Bridget Hughes, M.A.
Chief Program Officer
Bridget oversees the implementation of HMI’s programs for LGBTQ young people and their families, as well as outreach and education programs. She also manages the replication of HMI’s youth service model to other sites in NYC and New Jersey.
Since joining HMI in 2012, Bridget has successfully overseen the expansion of HMI services to 6 days per week; spearheaded new program partnerships with CUNY’s office of K-16 programs and with the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health; and supervised the implementation of the program evaluation of HMI’s comprehensive service model. In 2019, Bridget was named Outstanding Community Advocate by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services’ Office of LGBTQ Equity Strategies.
Prior to HMI, Bridget worked 18 years at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Manhattan, where she developed and directed the Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.) Program, a leadership development and HIV prevention program for LGBT youth. Under Bridget’s direction, the Y.E.S. program received The Mental Hygiene Award from the City of New York in 2000 and was cited as a model substance abuse prevention program by the Division of Consumer Health Education of the University of Medicine & Dentistry; Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
In 2007, Bridget received a PASEsetter Award for outstanding contributions to the field of after school education. From 2009-2012, she was the sole consultant responsible for the implementation of the annual Bias Audit for the NYC Department of Education, tracking evidence of hate-related bias in incidents of student-on-student harassment and violence, a project that was eventually mandated to all school districts by the passage of the New York State Dignity for All Students Act.
Bridget is co-author of the “Working It Out” intervention curriculum, a cognitive-behavioral HIV prevention intervention targeting lesbian, gay and bisexual youth, developed under the auspices of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at Columbia University. She has been called upon for her expertise in LGBTQ young people, being quoted by numerous publications including U.S. News & World Report and asked to present at a number of professional conferences including delivering the keynote address for the 2nd Annual CUNY LGBTQ Colloquium at the NYC College of Technology. She has also provided professional development training for a variety of organizations including NYC Dept of Education, Partnership for After School Education (PASE) and Covenant House Training Institute, to name a few.
Bridget attended Mount Saint Mary’s University and Oxford University as an undergraduate, and holds a Master’s Degree in English from Rutgers University. In 2007, she was awarded the Charles H. Revson Fellowship and completed a year of study at Columbia University in the Revson Program, a program sponsored by the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, designed for the development of mid-career urban leaders who have made a substantial contribution to New York City.
