Blog 5/22/25

Equitas Health Leader Recognized with National Advocacy Award During World Pride 2025

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the Modern Military Association of America (MMAA), which is the country’s largest LGBTQ+ focused military and veteran serving organization, hosted their annual National Gala. With an impending ban on open transgender service in the military, the event was held just blocks away from the Pentagon in Arlington, VA.

As an official event of World Pride 2025, the gala hosted high-profile leaders from the US Dept. of Defense (DoD), LGBTQ+ service organizations, and the military community. The gala also honored leaders working on issues of importance to LGBTQ+ service members, their dependents, and veterans across the country.

At the event, Dr. Rhea Debussy (she/her), who is the director of External Affairs for Equitas Health, was honored with the “Shining Star Award.” As noted by MMAA, this national advocacy award recognizes an ally to the military community “who has committed significant effort to advocating, promoting, and supporting LGBTQ+ in the defense sector.”

Dr. Debussy was honored for making significant legislative and public policy contributions related to LGBTQ+ people in the military. Such examples include 1) authoring research that helped the Biden presidential transition team with rescinding the military’s transgender ban in 2021 and 2) mobilizing the community to support transition-related healthcare provisions for TRICARE enrollees during the 118^th Congress.

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51), who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee; PFLAG National, which has filed a federal lawsuit to protect access to gender affirming care for youth; and various leaders from the Armed Forces were also honored at the event, which was presented in coordination with USAA.

Honorees from the MMAA National Gala (from right to left): two practitioners from the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative; Shane McCammon of Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe, LLP; Brian Bond, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PFLAG National; Brian Femminella, who is an Intelligence Officer in the US Army; Dr. Joshua Fontanez, who is a Brigade Logistics Officer in the US Army; and Dr. Rhea Debussy of Equitas Health. Photo Credit: Modern Military Association of America.

Following the event, Rhea Debussy, PhD, (she/her) director of External Affairs at Equitas Health said, “I’m deeply honored to have my advocacy work recognized on the national level, and as someone with deep roots in the military community, this award is especially appreciated. I’m thankful to the Modern Military Association of America for recognizing my work and for their ongoing support of LGBTQ+ service members and veterans – especially given the ongoing challenges facing transgender service members.”

While in the nation’s capital, Dr. Debussy – true to form – also met with numerous congressional offices about issues important to the LGBTQ+ community. In doing so, she discussed a number of key policy issues, including the following:

• funding HIV treatment and prevention programs, which face a $700+ million cut in FY 26;
• protecting the Medicaid program, which covers roughly 40% of people living with HIV,
• advancing access to testing and treatment for cancer, given cancer-related health disparities across the LGBTQ+ community;
• stabilizing the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which supports patient access initiatives; and more.

Regarding the continued impact of Dr. Debussy’s legislative and public policy work in this current moment, David Ernesto Munar, (he/him) president and chief executive officer of Equitas Health said, “Dr. Debussy’s tireless advocacy efforts at the state and national levels are a critical line of defense against the frenetic attack on the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people. Thanks to her, our elected officials cannot claim ignorance of the harm anti-LGBTQ+ legislation causes.”

Equitas Health celebrates this national advocacy award and Dr. Debussy’s achievements, and with her guidance, the agency remains committed to advancing care for all through public policy work both in the Ohio Statehouse and the U.S. Congress. And as always, we encourage our patients and community to continue communicating with their members of Congress on such important issues.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Debussy!