GABRIEL COLON-SCIABARRASI

Founder,  Queens With a Mission 

Age:28

Heritage:Puerto Rican, Italian, and Polish

 

Awards: 

• Northeastern University Empower Leadership Award 2013

• Rodriguez Leadership Award

•  Leadership Award 2014

•  Rookie of the Year Award 2015

●     Culture Keeper Award 2019

​

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel Colon-Sciabarrasi is a Cause Marketing Specialist who was raised in Easton, MA. Traveling between Puerto Rico and Massachusetts, the strength and importance of having a community became an instilled value and a cornerstone for his passions. He decided to pursue a career in business in hopes of making a positive impact on others. Throughout his upbringing, Gabriel found a sense of family at Boston Beer Company where he has worked for the past seven years, as well as through dance.

​

Starting in 2014, Gabriel fell in love with music and other creative outlets. During his undergraduate tenure at Northeastern University, he moved away from singing and acting, solely focusing on dancing. This creative outlet was his way on exploring and becoming more comfortable in his own identity as a gay Latino. Performance was not only a way to express emotion, have fun, and be creative, but it became a way to grow into his authentic self. 

​

After graduating from Northeastern University in 2014, dance became an even stronger passion for him. Within exploring the Boston dance community, he and a few other passionate friends, shared similar feelings on not finding a home. Therefore, they decided to collaborate and start a project for an upcoming dance competition. The project ultimately didn’t get accepted, but the experience and collaboration sparked something special. Not wanting to let it go, the project continued and became a new dance family.

​

QWAM (Queens With A Mission) became a diverse, all male dance crew whose values really center around family and respect. Established in 2016, QWAM champions for self confidence across the Boston Dance Scene and the greater LGTBQIA community.  The crew encourages everyone to embrace their own identity across the East Coast, including in their very own showcase: Reignbow. Comprised of diverse LGBTQIA+ and ally choreographers, vocalists, fashion designers, and drag queens, Reignbow is a celebration where everyone can come together, celebrate each other’s authentic identities, and create support for a more equal future.

In co-founding and co-leading QWAM for the past three years, Gabriel has found family that has helped him and many others in gaining their self confidence. Along this journey, he has been more connected to not only his queer identity, but to a broader Latinx community throughout the East Coast. Dance has no language barriers and with QWAM he hopes to keep building connections towards a more unified future.