Jan Stevenson recognized as Pride Month Game Changers honoree

After resigning from her corporate banking job, Jan Stevenson cast a wide net seeking a professional opportunity where she could feel accepted as a gay woman.

Her search led her to Affirmations Community Center, a Ferndale, Mich.-based non-profit organization that provides hundreds of groups and activities to establish a welcoming space where people of all sexual orientations can find support, socialize and feel safe.
Little did Stevenson know her work at Affirmations would prepare her for her current role at Pride Source Media Group, one of the Midwest's leading LGBTQ+ news hubs.
And now as part of Pride Month, Stevenson is being
honored by the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers and Comerica Bank
for her commitment to ensuring equality and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community.
"Jan represents everything we envisioned for the Game Changers initiative, and particularly for Pride Month," said Kevin Brown, director of community impact for Ilitch Sports + Entertainment. "Through Pride Source Media Group, she is helping advance inclusion for thousands of LGBTQ+ people who live and work in metro Detroit and across Michigan."
Stevenson said her journey into becoming the co-publisher and chief financial officer of Pride Source Media Group was sparked by a realization.
"I realized there were a lot of gay people in the area, but they weren't connected at all," she said. "There was a tremendous amount of isolation, particularly among young people."

Alarmed by the lack of LGBTQ+ support groups, Stevenson started a hotline at Affirmations and started organizing in-person programs.
"There needed to be a place where people could feel safe, come meet people who were like them and feel supported," Stevenson said. "It was very exhilarating because it was the first time in our community where people could feel supported, get involved and volunteer."
After serving as Affirmations' first executive director, Stevenson left in 1995 to join the board of the National LGBTQ Task Force. It was there that Stevenson met Susan Horowitz, her now-wife of 28 years.
"She was very active with publishing in New York," Stevenson said. "And when she moved out here to be with me, she was looking around for her next move. I told her there was this little student newspaper that just started up in Ann Arbor called Between the Lines, but they're having a really hard time starting it up."
According to Stevenson, Horowitz met with the publisher and immediately purchased the newspaper.
"We started publishing it and quickly took it to a weekly newspaper with a website," Stevenson said. "It became a paper of record for Michigan's LGBTQ+ community."
Between the Lines has evolved into the largest and longest-running LGBTQ publication in Michigan. It resides under the media umbrella of Pride Source Media Group, which also oversees PrideSource.com, the Michigan Pride Source Yellow Pages and the BTL-Digest.
As the organization transformed into a trusted LGBTQ+ media hub, Stevenson learned why giving a voice to people, stories and issues was critical.

"When we would raise awareness to an issue or publish an editorial, we saw a direct impact because people would respond to our calls to action," she said. "When the internet took off, it changed the entire industry of publishing. We worked as fast as we could to keep up with the technological changes."
Pride Source Media Group now posts daily news and entertainment, with an emphasis on developments impacting LGBTQ+ and allied citizens.
Stevenson admits she's impressed by the significant progress the organization has made.
"The digital side of the business has been turbocharged," she said. "To have it housed now, for people who are younger and know how to do to all of that stuff, is great."
As Pride Source Media Group continues expanding its coverage, Stevenson hopes it inspires people to embrace their true selves and feel confident in causes they support.
"Don't stay alone," Stevenson said. "Find people who you can trust and talk to. Find an organization you can get involved in. You don't have to immediately go out and be the person in the front."
To learn more about Pride Source Media Group and its initiatives, visit
PrideSource.com.