The director of BAGLY (Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth), Grace Sterling Stowell, served as a volunteer adult advisor with the organization since it began in 1980. She formed BAGLY's Adult Advisory Board in 1986. She was hired as a part-time director in 1995, and became the full-time executive director of BAGLY in 1997.

Stowell is a founding member of several local, state, and national organizations for GLBT youth, including the Healthy Boston Coalition for GLBT Youth, the Massachusetts Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and the National Advocacy Coalition on Youth and Sexual Orientation. She has also been active in the transgender community for many years, serving as a consultant and trainer for Gender Identity Support Services for Transgenders (GISST) and the Outreach Institute of Gender Studies, among others.

Stowell received her Masters in Counseling Psychology from Lesley College in Cambridge in 1995 and was employed as the GLBT Health Access Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health from 1995 to 1997." In 2003, Grace became a member of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition and currently serves on the steering committee as the Treasurer. In 2007, Grace became the vice chair for the Massachusetts Commission on GLBT Youth. Grace has been advocating for transgender youth since 1980 and became actively involved in transgender activism in 1986.