Celso Cárdenas was born and raised in La Villita on the Southwest Side of Chicago. He received his Bachelor’s in Latino studies from the University of Michigan. At the university, he took on leadership roles in various organizations and developed and implemented many programs to help the Latinx community, for the university and the surrounding community.

After completing his undergraduate degree Celso worked at various community-based organizations in Chicago. Next, Celso worked as Associate Director of College Counseling at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago. At Parker, aside from guiding students through the college search and application process, Celso was also a Coordinator of Diversity in the Upper School. He sat on the faculty/staff of color council which worked extensively on recruiting and retaining students, faculty and staff of color, he taught middle school students about Latino/a culture through dance, and worked with a community action class of high school sophomores which focused on immigration and access to education for undocumented students.

In 2010, Celso completed work on his M.A. in Community Counseling. As part of his training, Celso interned at the Center on Halsted and provided individual and group counseling to adults. Celso served on the planning board for United Latino Pride, a group dedicated to promoting culture and pride in the Latino LGBTQI+ community of Chicago.

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2015, Celso has worked at Harvard Westlake School as an Upper School Dean. Additionally, at Harvard Westlake, he has the privilege of working with Latinx student organization(LAHSO) and Project 10, a confidential LGBT group, as their faculty advisor. For the past five summers, Celso works with the Bovard Scholars program at USC, a college access program for high-achieving/low-income students. As the Lead Coach he provides support to the coaches in curriculum implementation and with student issues. In May of 2023, Celso will complete his doctoral program in educational leadership at the University of Southern California. He is dedicated to serving his community; contributing all his efforts to ensuring disadvantaged communities feel a great sense of support and pushing educational settings to be more inclusive home-spaces for ALL students.

He/him/his

Mario Acosta-Velez is Director of State Government Affairs for Verizon East Region. He manages relations with customers, employees, government, community partners, business organizations, and stakeholders with a focus on building alliances to promote public policies that are consistent with Verizon’s goals and objectives. In this capacity, Mario is responsible for Verizon’s foundation regional giving, corporate social responsibility, community engagement, and government affairs initiatives in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, and has implemented several Verizon’s strategic community outreach programs in diverse communities including high-visibility STEM education partnerships and consumer technology education initiatives that increased the company visibility as a good corporate citizen and technology leader in the region.

Mario served as the National President of GLOBE of Verizon (currently Prism of Verizon), a company-wide LGBT employee resource group, and works closely with the company to advance LGBT diversity and inclusion, build strategic community partnerships, and increase employee engagement.

Mario served in a mayoral appointment to the District of Columbia Mayor’s Age-Friendly DC Task Force, in which he led an initiative to promote age-friendly businesses. He served as Chairman of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, served on the board of Leadership Greater Washington, and currently serves on the GALA Hispanic Theater board of directors.

In 2019, Mario received the Business of Pride Award from the Washington Business Journal.  In 2014, Mario received the Washington Business Journal Minority Business Award and was featured as a Hispanic executive and leader in the national Hispanic Executive Magazine. He is also recipient of the 2009 Young Hispanic Corporate Achievers award by the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility.

Mario previously served as Human Rights Commissioner with the District of Columbia’s Commission of Human Rights from 2002-2008 and on the Mayor’s Workforce Investment Council from 2000-2008. In 2008, the Council of the District of Columbia honored Mario with a ceremonial resolution in recognition of his contributions in public service and leadership.

He is a graduate of the Harvard University’s 2005 Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, and holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an MPA and a BA in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico.

She/her/hers

Michelle Adams is a Consumer Lending Complaint Executive Office Leader for the Enterprise Complaints Management Office at Wells Fargo.  She and her leaders oversee escalated complaints for several Wells Fargo businesses including Home Lending, Auto Lending, Personal Lines and Loans and Education Finance Services.  Together, they work to address and understand customer concerns while contributing to consistent complaints management processes throughout the company; improving controls, responsiveness, compliance and an enhanced customer experience.  Adams is an experienced operations, strategy and change leader, who has held a variety of strategic roles in the financial services sector since 2010.

A Charlotte resident, Adams most recently served as the Global Technology & Operations Data Management and Performance Measurement Executive at Bank of America. Immediately prior, she led Regulatory Complaints and Social Media Servicing, where she was responsible for production oversight of complaint resolution via regulatory agencies, public officials and advocacy organizations, and managing the bank’s response to customers requiring service through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Adams also led the bank’s  Enterprise Shared Services Initiative Management group, and served as chief administrative officer and head of Business Management Strategy & Delivery for Global Wealth & Investment Management Technology. Additionally, she spent seven years at Lowe’s Companies, Inc., as director of product information, running enterprise-wide strategic initiatives. Adams held earlier leadership roles with Chicago-based internet start-up companies, and consulted on market analysis and strategies for companies in a variety of industries.

Adams earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and an MBA in strategy and marketing from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Adams serves on the Susan G. Komen Charlotte board of directors. She previously served as chair of the Pine Lake Preparatory board of directors and as a member of the Kaleidoscope Foundation board of directors. Adams has been married for over 20 years and has two teenage sons. She also is a life-long competitive swimmer.

Ann started as a member of Point Foundation’s National Board of Regents in June 2005, joined the Board of Directors as Secretary in April 2007, and served as the Board of Regents Co-President until her final term ended April 2013.

An entrepreneur, nurse, attorney and community activist, Ann Adams has blazed a pioneer’s trail throughout a long and diverse career. Beginning as an Emergency Room nurse in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Ann has held senior medical staff positions at some of the nation’s finest hospitals, including Head Nurse at Denver General Hospital, where she created and developed the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit.

Seeking to explore the nexus between healthcare and the law, Ann earned her J.D. from the University of Denver. In 1987, Ann co-founded Independence Plus, a home health agency that specializes in caring for patients with brain and spinal-cord injuries. After serving as Principal of the business and building it into a preeminent healthcare company in the greater Chicago area, Ann sold her interest in 2004.

Jeremias is a Partner, National Security Segment at Guidehouse, global consultancy that solves important problems and builds trust in society. He leads work across a diverse consulting portfolio in the areas of strategy and transformation, change management, program and project management, human capital, and agile technology development. Jeremias oversees accounts across the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with a focus on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Jeremias has supported all FEMA mission areas, including response, recovery, and resilience (mitigation, insurance, preparedness, and continuity) for more than 13 years, both at headquarters and throughout the regions. Prior to joining Guidehouse, Jeremias was a Managing Director at PwC and a senior business transformation consultant at IBM Global Business Services, where he also supported emergency management strategy and transformation initiatives throughout FEMA. He began his career as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), managing large policy, regulatory, and social science research projects at the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

At Guidehouse, he also serves as the Executive Sponsor for the Out Professional Employee Network (OPEN). OPEN is part of the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Diversity (DEI) Program. Prior to Guidehouse, Jeremias also helped launch, grow, and lead the OPEN Circle at PwC for 10+ years. Jeremias is very active in his local community and routinely volunteers at Whitman Walker Health, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and local DC Point events. He also serves as a Board Member at Studio Theater, a premier regional theater that produces some of the best contemporary shows in the country.

Jeremias holds a Master of Public Affairs from The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish/International Business from St. Edward’s University. He also holds PMP, CSM, SAFe Agilist, HCC, and CCMP certifications. Jeremias lives in Washington, DC and is originally from far west Texas. He loves the arts, live music, travel, and good food!

Dr. Neal Baer is an Executive Producer and Showrunner for the CBS hit television series “Under The Dome.” Previously, he served as Executive Producer of the CBS medical drama “A Gifted Man” (2011) and Executive Producer of the hit NBC television series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2000–11).

Prior to his work on “Law & Order,” Dr. Baer was Executive Producer of NBC’s “ER,” where he was a member of the show’s original staff and a writer and producer for seven seasons. There he was nominated for five Emmys Awards as a producer and received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Writing in A Drama Series and a Writers’ Guild of America nomination.

Dr. Baer’s other work includes an episode of “China Beach.” The ABC Afterschool Special “Private Affairs,” which he directed and wrote, dealt with the topic of sexually transmitted diseases. He also wrote “The Doctor Corps,” a feature film for Twentieth Century Fox; “Outreach,” a pilot for the WB Network, which he also produced; “The Edge,” a pilot for CBS; and “The Beast,” a pilot for NBC. Dr. Baer’s first novel, “Kill Switch,” co-written with Jonathan Greene, was published in January 2012; his second novel, “Kill Again,” will be published in June 2014.

Dr. Baer taught elementary school in Colorado and also worked as a research associate at USC Medical School, where he focused on drug and alcohol abuse prevention. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Baer completed his internship in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Dr. Baer graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in political science from Colorado College. He holds a master’s degree in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a master’s degree in sociology from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Before working in television, he spent a year at the American Film Institute as a directing fellow, and in 2000, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colorado College.

Dr. Baer joined the Department of Community Health Sciences at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health as a Research Scientist in 2013. He recently established The Center for Storytelling, Activism and Health at USC’s Institute for Global Health, where he is working on projects using new media to promote health initiatives around the world. In addition, he is also a Senior Fellow at USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism and a Lecturer in the university’s School of Arts and Sciences.

Chris Baker is Senior Director of Information Technology Business Consulting with Alvarez & Marsal, and has held senior executive technology roles at Comcast NBCUniversal, General Electric, M&M Mars and Nestle USA, specializing in the implementation of enterprise-wide corporate systems as well as the governance, planning, and delivery of $100M+ technology development and operations portfolios.

Mr. Baker, who is the former CIO and former chair of Point’s Technology Committee, graduated from the University of Southern California and is an active member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He also served as CTO at the Trevor Project and was the Board of Directors Technology Chair since that organization’s founding.

A 4th generation Los Angeles native and legally married in California since 2008, Mr. Baker and his husband of 20 years, Tim Smith, reside in Valley Village, California

Jennifer Barbetta is a Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Starwood Capital Group, where she is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management and operations of the firm, its operating companies and its global offices. In this role, she partners with Starwood’s senior leaders to evaluate and pursue corporate development opportunities, oversee the firm’s financial functions and guide many of Starwood’s non-investment functions. She is a member of Starwood’s Executive Committee.

Prior to joining Starwood, Jennifer was a Partner and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. She spent more than 23 years at Goldman Sachs in various roles within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Most recently, she helped lead the firm’s Global Portfolio Solutions Group, providing multi-asset class products and solutions to institutional and individual investors with a focus on customized asset allocation, tactical implementation, risk management and portfolio construction. She previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Global Head of Strategic Client Service of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and prior to that, spent 15 years in their Alternative Investments business.

Jennifer earned a B.S. in Finance from Villanova University. She serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Villanova School of Business, the Board of Trustees of the Montclair Kimberley Academy and the Emeritus Board of the Point Foundation.  She and her wife, Victoria, have three children and reside in Montclair, New Jersey.

Gabriella has also been active in a variety of pro bono matters, with a particular interest in representing victims of domestic abuse in family court proceedings. She additionally has represented low-income individuals in employment and civil rights litigations in both state and federal court.

During law school, Gabriella served as a Notes Editor on the Cornell Law Review and as a member of the Moot Court Board. Gabriella also completed a federal clerkship in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Chris Boyle is the Assistant Head of School and Academic Dean at North Shore Country Day School, a Junior Kindergarten – 12th grade independent school in Winnetka, Illinois. In his role, Chris oversees faculty hiring, professional development and evaluation as well as the school’s academic program and a number of the school’s strategic initiatives. Prior to his current role, Chris served as the school’s Director of College Counseling and before that worked in the field of college admissions.

Chris served on Point’s Board of Directors from 2011-2017. During that time, he chaired and co-chaired the Scholar Selections Subcommittee, planned Regional Leadership Forum programs, and helped organize several Point Cornerstone Events in Chicago.

Chris lives in Chicago with his husband Cole Moir.

Sharon Brackett is a serial entrepreneur who is presently the President/CEO of Tiresias Technologies, a new startup company. In 2010 she was selected by Washington SmartCEO Magazine as one of Washington’s Smart100 CEOs for 2010 and then again, after transition, in 2011.

She has been a volunteer co-moderator of the Gender Identity support group of the GLCCB in Baltimore. She served as a co-chair for the NGLTF Creating Change conference in Baltimore for 2012. She writes a regular column for Baltimore OUTloud, Rational T-hought, focusing on Trans rights and issues. Sharon is a founder of Gender Rights Maryland, a trans civil rights organization, and serves as Board Chair.

She also is a founder of TransParent Day, and a board member of MoringaCommunity.org, a charity that is building an education program in Ghana, Africa. She is a former board member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Central Maryland in Baltimore (GLCCB). In her spare time she works with youth groups with technical interests such as rocketry and robotics.

Paul is a Tulane University alumnus, and originally from South Florida. He appreciated how many doors were opened at Tulane, and after, because of his degree. From athletics, to design, study abroad, and networking, his eyes were really opened to the world during his studies. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he spent a year doing research in Finland's Arctic region through a Fulbright grant. Paul later returned to Tulane for his second degree and to start his current role as Director of International Admission and California Recruitment.

Mark Butt is the Director of Admission in the Office of Undergraduate Admission at Emory University. Mark is currently in his 17^th year in undergraduate admission and oversees the first year selection process with 27 admission officers at Emory University. During his career, Mark has traveled to over 60 countries and as of the spring of 2020, has personally reviewed over 22,000 applications for freshman admission over his career.

Mark has presented at national and international conferences on topics which include ethical practices in admission, recruitment travel, disciplinary actions, writing letters of recommendation, financial aid for international students and school profile assessments. For two years, he advised high school students through the college search and selection process at an independent day school in South Florida. Mark also sits on the regional advisory board for Cambridge International Assessments in the United Kingdom.

His previous work includes five years in undergraduate admission at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a third year Higher Education doctoral student at the University of Alabama. In his previous career, Mark was a nationally ranked figure skater in Canada and toured professionally with Disney on Ice. Mark is originally from Ottawa, Canada and resides full time with his partner in Atlanta, Georgia.

He/Him

Andrew Caravella is a business and marketing executive experienced in setting vision, leading teams and delivering revenue through programs grounded in human connection and value-based relationships. Those principles guide more than twenty years of efforts in B2B, B2C and agency environments. From entertainment to education, community engagement to creative storytelling, Andrew helps renowned brands, startups and nonprofits achieve success.

Most recently, Andrew was vice president of global partnerships at Sprout Social, a leading social media management and engagement platform for business. In this role, Andrew oversaw and nurtured official relations and joint product development with social and community platforms including Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as well as Google, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok and Twitter. He also forged the ecosystem and developed numerous partnerships with tech leaders including Amazon, Dropbox, HubSpot, Slack and Yelp. In 2015, Andrew originated and grew Sprout’s Technology Giving Program, which today provides more than $1M annually in donated technology to more than 75 nonprofits that make a better world.

In nearly a decade at Sprout, Andrew was its first vice president of marketing beginning in 2013.

He set the brand trajectory, built an integrated marketing team and drove awareness, supporting the company in early and hyper growth stages through to its IPO in 2019 and beyond. Interfacing with countless brands like Donors Choose, Equinox, Loews Hotels, Tito’s and Warby Parker in these roles, Andrew’s work critically defined social for business as an urgent opportunity and he was an early industry champion of treating social media marketing as a profession.

Prior to his tenure at Sprout, Andrew was director of marketing at the performance marketing agency Performics (Publicis Groupe). He previously served as a product marketing manager at DoubleClick Performics and began his career in public relations and account management at Weber Shandwick, managing campaigns for iconic brands including got milk?, Kraft, National Pork Board, Oscar Mayer and Unilever.

A frequent industry contributor and speaker, Andrew has given more than 200 career media interviews, bylines and speaking engagements on topics ranging from social strategy, integrated marketing, customer care and more. He has also guest lectured at Northwestern University and DePaul University and, since 2017, is a member of the Forbes Communication Council.

Andrew is an active citizen, tennis fanatic, theater enthusiast, classical violinist and increasingly accomplished home cook. He earned an MS in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University and BAs in political science and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Andrew lives in New York City.

Jason Collins is a retired American professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Collins attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in 2000-01. He was selected in the first round with the 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. After the 2012-13 NBA season concluded, Collins publicly came out as gay — making him the first active male athlete from one of the four major North American professional team sports to publicly do so.

Collins was born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California, eight minutes ahead of his twin brother Jarron, who also became an NBA player. They graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. Collins played with brother Jarron for the Stanford Cardinal in the Pacific-10 Conference. Jason finished his college career ranked first in Stanford history for field goal percentage and third in blocked shots. After college, Collins played center for six teams including New Jersey, Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston, Washington, and Brooklyn.

In the cover story of the May 6, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated, written by Collins himself and posted on the magazine’s website on April 29, 2013, he came out as gay. In the article Collins explained that a “notorious antigay hate crime,” the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, led him to choose “98” for his jersey number in Shepard’s honor. Collins called the number, “a statement to myself, my family and my friends.” On the day the article was released, the Sports Illustrated website, SI.com, had a record 3.713 million visitors.

The New York Times called Collins’ 2014 signing with the Brooklyn Nets, “Perhaps basketball’s most celebrated and scrutinized 10-day contract.” His No. 98 jersey became the top seller on the NBA’s online store. In April 2014, Time Magazine featured Collins photo on the cover of the magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” issue.

He currently serves on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition.

Point Scholar Erin Armstrong interviews Jason Collins. Watch the video.

Brian Dent is the Senior Vice President – Financial Advisor at RBC Wealth Management in Beverly Hills, CA. He has been working in the area of financial planning and wealth management since 1997 and enjoys educating his clients in these areas. Prior to investment management, Brian’s experience is in corporate finance and audit.

Brian has been involved with Point Foundation for over a decade, as a volunteer, Trustee, Director and Treasurer. He is passionate about education and believes it is vitally important to provide scholarships, mentoring, networking and guidance to LGBTQ individuals.

A native of Philadelphia, Brian moved to Los Angeles in 1994 He has an M.B.A. in finance from Widener University in Philadelphia, and a B.A. in business economics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Brittany Ellenberg grew up in La Porte, Texas, where she graduated valedictorian of her high school class. Brittany then attended the University of Texas at Dallas, and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. During college, she created the University’s Diversity Council, a forum for improving diversity and inclusion on campus. Brittany served as President of College Democrats, President of Students for Political Education, Action and Knowledge (SPEAK) and as Political Liaison for PRIDE, an LGBTQ student organization. After founding the University’s College Democrats chapter, Brittany was appointed Vice-Chair of the LGBT Caucus for the national organization, College Democrats of America. At the University, Brittany was also active in moot court, mock trial and interned at the Collin County District Attorney’s Office and the Innocence Project. During college, Brittany traveled to developing countries conducting international human rights research and providing aid to indigenous, refugee, and LGBTQ populations in Costa Rica, Peru, Jamaica and Thailand.

In 2013, Brittany received the Archer Fellowship where she worked at the U.S. Department of State on issues of civilian security, democracy and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Brittany then attended the University of Chicago Law School, where she served as an officer in OutLaw and on the Executive Board of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago. She was named a Grant Folland Scholar for her commitment to LGBTQ rights, and also selected for Windy City’s 30 Under 30. In summer 2014, Brittany received the International Human Rights Fellowship to work at Minority Rights Group International in London doing impact litigation for minority populations around the world. Brittany was the Business Editor for the Chicago Journal of International Law. She has represented LGBTQ refugees through the International Refugee Assistance Project, and served as a Child Advocate for immigrant children through the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. Brittany was selected as a Salzburg Cutler Fellow for her academic work on international law, and travelled internationally to study issues relating to comparative law, including conducting constitutional reform research in Morocco for United Nations Women.

Brittany is now an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where she practices labor and employment law, and holds a strong commitment for pro bono work, including submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of several LGBTQ organizations opposing the Trump administration’s travel ban. She currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Los Angeles LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles.

Peter Epstein was a Point Foundation Board Member from January 2005 to January 2012. He has been an application reader and key member of the Boston Cornerstone Society Fundraising Committee since the event’s inception in 2007 and served as formal mentor to Ben Harvey and Travis Wright. Peter was a member of Point’s first Mentoring Committee (with Joe McCormack and Craig Daniel), and assumed full chairmanship of the Mentoring Subcommittee when a formal board infrastructure was implemented in 2007.

He is also on the Board of Directors of GLAD: Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders in Boston. He has been on the GLAD Board since 2004. He previously served on the Development Committee and is currently the Clerk of the Board. He is also spearheading GLAD’s Legacy Society.

He is also on the Board of Visitors of Fenway Community Health Center in Boston. He is the former long-time Chairman of the Brookline Public Library Board Cancelof Trustees. As such, he led the Trustees’ successful effort to renovate the historic main library building in Brookline Village.

Peter is an attorney in private practice in Boston specializing in telecommunications law, primarily representing municipalities. He is a graduate of George Washington University and Suffolk University Law School.

He/him

Glenn is a dynamic global leader with deep strategic, operational, and business transformation experience. He has held a broad range of senior executive-level roles in the beauty industry, including global brand management, enterprise transformation leadership, and global supply chain positions.

He joined The Estée Lauder Companies in 2005 and has been a member of ELC’s Executive Leadership Team since 2013. He currently serves as SVP, Digital Enterprise Operations – Project NEXT, leading ELC’s digitally-enabled global transformation program designed to strengthen the company’s operational foundations, leveraging technology, data, analytics, and a digital-/mobilefirst mindset to enable more interconnected services and experiences for consumers and employees.

Prior to his tenure at ELC, Glenn worked at two other global beauty companies, Avon Products and Coty, Inc. He has  extensive global experience and expertise, including within China and across the Asia-Pacific region, where he lived and worked for over 12 years.

Glenn is recognized as a champion of talent development and a passionate leader for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity. Since 2018, he has served as an Executive Sponsor of wELCome, ELC’s Employee Resource Group for LGBTQ+ employees. He is a sought-after mentor for talent and strives to create mentor/mentee relationships that enable two-way, mentor/mentee learning opportunities across a diversity of roles and career paths.

Glenn and his husband currently reside in New York and Los Angeles. They enjoy traveling, food, all kinds of visual arts, and they are the proud dads of two Miniature Schnauzers, Oliver and Parker.

Shelley Fischel retired as executive vice president, human resources and administration, for Home Box Office. In her role, she was responsible for overseeing the development, management and administration of human resources programs and policies affecting HBO employees. These included such functions as employment, employee relations, affirmative action, compensation and benefits, training, and internal communications. She was also HBO’s labor counsel.

She was also responsible for the management and administration of HBO’s nationwide facilities, which includes overseeing the company’s purchasing, distribution, food services, maintenance, real estate leases, facility design and construction, travel, medical, fitness, office services and security areas.

Fischel joined HBO in December 1979 as labor counsel. She was promoted to chief counsel, labor and special litigation in June 1982 and was named vice president and chief counsel, labor and litigation, in October 1983. She became vice president, human resources in August 1984 and was promoted to senior vice president, human resources in November 1986. She was named senior vice president, human resources and administration in August 1990.
Before joining HBO, Fischel worked for two years as an associate in litigation for the New York law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell.

Fischel is currently an adjunct at New York University College of Arts and Sciences, and serves on the Advisory Council of Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York. She has a B.A. degree from Wellesley College, a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, and an LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law.

Fischel and her husband Robert live in Westchester, New York. They have two children.

Shelley Freeman was executive vice president and head of Wells Fargo’s Consumer Credit Solutions, a group focused on providing consumers the financing they need to achieve their financial goals and dreams.

A longtime veteran of the financial services industry, Shelley has had a lifelong commitment to helping customers succeed financially and to building high-performing teams. Before taking the helm of Consumer Credit Solutions, Shelley served as the Community Bank’s Affluent Segment and Customer Experience Executive, overseeing all aspects of customer service in Wells Fargo’s banking stores and launching the company-wide effort to drive the partnership between the Community Bank and Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement.

Shelley, who started her career in the brokerage business and joined Wells Fargo in 1996, also has served as lead region president for Wells Fargo’s Florida Community Bank, regional president of Wells Fargo’s Los Angeles Metro Community Bank and head of Wells Fargo’s Investment Internet Services.

Shelley served on the board of directors and executive committee for the Point Foundation. She is a past board member for a number of organizations, including the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging, the Center Theatre Group, and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. She also served as a commissioner for the L.A. Police Commission, appointed by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Shelley has been honored with the Point Passion Award (2011), the Jewish Vocational Service Leadership Award (2009), the L.A. Community Development Corporation Community Responsibility Award (2009) and the Deborah Award from the Anti-Defamation League (2006). A graduate of Wilkes University, she holds Series 7, 24 and 66 licenses.

He/him

Nathan leads the multifaceted brand, marketing, communications, and production functions for Understood. He brings more than 20 years of experience building iconic brands, crafting engaging campaigns, and leading teams through complex operational challenges to his role as Chief Marketing Officer.

Previous roles include General Manager of a mid-sized agency and President of a consultancy focused on branding and marketing strategy for startups in the impact space. He is also an advisor with The Collaborative Fund and serves on the board of directors of the Point Foundation – the largest LGBTQ+ scholarship fund.

Nathan began his career at Ogilvy, where he drove strategic marketing and communications efforts, eventually leading its West Coast operation as Regional Managing Director. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, and holds a B.A. in Political Science.

She/her

Jenna Gambaro is a Commercial Endorsements Executive at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Gambaro works in the Los Angeles office where she creates and negotiates opportunities for clients in on-camera commercials, print, and voice-over campaigns, both domestically and internationally.

Gambaro began her career at CAA in 2002.

Gambaro graduated from Portland State University with a degree in Business/Marketing and went on to receive her law degree from Southwestern Law School.

Gambaro currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Webb Schools of California.

Louis A. Gary is an Independent Financial Advisor through Dempsey Lord Smith, LLC. Obtaining his B.B.A. in business management and accounting from Mississippi State University in 1982, the same year met his life partner of now 35+ year. Together they relocated to Atlanta to seek greater acceptance and opportunity in 1990.

With a career initially founded in property & casualty accounting operations, Louis has worked for Allstate and Safeco Insurance Companies. In 1996, he and a group of entrepreneurial investors and business developers created one of the first financial services internet portals, bringing discounted auto/home insurance and other voluntary benefits to employees of large corporations; where most first had access to internet technology at their work.

Louis was recognized by the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in 2009 as member of the year for his support in coordinating and hosting a network of LGBTQ Business Builder Luncheons around the Atlanta Metro. He has served on the founding board of the Out & Equal Atlanta affiliate, a workplace advocacy organization, the board of the Atlanta Prime Timers, an elder gay men’s social group, and is an advocate and volunteer for Atlanta’s Lost & Found Youth program for homeless LGBTQ youth.

Louis has always dreamed of funding an LGBTQ scholarship program at his alma mater. Having discovered Point Foundation, his mission is to increase Cornerstone memberships and Point Scholars from the Southeast.

Celina Gerbic is the Development Director at School for Friends, a Quaker preschool devoted to diversity in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. She has been involved in building and collaborating on community outreach, fundraising and event planning in the DC community.  She serves on the DC Public Schools LGBTQ Steering Committee and helped found the GSA “Leading With Pride” Conference held annually in DC.  She has served on the DC Citywide Bullying Prevention Task Force, and helped plan “It Takes A District:  Tools & Tips to Prevent Bullying”.  She served on the Panel Planning Committee with Ford’s Theater Lincoln Legacy Project, assembling a panel “To Achieve and Cherish a Just and Lasting Peace:  Envisioning a World Beyond Hate” in 2013.  Celina formerly served as a member of the DC Concerned Providers Coalition and received their Excellence Award for Leadership & Commitment to LGBT Youth in 2013.  She is a founding member of the 17th Street Festival, and has previously served as Arts & Entertainment chair for the festival.  She received the Youth Advocate of the Year Award from the DC Center in 2017.  She previously served as Co-Chair of the Trevor Project’s DC Ambassadors Committee and served as Chair of their Education and Community Outreach Committee.  Most recently, Celina founded IllumiNATION DC, an Inauguration 2021 event to bring light and hope to the nation’s capital.

Celina has served on Point Foundation’s Board of Directors since 2018, and previously served as a Washington, DC Trustee from June 2012 to January 2018, and led straight ally outreach in 2011 and corporate sponsorships in 2010 through the DC Host Committee.  She has co-chaired DC’s annual “Taste of Point” event since 2013.

Celina was formerly a trial attorney focusing on employment discrimination law, and was a partner in a Boston firm, Thornton & Naumes. She was Co-Counsel on Ortiz del Valle v. National Basketball Association, a sex discrimination case, resulting in a trial verdict of $7.85 million. Celina graduated cum laude from Boston University and Boston University School of Law and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New York and D.C. Celina was recognized with Boston University’s Young Lawyer Chair Award in 2000 and was named one of Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly “Up and Coming Lawyers” in 1998. She previously served on Boston University School of Law’s Executive Board and co-chaired the Young Alumni Committee.

Chair of the DC Trustee Board

Ed Glasscock has been with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for over 17 years and has served in leadership positions in the areas of infrastructure technology, human resources, project management, and administrative services. He leads the Washington Metro Market Out Professional Employee Network (OPEN), contributing to the success and support of PwC’s Diversity & Inclusion LGBT networking circle. OPEN has set the example in the Washington Metro market on engagement within the LGBT community through targeted efforts and alignment with organizations in the area. He has served as a mentor in the PwC Impact Program and continues his focus on mentoring scholars through engagement with the Earl Woods Scholarship Program with the Tiger Woods Foundation.

In addition to the above, Ed enjoys travel, new food experiences, movies, theater and running outdoors. Ed has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management from Virginia Tech.

Eric Gonzaba is an Assistant Professor of American Studies at California State University, Fullerton where he studies and teaches courses on the history of sexuality and race in America. He received his BA from Indiana University and his PhD in American History from George Mason University in 2019. He proudly became a Point Scholar in 2017. Gonzaba's work has been supported by grants and fellowships from the University of Pennsylvania, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Cornell University, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Gonzaba is the founder of several LGBT digital humanities projects. In 2014, he founded Wearing Gay History, an award-winning online archive that explores the global history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people through t-shirts. In 2019, he co-founded Mapping the Gay Guides, which aims to map over 100,000 LGBTQ listings in historical gay travel guides since 1965. Since 2021, he has served as the co-chair of the Committee on LGBT History, the nation’s oldest LGBT historians society.

He/Him

Lee currently serves as Vice President of Promotion and Marketing for the CBS Television Stations Group. He manages the promo operational workflow and best practices for the 27 owned + operated Stations across the country. 17 Markets. 14 CBS stations. 8 CW stations. 3 Indy Stations. 2 MyNet Stations. Lee is also responsible for the ‘day to day” News Promotion, Creative Sales support, and Public Affairs campaigns for WCBS, WLNY + CBSN New York. In 2018 Lee was named CBS Station Promotion Executive of The Year. Lee started his career as an Intern at WCBS, and a Network Page. In his free time Lee enjoys photography and hanging out in NYC dog parks w/ his Cocker Spaniel, Hudson Irving. Fun Fact: for several years Lee has served as a Judge in the New York City Bloody Mary festival. What makes him an expert? More than 20 plus years of brunching in NYC. Lee lives in the Spuyten Duyvil section of the Bronx w/ his Partner, Derrick. Lee is honored to serve as East Coast Co-Chair CBS Pride/Emerge.

He/him/his

Originally from Michigan, Alan is an entertainment-industry Finance professional in Los Angeles.  Currently, he is a member of the TV Group Finance team at Warner Bros.  As Executive Director of Finance, he has finance roles for television production and the Theatre Ventures group.  Previously, he spent 20 years with the Walt Disney Company – working in Finance and Accounting positions at Buena Vista International Television, Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Additionally, Alan independently heads NAPA FunLand Productions, managing all aspects of music production, marketing, and distribution.  And as a singer and songwriter, Alan has been creatively advocating the issues and perspectives of the LGBTQ community.

Alan also has served on the Boards of Directors for the UCLA Anderson School’s Gay and Lesbian Business Alumni association (Vice President of Finance), the Options for Life Foundation (Treasurer), and Trans United with Family and Friends.  He is also proud to have been associated with Angels of Change at Children’s Hospital LA (transgender support services) as well as QueerTimes.net of Philadelphia, for which he was a contributing writer.

Alan attended the University of Michigan (receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree) and the Anderson School at UCLA (MBA).  He is very proud to have been introduced to Point Foundation through its mentor program, in which he was the mentor for Point Scholar Jake Rostovsky.

He/him

Ben is the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Owl Labs where he leads strategy and business operations, manages cross-functional initiatives driving organizational efficiency, and develops company culture and leadership communications. He works alongside the executive team to make sure the trains run on time and good ideas become well-executed deliverables.

Over the past 15 years at technology companies of various shapes and sizes, Ben has amassed deep expertise in digital media and advertising technology, sales operations and customer success, and product development. But he is most proud of the incredible teams he has built and developed along the way.

Ben attended Boston University College of Fine Arts where he studied opera, and he remains a dedicated supporter of the arts community in New England. He is a proud member of the board of directors of Point Foundation where he serves as chair of the finance & technology committee.

Dr. Lisa Harrison is a Professor and the Interim Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Ohio University. She holds the B.S. in Mathematics from Spelman College and the M.S.T in Secondary teaching from Pace University. She also holds the Ph.D. in Middle School Education from The University of Georgia. Dr. Harrison teaches courses in middle childhood education and teacher action research. Additionally, she serves as the Middle Childhood Education program coordinator. Her major research interests include black young adolescent identity construction, teacher education preparation, and teaching for social justice.

Research, Engagement, and Outreach interests: Equity; Culturally Responsive Practices; Racial Identity.

She/Her

Megan Hastings is a Senior Director at the Massachusetts General Hospital – Physicians Organization where she is responsible for the Business Transformation, Physician Analytics and Business Intelligence departments. Her teams support programs and digital health technology related to the revenue cycle, reduction in physician administrative burden, performance management, and contracting and modeling for physician payer contracts.
Megan joined MGH in 2010 as the Program Director for Compass, a multi-year program aimed at the replacement of patient administrative systems with a single platform across Mass General Brigham. Prior to joining MGH, Megan was a Vice President at Health Directions, LLC where she oversaw and directed revenue cycle process improvement initiatives for Health Systems, Physician Groups and Academic Medical Centers. Megan holds a BA in Economics and Government from Hamilton College. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, cooking and spending as much time as possible in her happy place, Vermont. She lives in Boston with her husband and two children.

He/him

Jim Holmes represents major media and entertainment entities, as well as their insurers for Clyde & Co. He defends clients in a variety of intellectual property matters, including trademark, trade dress, trade secrets and copyright infringement, misrepresentation of likeness, unfair competition and breach of contract actions. He works with clients on the defense of claims brought against their marketing practices, including advertising (broadcast and print media), and internet marketing (websites and social media). He also advises clients on cyber liability issues, including the implications and coverage for data and privacy breaches.

He is a long-time and fearless advocate for diversity and LGBT rights and has served in numerous prominent bar and civic leadership roles. In June of 2019, Chambers USA, which ranks the top lawyers and law firms across the world, awarded Jim the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award for LGBT+ Equality.

In August 2019, Jim became a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Board of Governors – the first to be seated as an “at large” diversity member on behalf of the LGBT community.  He advocated for the creation of the LGBT seat to the House of Delegates, to ensure equality is always addressed with foremost concern

She/her

Kelly Horton, MS, RDN is a high performing executive level government relations and public affairs leader and nationally recognized food systems and environmental nutrition policy expert. Kelly has served in leadership roles in private and publicly held for-profit companies, non-profit management, within the Obama Administration, and as a senior advisor to members of Congress. As a change agent, Kelly is relied on as a strategic advisor, influencer, advocate, and stakeholder relations builder. Her passion and commitment to serving as a catalyst to create dynamic solutions informed by solid science has helped move the needle on transparency and build trust in the food system. Kelly is committed to social justice, informing responsible organizational decisions, and pursuing public policy with evidence-based underpinnings to create sustainable solutions resulting in happier, healthier lives for people across geographic areas and socio-economic groups. Kelly is Senior Director of Government Relations at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Food Advisory & Corporate Reputation at Edelman and North America Policy Director for Mars, Incorporated. Kelly earned her Master of Science in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition from Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and her certification in dietetics from Simmons College. She also earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management.

Alexia Korberg (they/them) is a partner in the Litigation Department and Deputy Chair of the M&A Litigation Practice Group, where they specialize in complex civil litigation. They represent clients in high-stakes commercial disputes across a range of industries, including private equity, media, banking, technology, and biomedicine. Alexia has significant trial experience and practices in both state and federal courts, including at the appellate levels, and in arbitration.

In addition to their robust commercial practice, Alexia has also developed a nationally-recognized constitutional impact litigation practice and has litigated several consequential pro bono matters in courts throughout the country including, most recently, at the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Alexia's first career was in private equity, and they apply their concomitant understanding of finance, securities, and business to all of their commercial representations.

Alexia’s awards and recognitions include: 2021 “Young Lawyer of the Year” by The American Lawyer; 2020 Rising Star by The New York Law Journal; awarded 2020 the “Outstanding Young Lawyer” the New York State Bar Association; “40 & Under Hot List” three years in a row by  Benchmark Litigation; named one of the 2022 "500 Leading Litigators in America" by Lawdragon; recognized as one of the “Best 40 LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” in 2019 by the LGBT Bar Association; and in 2018 they were listed as “On the Rise Top 40 Young Lawyers” by the American Bar Association.

Alexia earned their B.A. from Columbia University, summa cum laude, and their J.D. from Yale Law School.

They serve on the Board of Directors of the Point Foundation, the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit.

Over the past 20 years, Ben Kozub has worked in the pharmaceutical/biotech marketing across global and US marketing and sales leadership positions in HIV, HIV PrEP and HBV, HCV and other liver diseases.  During this time, he has combined his passion for advocacy and pharmaceutical drug development to help champion change and innovation across viral diseases both globally and in the US.

Among Ben’s professional goals include moving HIV from a life-saving disease to a chronic condition and expanding PrEP as an essential tool to end the global HIV epidemic.  At Gilead Sciences, Ben was responsible for the build out of the US HIV Prevention business unit, leading to broad PrEP expansion among the healthcare providers and consumers and resulting in over 250,000 active PrEP users by the end of 2019.  Before that, he led multiple global product launches for HIV treatment as the global marketing lead, obsoleting a multi-billion-dollar product portfolio with a new portfolio of medications with long- term safety benefits.

After a brief stint at Biomarin Pharmaceuticals in 2020 as head of marketing for a novel gene therapy for hemotherapy, Ben recently joined CymaBay Therapeutics as VP of Marketing, a company specializing in liver diseases with high unmet medical needs.

Ben received his undergraduate degree at Loyola University in Maryland and JD from Chicago- Kent College of Law.  He currently lives in Ross with his husband Scott and their dog Parker.  Ben enjoys participating in the many outdoor activities that Marin has to offer (running, biking, hiking and tennis), while also maintaining his indoor activities rooting for all of the Philadelphia professional sports teams.

Kaye-Lani is currently the Director of International Admission and Financial aid at Davidson College in North Carolina. In her role, she travels around the world to meet prospective students and their families. She visits high schools to help students understand liberal arts education in the United States and whether it might be a good fit for their educational goals. She reads admission applications and makes admission and financial aid decisions. Prior to Davidson, she worked in admissions at Lynchburg College in Virginia and as an International Student and Scholar Advisor at Middlebury College in Vermont.  She graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a B.A. in Communication Process and Lesley University with an M.A. in Intercultural Relations.

 Kaye-Lani is an avid swimmer. She started swimming when she was 4 years old and now continues as a masters swimmer with a local club in the Charlotte area. She swims at least one major open water swim a year. Her favorites include Bermuda’s Round the Sound, the Corinth Canal in Greece and summer lake swims in Lake Superior. Kaye-Lani was born and raised in Marquette, Michigan. She now resides in Davidson, North Carolina with her golden retriever Theodora (Theo).

Peter Lease is a retired Partner of EY. His last role at EY was as EY’s Talent Leader for the US-East (2011 to 2020). In that role, Peter led human resource functions by overseeing all aspects of talent management and development for staff through partners. Peter also was a senior client service partner at EY serving the health care industry. He was EY’s Northeast Health Care Area Industry Leader from 2001 to 2011 and served a variety of clients, including academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, community-based hospitals, and other companies. He undertook due diligence and merger/affiliation analyses for major New York City medical centers. Prior to specializing in health care, Peter worked with clients in the venture capital, broadcast media, commodities trading and real estate sectors. Peter had National training and policy responsibilities for EY relative to Federal compliance auditing and reporting issues.

Peter was with EY for more than 37 years. He continues as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ernst & Young Foundation, having served previously as its Treasurer.

Peter holds a BS, economics, from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA, finance, from The Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. Peter is a former Chair of the Board of Directors for New York’s Bailey House, which provides housing and services to people with or at risk of HIV/AIDS.

Aaron P. Leifer is Associate Director of the AT&T Proposal Center. Certified in both knowledge management and Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) practices, he leads a team that designs, builds, and uses tools to author, capture, and standardize business process and reusable proposal content. He’s also worked in roles supporting proposal management, executive communications, and human resources staffing and recruitment.

Aaron grew up in Fresno, California, and attended the University of California, Irvine, graduating cum laude with a degree in psychology. While in college, he was very active in student media and government, as well as campus LGBTQ and cultural organizations. These experiences sparked an interest in giving back that continues to this day through Aaron’s support for Point Foundation and other charities. He also volunteers as Vice Chair of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC), an advisory body to the SFMTA Board of Directors. 

A resident of San Francisco for more than 20 years, Aaron enjoys exploring the local restaurant scene, attending films and live cultural events, and traveling near and far to visit friends and family.

Peter Lichtenthal is Global Brand President, Bobbi Brown and Bumble and bumble at The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC). In this role, he heads global business operations for two of the company’s most innovative color and hair care brands. He has spent more than 30 years working in the beauty business, 27 of them at ELC, in various senior roles throughout the corporation. With his vast experience in marketing and general management, both in North America and International, Mr. Lichtenthal brings his broad and uniquely well-rounded perspective and leadership skills to Bobbi Brown and Bumble and bumble.

Since joining Bumble and bumble in April 2007, Mr. Lichtenthal directed the launch and incredible growth of Bumble and bumble within Sephora, while maintaining creative and sales momentum within the professional salon channel. Bumble and bumble is Sephora’s number one hair care brand and continues to outpace competitors. By appointing an influential Global Artistic Director with deep knowledge of the brand’s heritage, Peter reinvigorated the Bumble and bumble Salon Network and reignited the Network’s engagement with the brand.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Lichtenthal also oversaw Smashbox Cosmetics, where he worked with the California team to help solidify the brand’s growth momentum. Earlier in his tenure at ELC, as Global General Manager of M·A·C Cosmetics, Mr. Lichtenthal used his broad array of skills and insightful management style to help strengthen M·A·C’s global leadership position. As Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Estée Lauder, he was responsibility for driving the Fragrance, Makeup, Skincare, Promotions, Special Events and Online departments. Prior to that, he was Vice President and General Manager of Estée Lauder International, after having spent over 10 years in marketing working on notable launches such as Advanced Night Repair, Fruition, pleasures, Pure Color makeup and Resilience Lift. Mr. Lichtenthal began his career in Advertising at Young and Rubicam, and Marketing at Avon Products.

Mr. Lichtenthal has a BA in English from Brandeis University and a Masters in Marketing from Northwestern University. He also studied in Paris at the Institute of European Studies and speaks fluent French.

Judith Light can currently be seen as Shelly Pfefferman in Amazon Prime’s Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award-winning series, “Transparent.”

For three consecutive years, Judith Light was nominated for Broadway’s Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and won back-to-back Tonys for “Other Desert Cities” and “The Assembled Parties.” She also won back-to-back Drama Desk Awards for those performances. In 1999, she starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Wit” in New York and also at the Kennedy Center, winning the Helen Hayes Award. Her Broadway debut was in “A Doll’s House” with Liv Ullman, followed by a season at the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference.

Judith’s television career began with her two-time Best Actress Emmy award-winning turn as Karen Wolek on “One Life to Live”. She then went on to play Angela Bower on the hit comedy series “Who’s the Boss?.” She starred on the Emmy Award-winning ABC-TV series “Ugly Betty” and co-starred on NBC’s long-running drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Judith has also starred in “Phenom,” “The Simple Life,” “The Stones” and in over 15 television movies, including “The Ryan White Story”. More recently Judith has created recurring characters on TNT’s “Dallas” and TV Land’s comedy series “The Exes”.

Some of Judith’s film work includes, “The Shoemaker” with Danny Aiello, “Ira & Abby” by Jennifer Westfeldt, with Robert Klein, Fred Willard, and Frances Conroy – which was voted Best Comedy at the 2007 HBO comedy festival; and “Save Me” with Chad Allen and Robert Gant, a film which she also produced with her long-time manager/producer, Herb Hamsher through their production company, Tetrahedron Productions, in conjunction with GKE and Mythgarden Productions.  “Save Me” had its US premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, followed by screenings at both NYC’s NewFest and LA’s Outfest, as well as a screening and panel discussion aboard RSVP vacations Queen Mary 2 transatlantic crossing.   “Save Me” was released theatrically nationwide in the summer of 2008 by First Run Features. She also can be heard as the Narrator in “Scrooge & Marley”, a modern variation on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In 2012, she co-starred in the independent film “The Last Weekend”. In 2013, Judith appeared in the film “We’ll Never Have Paris” by Simon Hilberg and most recently in the indie picture “Digging for Fire” by Joe Swanberg.

Judith is a Board Member and advocate for many organizations and charities representing AIDS-related and Human Rights issues including: Broadway Cares: Equity Fights AIDS, The Names Project/The AIDS Memorial Quilt, The AIDS Memorial Grove, CDC’s Business Responds to AIDS/Labor Responds to AIDS, Hollywood Health and Society, Project Angel Food, The Matthew Shepard Foundation, The National Aids Memorial Grove, The Point Foundation, The Rome Chamber Music Festival, Faith In America, Drama League National Advisory Council and The Trevor Project.

Judith lives in New York and Los Angeles and is married to writer/actor, Robert Desiderio.

Sarah is a marketing professional and digital expert with over a decade of agency and client side experience. Sarah currently serves as the Director, Global Franchise Strategy and Management for the Nerf brand at Hasbro, Inc. In this role, Sarah develops and executes global brand marketing strategies, campaigns, and talent and brand partnerships across the Nerf portfolio, including Nerf blasters, Super Soakers, Nerf Sports and Nerf DTC.

Prior to Hasbro, Sarah spent many years marketing at companies such as Digitas – a top global digital agency, Altisource – an innovative mortgage and real estate service provider, and Maguire Associates – a higher education consulting firm. Her career has been defined by a relentless desire to shake things up and push the bounds of what’s possible across industries. Whether creating a fun content series with the world’s biggest athletes and celebrities to show that you’re really never too old to have fun with Nerf, or revolutionizing the way consumers can buy and sell homes from the comfort of their couch with the launch of an innovative real estate company, or partnering with top brands like Nike, (RED), and the NFL to create unique brand experiences that no one else can offer – her work is all about pairing forward-thinking technologies and platforms with trending consumer behaviors to drive engagement and build brand love.

Sarah received her MBA from Babson College and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Vermont, where she was captain of the Division 1 Women’s Basketball team, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a minor in Women and Gender Studies.

During her spare time Sarah enjoys being outdoors and being active, food culture, traveling, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and volunteering with a number of organizations.

Joe McCormack was a Point Foundation Board Member from June 2003 to May 2009. He first served as an advisor to the founders as Point Foundation was forming.

His Board experience with other non-profits, his expertise as an LGBTQ-oriented headhunter, and his wide range of national contacts led in part to his bringing many LGBTQ leaders onboard. After resigning from the Board of GLSEN, he joined Point and became an original member of Point’s first Board of Directors. He also served for two years as President of the Board of Trustees.

In the remainder of his extensive commitment to Point, McCormack was active in various positions within the Program Committee, as well as helping the Selections, Mentoring, Leadership Conferences and Internships committees and program areas.

She/her

he/him

Ted Miller is a dynamic, nationally recognized leader with an exceptional career spanning nonprofit organizations, presidential administrations, and congressional leadership. As Senior Vice President of Development and External Affairs at the Cancer Support Community, Ted helped forge a partnership with Airbnb that secured free housing for 3,000+ patients traveling for cancer treatment. He also more than doubled the group’s individual donor fundraising program and secured new funding for a ground-breaking initiative to address health inequities in Washington, D.C. During his time as top AmeriCorps official in the Obama administration, Ted was selected for the President’s Leadership Workshop, a competitive, invitation-only program that included a session with President Obama and public- and private-sector leaders. Ted’s career also included senior-level roles with NARAL Pro-Choice America, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, then-Rep. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He served in President Clinton’s administration at the Department of Agriculture. Ted raised more than $30,000 for candidates as part of the LGBTQ Victory Fund’s Campaign Board, volunteered with numerous community groups, and founded a networking organization to help individuals experiencing career transitions. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Ted has appeared on major media outlets including MSNBC, the New York Times, NPR, and the Associated Press. He and his husband live in the Logan Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Christopher Nizer resides in San Francisco, originally hailing from just outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. He owns and runs his own private chiropractic practice in the Bay Area, specializing in a technique called Atlas Orthogonal. Dr. Nizer is a 2006 graduate from Miami University (OH) majoring in Exercise Science. In 2011, he earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic degree from Life University in Atlanta, Ga. After completing his doctoral studies, Dr. Nizer spent 2.5 years practicing in Lima, Peru. This experience sparked his interest in language, culture and travel.

Mixing his love of travel with that of hiking, Dr. Nizer spends free time on trails both locally and internationally. He has hiked the paths through Machu Picchu, Patagonia and the GR-92 in Spain. For true down time, he enjoys relaxing vacations and holidays with his family, especially his nephews and niece.

Jim is the CEO and President, Integrated Construction Associates – A seasoned developer and construction management consultant, James Patton brings more than 30 years of experience to his position as CEO and president of Integrated Construction Associates (ICA), an emerging leader in quality construction services for the City of Inglewood, California and the entire Southern California region.

ICA was formed by Patton and his associates in 2012 as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and is backed by a management team that has collectively completed more than $1 billion in successful construction projects throughout Southern California.

In partnering with clients, owners and design team members, Patton draws upon his expertise across all project phases – from initial vision through development, along with maintenance procedure training and post-occupancy reviews. He has developed and managed residential and commercial property portfolios on a national scale and has also served as an advisor for complex international projects. As a State of California licensed post construction contractor, Patton has established a strong reputation in the industry as a premiere service provider working to ensure exceptional results.

Beyond his work at ICA, Patton is an executive who believes in giving back. He was appointed to the Board of Directors in September 2013 for Point Foundation, after having served on the Board of Trustees since January 2009.

Founder – San Francisco, CA

Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Educated in the public schools of Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana. A. B. in political science and economics from Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1958. Commissioned Naval Officer (Ensign through Lieutenant commander) from 1958 – 1967. Various administrative assignments aboard ships, with Admiral’s staffs, and, from 1965 – 1967, served as a White House Social Aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, Washington, D.C. Taught at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD and earned a Masters Degree from American University in the field of Government.

From 1967 to 1974 served as an Economist and International Negotiator for Trans World Airlines in New York and the International Air Transport Association in Geneva, Switzerland. Named High commissioner for Commercial Coordination of IATA for an eighteen month stint living in Geneva.

In 1975, founded the John Pence Gallery in San Francisco, California. The gallery was one of the nation’s premier galleries for American Realism: past and present. The gallery represented important American realist painters and sculptors from across the country whose works were acquired by a cadre of high-end collectors internationally and from all fifty states.  John served frequently on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Art Dealers Association and from 1997 to 1999 served as its Board President.

John is active in San Francisco’s non-profit community and the John Pence Gallery was host of numerous fundraising events: including Project Open Hand, the AIDS Emergency Fund, Junior League of San Francisco, San Francisco’s New Main Library, Project Read, San Francisco’s Gay Men’s Chorus, GLSEN, and numerous others.

Education:

• AB in political science and economics from Wabash College, 1958
• MS government, American University

In his own words . . .

“As a member of the Board for The Point Foundation, I hope to contribute to providing college educations to outstanding gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students who are deserving but are unable to attend college due to financial need or having been abandoned by their families. These scholarships will enable potential leaders to join the mainstream and serve as active spokespeople in their collegiate environments — openly out and proud to be gay and/or trans and willing to speak out in an eloquent manner about the contributions gay and trans men and women are making every day in every way.”

He/Him

Seth Persily is an attorney and serial entrepreneur. Having operated at the intersection of law and technology for over two decades, he currently serves as Principal and CEO of Conglomerit.

Mr. Persily previously served on the Board of Directors of GLAAD, Georgia Equality and YouthPride, and was appointed by Mayor Franklin as a Judicial Officer for the City of Atlanta’s Civil Service Commission. Mr. Persily authored the book Arguing Equality, an advocacy guide for same-sex marriage. He obtained his B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from Duke University in 1996, and his JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1999.

A New York native, Seth relocated to Atlanta in 1999, where he lives with his husband and two daughters.

Dr. Timothy Raines is a first-generation college graduate from the illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University where he holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in the field of Biology (AGGIE PRIDE!). Tim earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Virginia with a focus on cancer research. He currently works at Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, IN as the Director of Multicultural Engineering Programs where he is developing the inaugural program designed to increase enrollment and retention of under-represented minorities in Engineering and Computer Sciences undergraduate programs. He is a thought leader in increasing equity, access, and inclusion in higher education and works with academic institutions, professional associations, and student organizations on a wide array of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics especially for undergraduate research. Most importantly, Tim is a mentor and coach for those on their educational journal towards pursing graduate and professional degrees. Lastly, Dr. Tim believes in work-life balance and enjoys singing, traveling, walking trails, and listening to podcasts.

He/him

Los Angeles, CA

Sean Rourke is a Senior Client Strategist for BNY Mellon Wealth Management. In this capacity, he advises clients on meeting their short- and long-term financial goals through a broad range of investment, trust and estate planning vehicles.

Mr. Rourke has 25 years of experience in the field of wealth management and private banking. Prior to BNY Mellon, he served as Senior Vice President and Private Banker for City National Bank. Prior thereto, he was a Vice President at U.S. Trust Company in both Los Angeles and New York. In this role, he managed significant portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and charitable foundations. Other past positions include Vice President of the Rockefeller Trust Company, where he oversaw the administration of family and charitable trusts, and relationship manager at the Bank of New York’s Private Bank, where he advised clients on banking, investments and estate planning.

Mr. Rourke holds Series 7 and 63 investment licenses. He is a graduate of the New York State Bankers’ Association Trust School and holds a bachelor’s degree from Siena College in New York. He is a Certified Wealth Strategist.

Sean volunteers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and is active member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills. Sean is a board member of Point Foundation, the national LGBTQ+ scholarship and leadership development fund.

Ron Rudolph was drawn to Point nearly ten years ago after reading a small article on Point in The Advocate. Shortly thereafter he contacted Point to see how he and his employer, Citi, could get involved with this inspiring and important cause. Since then, Ron was instrumental in getting Citi’s charitable foundation and Community Development Department to become the first corporate sponsor of Point. Since 2004, Citi has provided Point with an annual grant. Citi was honored with the Point Inspiration Award at the 2010 NY Point Event.

Ron is a Managing Director in Citi’s Global Structured Solutions Group on the fixed income trading floor. A tax attorney by training, he developed and currently heads a tax residual liability trading business and develops structured product solutions. Ron continues to create and implement unique structures and businesses tailored to either client needs or for Citi’s principal book. Beyond his day job, Ron is an entrepreneur whom owns and operates business and development projects. Ron is an openly out gay employee of Citi, whom serves on Citi’s diversity committee and has spoken on many business panels to mentor and recruit talented gay individuals. Ron has been instrumental in Citi having a significant presence in NYC’s Pride Parade and helps sponsor the float since 2013. Ron is a graduate of Rutgers University and the New York Law School and is a licensed attorney in New York and New Jersey.

Ron helped to found and fund a non-profit pre-school program in Montclair, NJ and he supervised the management and operation of the school for eight years. Ron and his family have participated in two of the Rosie O’Donnell-sponsored R Family cruises for gay families and support various organizations like the AVP, The Center, Trevor Project, HRC, SAGE, Garden State Equality and Lambda Families.

Ron lives in NYC and New Jersey with his children Matthew, Spencer and their giant schnauzer, Vulcan.

He/Him

Eddie Santos transitions directly to the Board of Directors from the Los Angeles Board of Trustees after having served two terms since January 2014. Eddie is freelance television writer and producer in Los Angeles.  He helped launch “Dr. Phil.” He’s been a Supervising Producer for “Dr. Phil” and “Tyra Banks” and a Co-Executive Producer for TD JAKES.  He’s recently wrapped a project for NETFLIX called “A Little Help with Carol Burnett.”  Eddie received his B.A. in Communications and English from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, NJ. One of his first jobs in TV was the “Phil Donahue” show, hosted by pioneering talk-show host Phil Donahue, which taped at 30 Rock in New York City. After nearly a decade in TV producing in New York, he moved to Los Angeles to launch the “Dr. Phil” show, which is now in its 16^th season.

He served on the Board of LifeWorks for two years and chaired silent auctions for LifeWorks events for three years. He currently resides in Los Angeles, and in his free time can be found in a creative writing class, spinning, hiking, doing Pilates, yoga, in search of the perfect martini or traveling around the world.

Jay Schumacher is a leader in Ernst & Young (EY)’s People Advisory Services consulting practice, focusing on the people side of large technology implementations (e.g., SAP). Jay is excited to bring both his passion for business, technology and people transformation and leverage his 15 years of experience both in industry at The Coca-Cola Company and consulting to Point. Jay and his husband, Peter, split their time between Atlanta and Athens, GA where they are the proud dog-dads to two terriers, Ollie (10) and Tobias (5). In his spare time, Jay enjoys working out at Barry’s Bootcamp, doing Pilates, exploring new culinary scenes, traveling, watching the University of Georgia football (go Dawgs!) and supporting his husband’s restaurant portfolio (including a bean-to-bar chocolate company – Condor Chocolates). Jay holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University a well.

Kyle serves as the Senior Vice President, Chief Audit Executive for Leidos – a national security, health and engineering solutions company headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The company’s 19,000 employees support vital missions for the U.S. government and the commercial sector, develop innovative solutions to drive better outcomes, and defend our nation’s digital and physical infrastructure from ‘new world’ threats. In this role Kyle leads the internal audit function and is responsible for planning and executing financial and operational audits to evaluate the company’s internal controls, its adherence to company policies and procedures, and its compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Kyle also serves as the Executive Sponsor for the Leidos LGBTQ employee resource group which was established in 2015.

Prior to joining Leidos, Kyle enjoyed a 26 year career with Motorola Inc., serving in various finance roles, including nine years of international assignments primarily in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. His final six years with the company he served in Corporate Finance roles, leading Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and then the Internal Audit function for Motorola Mobility, which was spun off in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2012. Kyle was the first “out” executive at Motorola and was the Executive Sponsor for the LGBTQ employee resource group for seven years.

In addition to Point Foundation, Kyle has also served on the Board of Directors of Out & Equal™ Workplace Advocates, a national non-profit organization which champions safe and equitable workplaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and Equality Illinois, a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to secure, protect and defend equal rights for LGBTQ people in Illinois.

Kyle lives in Washington, D.C. with his partner Eric Siemers.

David H. Steward is a leader in brand-building and turnaround across multiple platforms, including e-commerce, digital, direct marketing, magazines, television and books. He has built several online companies, led a dramatic turnaround of a $200M direct marketer, and was also instrumental in building/ redeveloping three of America’s top media brands: People Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and TV Guide. His leadership, analytical, financial and creative skills propelled these brands into profitable new directions.

Currently President / COO of 20×200 | Jen Bekman Projects, Inc. which encompasses a variety of interrelated businesses, all of which are organized around the concept of “art for everyone.” including 20×200.com, the innovative and critically acclaimed website, which offers limited edition prints at ridiculously affordable prices. Founding President of InMarkit which powers personalized, authentic word of mouth marketing for retailers and brands. InMarkit technology combines the viral distribution benefits of a share utility with greater consumer influence power than anonymous reviews, and it works online and with any mobile device.
Previously CEO of F+W Media, a $200M private-equity backed niche consumer media company. Partnered with ABRY Partners on the acquisition, grew eMedia revenues, integrated a set of disparate existing businesses and built a platform for future growth.

Steward also served as CEO of International Masters Publishers (IMP) Inc., a large direct marketing and continuity publishing company where he lead a dramatic turnaround in the company’s fortunes. He also served as President of TV Guide, where he led the magazine during its transition from a digest-size magazine to a brand that is the source for television guidance.

Before joining TV Guide, Steward was COO and President of Publishing at Martha Stewart Omnimedia (MSO) where he was responsible for nearly all of the company’s revenues. He co-authored the business plan and during his 8 year tenure MSO grew from $0 to $125M in revenues through launching a new business every year including magazines, television properties, a website, paint, books, catalog, etc. He was also a key player in the February 1997 transition of the company from Time Warner to its current status as an independent corporation.

Steward was also Business Development and Strategic Planning Director for People magazine, where he managed and directed all franchise development for People, including the development of special issues.

He was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement for “Outstanding Career Achievement with Measurable Results”. Selected by Advertising Age as one of their “Marketing 100”, which is their annual list of 100 executive “superstars” behind successful and innovative marketing campaigns. Named one of 30 Distinguished Classmates Cornell University – Class of 1979.

David has long been active in the LGBTQ community including serving as co-chair of the GLAAD Board of Directors for several years and was also active in the New York chapter of PFLAG. His service to the community was acknowledged with the honor of the PFLAG NYC Stay Close Individual Leadership award.

Steward holds an M.B.A. in finance and marketing from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s from Cornell University. David Steward was a Point Foundation Board Member from 2005 to 2012 serving as the BOD Chair and Co-Chair from 2008 to 2011.

David and his partner Pierre live in East Hampton and New York City with their Doberman – Austin.

Hillary (she/her) is the former CEO of Anthropologie Group, a division of Urban Outfitters, Inc. She is a 30-year veteran of the fashion industry and has served in senior leadership roles with other global brands such as Old Navy, American Eagle Outfitters and Guess. She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is committed to being a positive and visible role model. Hillary recently became a Point Mentor. Additionally, she is a career and business coach for private clients as well as through the platform @useintro.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Hillary holds a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies. In 2017 She was named one of Forbes 40 over 40 women to watch.

Hillary currently lives with her wife and French bulldog in Palm Springs, Ca. She is a pickleball enthusiast and dedicated home chef and baker.

Ken Thaxton was born and raised in Roberta, GA. When Ken was a child, his father started a trucking business, which Ken ultimately spent over ten years working with through his late teens and twenties. Ken Graduated from Houston County High School in Warner Robins, GA in 2001 with a 4.0 GPA. He then studied Business and Information Technology at Macon State College, ultimately graduating with a 4.0 GPA in 2004. After graduation, Ken continued to work with his father’s trucking company, and in late 2005, Ken and his father started an aircraft charter company, Southern Jet, Inc., under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Ken served as President of Southern Jet from 2006 until 2010, when he and his father sold the company. Ken is a Commercially Licensed Instrument, Multi-Engine Pilot.

While serving as President of Southern Jet, Ken started Law School at the University Of Georgia School Of Law in 2009. Ken focused primarily on business and civil law, including Workers’ Compensation, while at UGA. He graduated Cum Laude and in the top 25% of his class from UGA Law in 2012. Ken is a licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia, and he is also a licensed neutral (mediator) in the State of Georgia. Ken represents small businesses in transactional matters and business conflicts, and he also represents injured workers and Plaintiffs injured in cases of negligence.

During his spare time, Ken enjoys swimming, cycling, sporting clays, and fishing.

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Paul Thomas is originally from New York City and now resides in South Beach. He has over 30 years of professional experience in the healthcare and education sectors, including positions at NYU Medical Center, New York State Education Department and AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He is currently on his second appointment on the LGBTQ Advisory Board to the City of Miami Beach. He is also the former Treasurer and current Chair of the Philanthropy Committee for Miami Beach Pride, where he helped establish the Miami Beach Pride Point Community College Scholarship. He believes that sharing his experiences with others and especially with our youth is one of the most fulfilling opportunities in life.

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Jorge Valencia began his tenure as the Point Foundation’s Executive Director in January 2007. He brings to Point a wealth of experience in managing and growing nonprofit organizations, a proven ability to design and manage the infrastructure of expanding organizations and extensive experience with, and sensitivity to, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth issues.

Jorge served as President and Executive Director of The Trevor Project from 2001 — 2006. The Trevor Project is a nationwide non-profit organization established to promote acceptance of gay and questioning teenagers and to aid in suicide prevention by operating the nation’s first round-the-clock toll-free suicide prevention helpline aimed at LGBT youth. Under Jorge’s guidance, The Trevor Project increased its operational budget by 800% and its foundation-based grant funds by 900%. He created and managed its major donor program and expanded its volunteer pool to more than 500. Jorge’s leadership contributed to Trevor’s growth as a nationally recognized youth service organization, and he continues to serve on the Trevor Project’s Leadership Council.

Jorge gained his operational, administrative and management experience at a range of non-profit, corporate and governmental enterprises. Before working at The Trevor Project, Jorge directed the Corporate Communications division at Pueblo Corporation, a marketing firm located in Los Angeles. Some of his clients included Ford Motor Company, DirecTV, Food 4 Less and Sprint PCS. From 1996 – 1999, Jorge was Director of Communications at Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY), an organization that conducts leadership seminars for promising youth. At HOBY, Jorge directed all public relations activities, as well as the production and implementation of organizational public relations for the non-profit organization comprised of four regions, 5,000 volunteers and over 14,000 annual participants. From 1993–1996, Jorge served as the Director of External Affairs for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a political appointment in the Clinton Administration. While at the SBA, Jorge represented the Administration and SBA interests at numerous speaking engagements, conferences and media interviews conducted in English, Spanish and Portuguese. He also worked in the Office of Public Liaison for the Presidential Inaugural Committee from 1992–1993 for the incoming Clinton Administration. Prior to that Jorge served as Director of Public Relations and Marketing at Power Productions International, where he was responsible for creating and negotiating contracts with LA Gear, Reebok International and City of Hope.

Jorge earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University in 1989. As an openly gay man who grew up in a Mormon Latino family in Texas, Jorge brings with him a keen personal awareness of many of the issues of rejection and marginalization faced by many LGBT youth, including Point Scholars. As a past board member Affirmation, Jorge has helped other LGBTQ Mormons and their families live productive lives consistent with their faith and heritage. Jorge’s diversity of life experience includes extensive travel abroad and within the United States. Jorge is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese and is a talented and accomplished public speaker. He is a member of the Clear Channel Local Advisory Board, as well as The Palette Fund Advisory Board. Jorge has a passion for helping LGBT youth and an ability to communicate that interest and passion effectively to both the LGBT community and the general public.

Read a blog post by Jorge Valencia, “Building Self-Confidence in LGBTQ Youth to Disempower Hate.”

Dr. Vega’s passion and work in the LGBTQ+ community dates back to the early 90’s when she was inspiring and mentoring LGBTQ+ students at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She has advised countless college and university LGBTQ+ groups moving students into action from the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi-Equal Rights and Liberation to speaking up on Trans rights issues today.  Providing students with personalized attention is at the heart of her almost three decades of service in Higher Education. She has presented countless workshops and is passionate about diversity education, social justice, and addressing issues of access and choice in higher education.

She has worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Institute for Shipboard Education with Semester at Sea, Northeastern University in Boston, Florida International University in Miami and currently serves as the Director for the LGBTQ Student Center at the University of Miami.  Her experiences stem from housing and residential life, multicultural affairs, academic affairs, team development, to advisement, leadership development, mentoring, and recruitment.  In 2012 she was the inaugural staff member at Florida International University, developing the institutions 1st LGBTQA Initiatives program.  This was the first program of its kind established in a south Florida College or University.

Dr. Vega holds her doctorate in Higher Education from Florida International University, a Master’ in Education Instructional Leadership, a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Art Education, and in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She is passionate about learning and teaching and has served as a faculty member for the Women’s and Gender Studies center at FIU.  During her time with the Center for Women’s and Gender studies at FIU she assisted in the establishment of its Queer Studies Certificate Program and taught the first LGBT course offered.  Her dissertation focused on, “Latin Lesbian Students: Understanding their Experiences and Perceived Sexual Identity Development at a Hispanic- Serving Institution”, and her research agenda includes: gender and sexuality issues, global human rights and social justice issues, and sexual minorities in higher education.

In addition to the Point Foundation she also serves on the Board of Directors of the Aqua Foundation for Women,  and the executive board of Coral Gable Congregational UCC, a welcome and affirming church in South Florida. Dr. Vega is originally from Chicago and currently lives in Miami with her family.

Ligiah Villalobos is a Writer, Producer, Consultant, Educator and Lecturer. She is best known for the independent feature film Under the Same Moon, (La Misma Luna), which she wrote and executive produced. Acquired by Fox Searchlight and TWC at Sundance, the movie was made for under $2M and earned over $23M worldwide.

More recently, Villalobos was a Cultural Consultant on the Academy Award winning Pixar movie, COCO, and she wrote on two Netflix pre-school animated series, Super Monsters’ Monster Pets and the upcoming, StarBeam.

Villalobos co-wrote the Lifetime TV Movie, The Real MVP, produced by Queen Latifah. She was the Head Writer on Nick Jr.’s, Go, Diego! Go! And she is the recipient of the Humanitas Prize, for writing the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, Firelight, produced by Alicia Keys.  

Villalobos is currently developing an animated series for Sesame Street Workshop and adapting the YA Novel Gabi: A Girl in Pieces as a one-hour drama series for HBO Max.

Before becoming a writer/producer, Villalobos was both a network and studio executive – at the Walt Disney Company she launched eight children shows in seven countries, and then oversaw six prime time shows at the WB.

In addition, Villalobos is committed to bringing more people of color and women into the entertainment industry. To that end, she teaches at Cal State LA and at USC School of Cinematic Arts, and lectures around the world.

Villalobos has been a contributor to The Huffington Post, The Black List Blog and Americana magazine. And she is on the Board of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.  She received her MFA from Antioch University in Creative Writing.

Chair Emeritus – Los Angeles, CA

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James Williams, retired General Manager of Edelman’s Los Angeles office, is the principal of a specialty Communications Marketing practice, James Williams Consulting. In the five years James ran Edelman Los Angeles, he oversaw the direction of the office that included 150 employees and practices in Digital, Entertainment and Technology; Consumer Marketing, Corporate, Healthcare and Digital. The diverse client base in Los Angeles included many best-in-class brands, including Activision, Microsoft, STARZ, Sunkist, Taco Bell, Petco, Edwards Life Sciences, Warner Bros, Disney, Mattel and many others. Edelman was named the #1 Public Relations office in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal for all five consecutive years under his leadership.

Prior to joining Edelman, James served as Executive Vice President, Strategy and Planning at Ogilvy Public Relations in Los Angeles, as well as Managing Director. Previously, he also was named Global Account Director and Partner at Ketchum, working in Ketchum’s Atlanta, Washington, DC and Los Angeles offices.

His work has been recognized by the public relations industry, receiving two PRSA Silver Anvil awards, two PRSA Silver Anvil Awards of Excellence and many SABRE and CIPRA awards.

In addition to the Point Foundation, James is member of the Board of Directors for CoachArt, a California-based philanthropy that identifies coaches and mentors in the arts and athletics for children living with chronic illness. He is also a retired member of the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, James earned a B.A. in journalism. He also serves as a guest lecturer in communications and public relations at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles.

He and his husband, Marc Wenderoff were recently married after celebrating 33 years together.  They live in Southern California and spend time in both Los Angeles and Palm Springs, CA.

She/her/hers

Jen Wohlner heads a team of technical program managers in the engineering department at Datadog, a SaaS cloud monitoring and DevOps company.

Jen previously led product management at Livepeer, a decentralized video transcoding and live-streaming platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. Before Livepeer, Jen co-founded Lex (formerly @_personals_), a lo-fi, text-based social app for the queer community. Jen was the product manager for platform engineering at Fastly, an edge cloud platform. Previously, Jen worked as a senior technical program manager for site reliability engineering at LinkedIn and at BuzzFeed where she led the software infrastructure and tools infrastructure groups and launched BuzzFeed’s early video products.

From 2006 to 2010, Jen attended the University of Southern California as a Point scholar where she earned a BFA in fine arts with emphases in sculpture, video and interactivity. She also received USC’s trustee scholarship, a full academic scholarship. After graduating, Jen served on the Point Foundation Los Angeles Board of Trustees from 2013 to 2015.

Jen Wohlner currently resides in St. Louis. In her spare time, she runs marathons, rides her bicycle very long distances, makes drawings and ceramic sculptures, cooks feasts for her wife Jill, and goes on walks with her three dogs, Pikachu, Mrs. Peanut Butter and Bean.

John currently serves as EVP/Group Creative Director at MullenLowe, an interdisciplinary marketing agency headquartered in Boston. In his role, John manages a team of writers, art directors, designers, and content specialists who produce work ranging from broadcast to web sites to social media campaigns.

Prior to Mullen, John was Regional Creative Director for Zentropy Partners (now McCann Relationship Marketing) and VP/Creative Director at Hill, Holliday. A copywriter by trade, John’s career has included award-winning work for clients such as British Airways, Coca- Cola, Adventures by Disney, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, General Motors, Google, MassMutual Financial, S.C. Johnson, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Originally from Mobile, Alabama, John moved to Boston to pursue his M.A. in communication studies from Emerson College. He also holds a B.A. in journalism from Spring Hill College. In addition to Point Foundation, John currently serves on the Board of Directors of ArtsBoston and Fenway Health. He and his husband live in Boston’s South End.

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Ryan Wootten is an Internal Data Product Manager for the United States Chief Data Office at PwC. He and his team work with internal stakeholders across the firm to ingest, model, and present internal data to end users. Ryan manages the program and project management of his team to ensure that stakeholders’ needs are sufficiently met, including proper requirements gathering, collaborative development, user acceptance testing, and release scheduling. Internal data is made available to stakeholders within the organization to enable reporting and analytics that drive business decisions and improvements. 

An Orlando resident, Ryan previously worked as a Senior Project Analyst for Labor Systems at Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products where he led small- and large-scale initiatives that drove process improvements and enabled operational and analytical analysis for human resource and labor system data. 

Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Central Florida Rosen College of Hospitality Management in Orlando, Florida, an MBA in Information Technology Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL, and a master’s degree in Data Analytics from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. Ryan is currently pursuing his DBA at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Ryan has been married to his husband for over 8 years and spends his free time enjoying the theme parks and attractions in Orlando, traveling around the world, volunteering in the community, and pursuing his higher education goals. 

He/him

Richard Ziegelasch is a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson who has had a passion and knowledge of New York buildings, neighborhoods, architecture, and trends in the real estate market for more than 30 years.

At Brown Harris Stevens, Richard works with top broker John Burger after working over 20 years as a senior private banker for both Credit Suisse and UBS. Taking this knowledge, his keen ability to truly understand a client’s needs, a marketing background, and his extensive global network, he brings with him not only the experience of working with clients on complex financial issues, but also the history of helping advise them on their real estate decisions. In the private banking world, personal service, and most importantly, earning a client’s trust are paramount. These are the same qualities he brings to his clients and customers at Brown Harris Stevens.

Richard is involved in many noted arts, cultural, and charitable organizations around the world. For 16 years, he served on the board of directors of Best Buddies International, a charity founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver that focuses on one-to-one friendships with the mentally and learning disabled. He recently joined the board of East Side House in NYC which supports educational programs in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. Richard is Chairman Emeritus of the board of directors for the Point Foundation an organization which provides scholarships, mentoring and leadership training to LGBT students of merit. He is also on the board of directors of Artadia which supports visual artists with unrestricted awards. Richard is very involved with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation founded by Evelyn Lauder. His cultural activities involve the Whitney, MOMA, Guggenheim, and Metropolitan Museums, the National Arts Club, Soho House, the American Friends of the Louvre, and Art Basel in Switzerland and Miami.

Richard earned his BBA in Business Marketing from the University of Georgia.

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