Panzi (b. Thom Hansen in 1953) is an American

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

activist.

Education and career

Hansen was educated at

Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...

, where he studied business and accounting; thereafter he began working as a financial analyst, a business manager in the textile industry and an actor. He went on to establish his own real estate management firm which he ran for 10 years and is currently a vice president in the International Division of a major direct marketing firm. Hansen is openly

and has been involved in the

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community since the early 1970s.

Imperial Court System

Panzi joined the Imperial Court of New York in 1993 and was elected to serve as its Empress XII "The Empress of Loyalty and Laughter" between 1998–99 and President of the Board of Directors from 2003 to 2006. Panzi also served as the Executive Secretary on the International Court Council, which oversees over 70 local

Imperial Courts Imperial Courts is a public housing project located in Watts, Los Angeles, California. It is located at 11541 Croesus Avenue on Imperial Highway, between Grape Street and Mona Boulevard, near Interstate 105 (California), the 105 Freeway. The fe ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

from 1997 to 2007. In August 2007 he was elected President of the Council at the Hamilton-Wentworth, Canada meeting of the International Court Council.

LGBT activities

Since the early 1970s, Thom (Panzi) has been an

activist with various organizations including the

Christopher Street Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street west of Sixth Avenue. It is most notable for the Stonewall Inn, which is located on Christopher St ...

Liberation Day Committee (known as

Heritage of Pride Heritage of Pride (HOP), doing business as NYC Pride, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that plans and produces the official New York City LGBTQIA+ Pride Week events each June. HOP began working on the events in 1984, taking on the work prev ...

today);

GMHC The GMHC (formerly Gay Men's Health Crisis) is a New York City–based Nonprofit organization, non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization whose mission statement is to "end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives ...

and the Arts Project of Cherry Grove. In the early 1990s, Thom was the executive director of the Community Research Initiative (an

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Research Organization). He also has participated in almost every March on Washington, D.C. and most demonstrations in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Panzi continues to raise money for the LGBT community.

Film and television

Panzi has appeared in several films, several Off-Broadway Shows and most notably on Cable Television, as the wacky neighbor, Mary Ellen on the

Brini Maxwell Sabrina “Brini” Maxwell is the drag persona of Ben Sander, described as the "prototypical, pre-feminist, 1960s homemaker." Maxwell has also been described as a composite of Doris Day, Mary Tyler Moore, Auntie Mame, That Girl, and Donna Reed ...

Show.
The Panzi Invasion
(2016)
watch now

References

External links

*
Fire Island Invasion: history and photos"Invasion of the Pines": a documentary film by Jon Morrow
*{{usurped,

} 1953 births American LGBTQ rights activists Living people People from Fire Island, New York