Alma Rosa Aguila (she/her)
Senior Director of Development and External Relations
Alma brings expertise in development operations, donor strategy, and data-driven fundraising. Prior to this role, she served at Howard Brown Health, where she supported a $16 million capital campaign, strengthened donor engagement systems, and contributed to major gift growth. Alma is known for aligning data and strategy to build meaningful donor relationships and advance mission-driven work. She is passionate about fostering strong partnerships and expanding community impact in support of LGBTQ+ equality across Illinois.
Kylan L. Durant (he/they)
Senior Director of Strategic Operations
Kylan is a recent transplant from Oklahoma City, OK. They hold both a BA and MM in Music from Oklahoma City University. Kylan has been involved in various aspects of the community including arts and culture, real estate, nonprofit, and community development bringing a commitment to marginalized voices in all facets of his involvements.
His creative passions have blended with his passion for community focused projects through his time in OKC. Of note, they led the Oklahoma Pride Alliance for several years which puts on the largest Pride event in the state of Oklahoma and expanded its capacity through developing new programs, growing/shifting funding sources, and solidifying its status in the community. They are the first black person to lead the organization and placed emphasis on uplifting trans, queer, two-spirit, black, and brown voices through the organization's programming and partnerships. Under his leadership, OKPA expanded to be a state-wide organization, strengthened internal systems, developed its first 5-year strategic plan, and solidified community partnerships. With its success, Oklahoma Pride Alliance was awarded a Hometown Hero Award from Visit OKC.
During his time at Communities Foundation of Oklahoma as the Donor Services and Programs Manager, Kylan worked with donors and nonprofits across the state of Oklahoma to meet various needs including lack of healthcare, child development, HIV/AIDS care and resources, food insecurity, education, racial injustice, housing, and many more. They strengthened internal procedures by improving efficiency and simplifying the grantmaking process to strengthen trust-based philanthropy models. Additionally, they served as COO/Interim CEO of the Diversity Center of Oklahoma, a 2SLGBTQ+ community center, working to improve operations, financial and funding capacities, and compliance along with guiding the board through leadership changes and complex organization decisions.
For their leadership across the nonprofit community, they were named to The Journal Record’s Nonprofit Leaders Powerlist in 2025. Kylan brings a strong leadership background, lived experience, operational expertise, and commitment to justice and equity for 2SLGBTQ+ lives to Equality Illinois.
Aces Lira (he/him)
Director of Public Policy
Aces has joined as Director of Public Policy, where he will lead efforts to advance LGBTQ+ equity and justice across Illinois. His work will focus on addressing disparities in health care access, expanding economic opportunity, and confronting inequities with the legal system.
Aces brings a strong commitment to intersectional advocacy and a background in direct service across education, child welfare, and migrant support. He holds graduate degrees in Women's and Gender Studies and Social Work from Loyola University Chicago.
Previously, Aces led state-level HIV advocacy at AIDS Foundation Chicago and supported economic opportunity initiatives at Heartland Alliance. He brings a proven track record of advancing policies that center equity and community impact. His approach is grounded in both policy expertise and lived experience, ensuring that community voices remain at the forefront of systems change.