LGBTQ+ Victory Institute of Washington D.C. recently announced that Dr. Joeigh Perella of Vineland was chosen as one of 10 of its Victory Empowerment Fellows from across the country.
The Victory Empowerment Fellowship is a six-month fellowship for LGBTQ+ leaders of color and/or transgender leaders who seek to expand their campaign skills and policy-making power and to join a strong cohort of movement leaders from across the country.
Dr. Perella (she/her) is a lifelong resident of Cumberland County. She attended Rowan University earning a BS in Biological Sciences before attending Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, where she graduated in 2017 with her DMD in Dentistry. Dr. Perella has been a practicing dentist for seven years.
In 2022, Dr. Perella was recognized with the Business Professional Award by the Millville Chamber of Commerce for holding a free dental clinic. Outside of dentistry, she serves on the board of the Robert V. Hoffman III Memorial Foundation, a non-profit that educates the community about mental healthcare and suicide prevention. She also serves her community through active involvement in her local Rotary Club.
Dr. Perella works closely with local Democrats. At press time, she was serving as vice-chair of the Vineland Democratic Party. She has run in two primary and one general election for a seat on the Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners.
As a member of the transgender community, Dr. Perella organizes a monthly spaghetti dinner for members of the South Jersey trans community,
Since the Victory Empowerment Fellowship was launched in 2015, there have been 97 LGBTQ+ leaders who helped expand their skill sets and cultivate invaluable relationships. These individuals will take the tools obtained through the program back to their communities to change the current landscape of LGBTQ+ inequality.
As participants in the Victory Empowerment Fellowship, the 2024 cohort attended Victory Institute’s Chicago Candidate & Campaign Training last month and will attend the 2024 International LGBTQ Leaders Conference in Washington, DC in December. They will also participate in virtual programming and be assigned LGBTQ+ mentors.
Victory Institute was founded in 1993 by LGBTQ advocates and donors who recognized the need to prepare LGBTQ people to run for office nationwide. With less than 50 openly LGBTQ elected officials across America at any level of government at the time, its founders understood that boosting numbers in public office is key to advancing equality. In creating Victory Institute, they recognized the need to train more LGBTQ people to run for office and to provide them support once elected.
Dr. Perella was one of three Democratic consensus candidates for county commissioner in last year’s November 8 general election and all lost as part of the Republican sweep of county offices. This year, two slates competed for the nomination to run for commissioner. Dr. Perella and LaRae Hilda Smith on the “Democrat” slate were defeated by former Commissioner John Capizola and former Sheriff Robert Austino, who had the banner “Cumberland County Regular Democratic Organization.”
Perella was one of hundreds of out candidates endorsed nationally by LGBTQ+ Victory Fund in this year’s election cycle. There are currently 37 out LGBTQ+ elected officials in New Jersey.
