by Jonathan Swindle 
3:28Pride Corpus Christi is proud to announce the Grand Marshals for the 2026 Pride parade: Brittany Andrews and Ellison Powers. Together they represent decades of community building in South Texas alongside a new generation stepping into leadership. We’re proud to honor both for the ways that they’ve shown up for the Coastal Bend’s LGBTQIA+ community; often in the face of adversity.
Brittany Andrews
Grand Marshal
Brittany Andrews, this year’s Grand Marshal, is a Latina trans woman and a proud native of Robstown, Texas. She has spent 34 years in entertainment as Owner/Operator of Brittany Andrews Entertainment, building a career focused on visibility and creating space for all voices to shine.
Brittany serves as the South Texas Liaison for the Trans Justice Funding Project and Co-Facilitator of the Coastal Bend Trans Alliance, which she helped found in 2016. She is an Ambassador with the #BeHuman Campaign and Director of Public Relations for Corpus Christi LGBT. Within the Royal Sovereign Imperial Court of the Texas Riviera Empire, she holds the title of Imperial Crown Princess Royale For Life, and she has served as Ambassador to the Transgender Universe 2019, Miss Texas Riviera 2021, and Good Will Ambassador to the Texas Riviera Empire.
Her work has been recognized with a Letter of Commendation from the Transgender Veterans Support Group International Chapter and the Karina Samala Trans America Award from the International Court Council. For ten years she has partnered with Pride Corpus Christi to produce the Pride Diva Showcase, and she promotes the Miss Corpus Christi Latina & Sweetheart Pageantry and the Coastal Bend Rising Star Showcase.
Brittany worked alongside Mayor Paulette Guajardo to officially proclaim March 31st as Corpus Christi Transgender Day of Visibility and April 30th through May 2nd as Texas Riviera Days in the city. She uses her platform to elevate visibility, celebrate the community, and speak out against violence toward trans individuals.
Ellison Powers
Emerging Leader Grand Marshal
Ellison Powers, this year’s Emerging Leader Grand Marshal, is a graduate student and grassroots activist in the Coastal Bend area. On the night of the 2024 election, Ellison felt a deep need for community and sensed others shared that same sense of loss and desire to prepare. One week later, they hosted an open community meeting to gather, mourn, and set direction. That meeting became Progressives of the Coastal Bend, which has since hosted networking events, protests, direct actions, and de-escalation trainings.
In 2025, Ellison spearheaded the International Women’s Day March for Equality, one of the largest resistance gatherings the city had seen at the time. They also helped start the Visible Resistance weekly protest at Water’s Edge Park, helped relaunch the local Indivisible chapter, and co-launched the Coastal Bend ICE Watch. Of everything they’ve built, Ellison is most proud of having helped empower and support at least three emerging trans organizers in hosting their first events. They are an outspoken advocate for the community, and in all things, they are proudly and visibly trans.
Join us in celebrating Brittany and Ellison at this year’s Pride parade on October 3, 2026 at 4:30 PM. Come out to cheer them on for their advocacy and to stand together as a community.