partners, with businesses, and with an incredible network of volunteers. Because now, more than ever… it takes a collective.

I am truly honored to receive this award.

I’m grateful for everyone who’s supported me on this path — to my wife and kids for always showing up, and to my mom (who is here tonight), for being her authentic self and teaching me to do the same.

And I want to thank the amazing QUEERSPACE staff and board and also all the community leaders and Executive Directors who are doing this work every day.

It’s not easy.

But you show up again and again — for our Queer and Trans youth, and for our entire 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

I couldn’t do this without you.

So tonight, I’ll leave you with this:

Each of us has something — a gift, a skill, a spark — that can make the world a little better.

A little kinder.

A little safer.

Use it.

Because together, we have the power to leave behind a world that shines brighter — for every kid, every family, every one of us.

Thank you."