Meet Abby: The Heart Behind the Details
Abby Bartlett at the Pride Lifeguard Tower during Hermosa Beach Pride 2025
If you’ve ever walked into a Hermosa Beach Pride event and immediately felt at ease, chances are you were greeted by Abby.
She’s often the first friendly face you see — saying hello, making introductions, and making sure no one feels like they showed up alone. That warmth isn’t accidental. It’s who Abby is, and it’s exactly what she brings to her role as Secretary for Hermosa Beach Pride.
Secretary, Abby Bartlett
Behind the scenes, Abby is the quiet engine keeping things moving. She captures meeting notes, tracks action items, and gently nudges the board forward, always with compassion, humor, and a deep respect for the fact that everyone involved is a volunteer.
By day, Abby works as a product manager, a role that’s sharpened her ability to guide teams, manage moving parts, and turn big ideas into action. Those skills translate seamlessly to Pride work, where she helps keep momentum without ever losing sight of the humans behind the tasks.
But Abby’s path to Pride, and to community, wasn’t instant.
Originally from Texas, Abby moved to Hermosa Beach shortly after college, trading a tight-knit hometown for a new life by the beach. Like many people starting over in a new place, she spent her early years here building a career and friendships, while still searching for her people.
Abby (right) and friends at the 2025 HoliGAYs party
For a long time, that search pulled her beyond the South Bay, toward queer spaces in Los Angeles where she felt more connected and understood. It wasn’t until she began seeking out LGBTQ+ community closer to home that she realized how much was already taking shape right in Hermosa. Discovering Pride opened the door to a vibrant, welcoming network she hadn’t known existed and helped transform the place she lived into a place she truly belonged.
What started as curiosity quickly became commitment. Abby had previously founded an LGBTQ+ employee resource group at her workplace, so when the opportunity arose to join the Pride board, she recognized both the need, and her ability to help. The Secretary role fit naturally, offering a way to support the organization while building something she had long been searching for herself: connection.
Today, Abby often finds herself in a role she didn’t expect: confidant, connector, and support system for community members who need it. Local business owners, partners, and attendees regularly open up to her about what it’s like to live and work openly in the South Bay. She listens, encourages, and reminds them they’re not alone and that Pride is about more than events; it’s about belonging.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how powerful it is just to know who your people are,” Abby shares. “Once you do, everything feels a little safer.”
At events, Abby thrives. This is where her joy shows most clearly: welcoming newcomers, chatting with longtime supporters, and making sure everyone feels seen. For her, Pride spaces are where she gets to use skills that don’t always have room in the workplace: empathy, humor, observation, and genuine care.
Abby, a queer on the pier, probably headed to grab a beer somewhere near
For Abby, Pride events are where everything comes together — connection, purpose, and joy. “Showing up to Pride events honestly feels like watering my soul.”
She also believes deeply in empowering others to shape the community alongside the board. Whether that looks like new social groups, new events, family-friendly programming, or grassroots meetups, Abby sees Pride as a platform, one that grows stronger when people are encouraged to bring their passions with them.
At its core, Abby’s work is about inclusivity in action. Not just the kind written into mission statements, but the kind you feel when someone remembers your face, checks in on you, or makes space for you to belong.
And that’s exactly why she’s such an essential part of Hermosa Beach Pride — quietly keeping everything on track, while making sure everyone feels welcome along the way.
Abby Bartlett and Ray Jackson (Hermosa Beach City Council Member) at the Hermosa Pride Parade on the Strand
✨ About Hermosa Beach Pride
Hermosa Beach Pride is a community-based organization dedicated to celebrating diversity, inclusion, and love in the South Bay. Through year-round events, partnerships, and advocacy, HB Pride works to create safe, visible, and joyful spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies to connect and thrive.
Your Hermosa Beach Pride Board Members (left to right): Jenn Olson (Marketing), Katie Vernon (Treasurer), Cherelle Lampkins (Events), Millie Martinez Stordeur (President), and Abby Bartlett (Secretary)
