CenterLink

As the founder of Long Island's first and only organization solely dedicated to serving GLBT youth, Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY), David Kilmnick has been widely recognized across Long Island, New York State, and nationally for his groundbreaking work for the GLBT community of Long Island. Since the creation of LIGALY in 1993, David has served as the Executive Director and has led the organization grow into a three-organization network serving over 60,000 GLBT Long Islanders annually with a full-time staff of 14 and a budget of over 1.4 million dollars. This year, LIGALY was joined by The Long Island GLBT Community Center and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE-LI) to form an innovative and unique model to provide critical programs and services that enrich the lives of GLBT Long Islanders of all ages.

In addition to his innovative work in the GLBT community of Long Island, David serves as a professor at several colleges and universities, including Stony Brook University in the Graduate School of Social Work program, at Nassau Community College, and Walden University in the School of Public Administration and Public Policy. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the New York Civil Liberties Union Equality Award and the Lawrence Timpa Humanitarian Award for Professional Service from the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission. He received his PhD from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York in Social Welfare, where his dissertation focused on heterosexist attitudes and changes following contact with an openly gay instructor. land Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY), David Kilmnick has been widely recognized across Long Island, New York State, and nationally for his groundbreaking work for the GLBT community of Long Island. Since the creation of LIGALY in 1993, David has served as the Executive Director and has led the organization grow into a three-organization network serving over 60,000 GLBT Long Islanders annually with a full-time staff of 14 and a budget of over 1.4 million dollars. This year, LIGALY was joined by The Long Island GLBT Community Center and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE-LI) to form an innovative and unique model to provide critical programs and services that enrich the lives of GLBT Long Islanders of all ages.

In addition to his innovative work in the GLBT community of Long Island, David serves as a professor at several colleges and universities, including Stony Brook University in the Graduate School of Social Work program, at Nassau Community College, and Walden University in the School of Public Administration and Public Policy. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the New York Civil Liberties Union Equality Award and the Lawrence Timpa Humanitarian Award for Professional Service from the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission. He received his PhD from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York in Social Welfare, where his dissertation focused on heterosexist attitudes and changes following contact with an openly gay instructor.

Lorraine Langlois, Executive Director of Metropolitan Charities, has been running what is now one of the largest and most respected HIV/AIDS and GBLT service organization for over 15 years. However, it is surprising how few people know who she is.

Langlois, a native of Ottawa , Ontario (Canada) had worked for the Canadian government for 14 years and decided she needed a change and return to school. Her parents had a condo in one of the Suncoast beach communities, so she was somewhat familiar with the area. She decided St. Petersburg would be a good place to start her new life.

Lorraine, acquired a Health Management degree at St. Pete College to add to her U.S. government recognized Business Management degree. Her involvement with King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church came about when she started dating one of the church’s ministers. “I got real involved in the life of the church,” she says, “and helped out with some of the administrative work of Metropolitan Charities starting in about 1993.” At the time, Metropolitan Charities was a very small operation, without even one full-time employee. The operating budget for that first year was just $42,000, and the agency operated out of a small room in King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church.

Utilizing her strong leadership skills, compassion and guidance over the years, Langlois has grown Metro Charities to become the largest HIV/AIDS service organizations and nationally known GBLT community centers, operating with an annual budget of over $2,500,000, 45 employees and offices in both St. Petersburg and Tampa. Metro Charities has evolved to become the known service leader in providing case management services, mental health counseling and substance abuse programs to people with HIV/AIDS.

Lorraine continuously leads Metropolitan Charities to success today, just as she did in the beginning. Her most recent leadership accomplishments at Metro Charities include the building/land purchase of the Metro Thrift Store located in downtown St Petersburg and successfully implementing the new GLBT Community Centers in St Pete and Tampa and continues to be an influential leader in our community.

Candice Nichols has proudly served as the Executive Director for The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada (The Center) since December of 2004. Under her leadership, The Center has expanded programs to serve the youth, senior citizen and mainstream LGBT community. Nichols has forged partnerships with local organizations and agencies which have transformed The Center into a central hub for those seeking services and acceptance. As she moves into her seventh year as Executive Director, Nichols looks forward to increasing the visibility and awareness of The Center and also addressing new challenges Southern Nevada faces as a community involved in the social justice movement.

Prior to joining The Center, Nichols worked for several Southern Nevada non-profits. In the early 1990’s she held the position of Director of Public Affairs at Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada, and then during the height of the AIDS epidemic became Director of Prevention Education for 11.5 years at Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN), the largest AIDS Service Organization in Southern Nevada.

Candice Nichols is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a mother of two adult children and proud grandmother of two adorable grandchildren. Her family has expanded with the addition of her life partner, Suzanne Miele’s two adult daughters.

Originally from Hartford, CT—Mr. Hyman has resided in Greater Fort Lauderdale since 1990.  In January 2005 he was named Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida-- now The Pride Center at Equality Park, in Wilton Manors, Florida.  With a liberal arts degree from the University of Connecticut and Master’s Degrees in both Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Social Work (MSW) from Florida International University in Miami, Mr. Hyman operates a part-time psychotherapy practice in Fort Lauderdale, as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.  He emphasizes ‘healthy functioning’ in both business and program dimensions of his E.D. role—working closely with a solid team of volunteers, Board members and staff.  A member of the National Association of Social Workers, Mr. Hyman serves on the Broward Diversity Advisory Council and is a new appointee to the Board of CenterLink (the national association of LGBT community centers).  He is enriched by work experience in various healthcare, community organization, business and higher education settings and enjoys the companionship of his life partner Bill Bracker and their pets.

Chris Bartlett is the Executive Director of the William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community Center in Philadelphia (www.waygay.org).  For over 20 years, he has been an innovative thinker and leader in technology-driven community organizing, having led the SafeGuards Gay Men's Health Project, the LGBT Community Assessment, and the national LGBT Leadership Initiative.  He also serves on the board of the Jonathan Lax Scholarship for Gay Men,  and is the founder of the Gay History Wiki, which documents the lives of the gay men who have died of AIDS in Philadelphia  (http://gayhistory.wikispaces.com). He is an avid user of social media and can be found on twitter at http://twitter.com/harveymilk.

Jennifer is the Executive Director of QMUNITY- BC’s Queer Resource Centre, a dream job that she never dreamed of having. She brings to the queer community centre movement her passion for human rights activism, an honours undergraduate degree in public policy (specialising in human rights policy), graduate work in legal studies and political science and a career path that has traversed the public, private and non-profit sectors. In everything she does Jennifer is committed to the enhancement and celebration of queer lives and sees her involvement with CenterLink as a natural extension of her work within the context of queer rights. Jennifer is particularly excited to be the first non-American member of the CenterLink Board of Directors and sees it as her personal mission to promote the alternative (i.e. Canadian) spelling of centre.

CECE COX, J.D., Executive Director and CEO, Resource Center Dallas, has more than 25 years experience in executive management and leadership, both in the nonprofit and private sectors – including law, journalism, business consulting, arts, and advocacy.  As CEO, Cox oversees one of the largest centers of its kind in the United States.  More than 50,000 people each year use the Resource Center through its programs and services for individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS and for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Her activism and support of the community have included work at the Turtle Creek Chorale, Legal Hospice of Texas, Youth First Texas, the regional office of Lambda Legal, and an appointment to both a City of Dallas board and task force.

Cox is a member of the executive committee for SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development, board member of Dallas Women’s Foundation and an advisory board member of Black Tie Dinner.  She is also a former president of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance (DGLA).  During her tenure at DGLA, she was instrumental in the passage of the City of Dallas’s nondiscrimination ordinance and the adoption of nondiscrimination policies at DART, DISD and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department.  She is also a former co-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/Dallas.  In 1999, Cox received the Kuchling Humanitarian Award from Black Tie Dinner.

She is an alumna of both Leadership Dallas and Leadership Lambda, a former board member of the LGBT Law Section for the State Bar of Texas, and an attorney.  Prior to joining the Center, Cox’s law practice was focused on commercial litigation and transactions, bankruptcy, employment law and municipal law. She is a volunteer attorney for Legal Hospice of Texas.

Cox is also a former professional photographer whose national, regional and local clients included Frito-Lay, Phillips Petroleum, TGI Friday’s, American Greetings, the American Heart Association and D Magazine. She also co-authored a book chronicling the 1993 March on Washington for gay and lesbian rights. Cox earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a law degree from SMU.  She is the mother of one son, and the partner of the Hon. Barbara J. Houser.

Antonio David Garcia, Executive Director, Affirmations

“Dave”, as he is known to family and friends, first began his fight for LGBT issues after being fired from his position as the Community Services Coordinator of Swartz Creek for his attempt to start a Gay Straight Alliance in the public schools back in 2000. After walking 55 miles overnight from the doors of Swartz Creek High School to the State Capitol, Garcia delivered what would be one of many heartfelt and inspiring speeches.

Over the past ten years Dave has continued his dedicated efforts to improve the lives and advance the cause of justice for all in the LGBT community. He was recently named, "Civil Libertarian of the Year" by the ACLU of Flint, has been featured in Dan Woog's book, Jocks II coming Out to Play, and is the winner of two 2009 Michigan Addy awards for his film work.

Dave recently finished his first full length documentary, "Fences" and is a critically acclaimed playwright. His play, "Candy Corn, Christ and the Convoluted Creation of Golf" debuted to sold out audiences at the Performance Network in Ann Arbor and was named a top ten show by the Flint Journal.

Dave is a proud single gay father and has a degree in Communications with a Media focus from the University of Michigan – Flint where he was awarded the 2009 Communication's Student of the Year.

Lorri L. Jean is nationally recognized as one of the most seasoned and effective leaders in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ("LGBT") civil rights movement.  OUT Magazine has listed her as one of the 50 most powerful gay and lesbian people in the nation and Los Angeles Magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people in Los Angeles. Jean currently serves as CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, the world's largest LGBT organization with more than 300 full time employees and 3,000 volunteers serving over a quarter million people each year.  The Center's annual budget revenues exceed $63 million.

Jean has been an activist on LGBT issues since 1979.  She served as the lead plaintiff in the successful landmark lawsuit against Georgetown University to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.  She also was the first openly gay or lesbian person ever to receive a top secret security clearance from the Central Intelligence Agency.  In 1989, with her appointment as Deputy Regional Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"), she became the highest-ranking openly gay or lesbian person in the Federal government (a distinction she held until 1993 when President Clinton appointed Roberta Achtenberg).

Jean began her second tenure at the helm of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center in June of 2003, asked by the board of directors to return and lead the organization back to stability after a period of financial crisis. Since then she and her team have succeeded in dramatically expanding programs and increasing revenues from $31.5 million in FY 03 to more than $63 million in FY 12 and staff from 214 to 370 by the end of FY 12. A few highlights of the Center’s program successes since 2003 include cutting edge HIV/AIDS research leading to the approval of rapid HIV testing; becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center (Look Alike) and opening one of the nation’s first community-based transgender medical clinics; launching an International Leadership Development Program bringing emerging LGBT leaders from China to Los Angeles for a 4 – 6 week immersion training program; being joined by LifeWorks (a youth mentoring organization) and expanding programming for non-homeless LGBT youth including a new charter high school; securing the first ever grant from the Federal Administration on Aging for services to LGBT seniors; launching Rock for Equality leading to the 2010 introduction of a House bill to end discrimination against same-sex couples in social security benefits; securing the largest federal grant ever given to an LGBT organization ($13.3 million over 5 years) to design and implement a national demonstration project to improve the condition of LGBT youth in foster care.

Jean’s first tenure running the Center was from 1993 – 1999. During those 6 years she led the Center through a period of unprecedented expansion, dramatically increasing the number of clients and volunteers, the diversity and volume of services, the number of staff, and the size of the budget.  She also oversaw the purchase and renovation of a $7 million facility and built the nation's first $10 million LGBT organization endowment fund.

Jean served as executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, leading an organizational turnaround that brought the Task Force to financial solvency and increased the annual revenues to what was then an all-time high of $5 million.  Among other program accomplishments, she focused the organization's political efforts at the state and local level by building a field organizing department which orchestrated the defeat of nearly all anti-LGBT ballot measures in the 2001 and 2002 election cycles.

Prior to 1993, Jean spent ten years as an attorney with FEMA, including three years overseeing the disaster response and recovery operations of its largest region, with staff of 1,000 (including disaster assistance employees) and a budget of more than $1 billion.  Jean holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor of Science degree in communication from Arizona State University and is a member of bar in California and Washington, D.C.. She and her partner of 19 years, attorney Gina M. Calvelli, live in Hollywood and were legally married in September, 2008.

Shannon Price Minter is the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), one of the nation's leading advocacy organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.  Minter was NCLR’s lead counsel for same-sex couples in the landmark California marriage equality case which held that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry and that laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation are inherently discriminatory and subject to the highest level of constitutional scrutiny.  He was also NCLR's lead attorney on Sharon Smith's groundbreaking wrongful death suit and has litigated many other impact cases in California and across the country. In 2009, Minter was named a California Lawyer of the Year by California Lawyer.  In 2008, he was named among six Lawyers of the Year by Lawyers USA and among California’s Top 100 Lawyers by the legal publication The Daily Journal.  Minter has received Dan Bradley Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Bar Association, the Ford Foundation's "Leadership for a Changing World" award, an Honorary Degree from the City University of New York School of Law, the Anderson Prize Foundation's Creating Change Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Distinguished National Service Award from GAYLAW, Cornell Law School’s Exemplary Public Service Award, the Unity Award from Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, the Advocacy Award from the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Justice Award from Equality California.

Minter is the co-author of Family Law for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and the co-editor of Transgender Rights.  He serves on the boards of Faith in America, Gender Spectrum, Aids Relief for China, and the Transgender Law & Policy Institute. He has previously served on the American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.  Minter received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1993. He is originally from Texas and currently splits his time between Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, California.

Paul Moore is a Program Manager for the Los Angeles-based David Bohnett Foundation, where he has worked for almost a decade. Moore is additionally charged with handling select special assignments and initiatives related to Mr. Bohnett’s private equity firm, Baroda Ventures.

Every aspect of the Foundation’s grant-making process comes under Moore’s purview, including monitoring grant requests and grantee reports, conducting site visits, and representing the David Bohnett Foundation at community and industry events. He thoroughly embraces the Foundation’s philanthropic mission, and brings strong interpersonal skills and a keen intellect to his interactions with grantees, board members, and the public.

Among Moore’s chief responsibilities is supervising the Foundation’s entire David Bohnett CyberCenters program, which currently numbers over 60 centers nationwide. The CyberCenters offer free Internet access and technology support to the LGBT community, and provide educational and job-search resources for seniors and youth. His operational oversight of the popular program includes facilitating grant requests, directing logistics, organizing conference activities, maintaining grantee relationships, and fostering alliances with potential sites. 

A native of Orange County, California, Paul Moore holds a B.S. in Finance, cum laude, from California State University, Northridge. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2001, he was a licensed property insurance agent in Boston, Massachusetts. He resides in Los Angeles with his partner of ten years. 

Clarence Patton is currently the Program Director and Developer of The Pipeline Project. Additionally, he is the Principal of Pipeline Consulting, which provides recruitment, leadership and program development support to non‐profits.

The Pipeline Project, is a recruitment, retention, and leadership advancement effort with the stated goal of producing programs and engaging in activities that together will represent a long term effort to increase the number of people of color working within the nation’s LGBT rights, service and advocacy sector and ultimately increase the level of diversity in the leadership of our movement. During 2008, the Pipeline Project was in its planning phase, funded by the Arcus Foundation. The Pipeline Project began full formal operations in January 2009.

From November 2005 through January 2008, Mr. Patton was the Executive Director of both of the New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti‐Violence Project (the Anti‐Violence Project), and Acting Executive Director of the National Coalition of Anti‐Violence Programs (NCAVP). He was also Acting Executive Director of the Anti‐Violence Project for nine months prior to being selected as Executive Director.

In his first year as Executive Director Mr. Patton enhanced agency's financial performance and prospects in part by producing a $76,000 operating surplus after inheriting a $52,000 operating deficit and $397,000 negative fund balance. In his second year, he significantly reduced the organization's structural debt by 76% to $94,000 in part by generating a $232,000 operating surplus and initiating a campaign to secure $250,000 in new funding from donors and institutions over two years. Within the effort's first month, cash and commitments for $125,000 had been secured.

During his tenure, he also successfully leveraged $750,000 for LGBTQ domestic violence services and programming at the Anti‐Violence Project and 13 other agencies across New York State and also oversaw almost all steps of merger of the Anti‐Violence Project with its national coalition.

Before assuming these dual roles, Mr. Patton was Director of Community Organizing and Public Advocacy at the Anti‐Violence Project. In this role, he was responsible for creating the department and ultimately expanded staffing to five FTE, and acted as secondary and often primary spokesperson for organization to media and community.

He also managed and expanded numerous government and private foundation resources including writing and managing all solicitations to elected officials for member item funds and held creative oversight and managed distribution of an ongoing public service advertising campaign and coordinated all public relations and external communication efforts.

He created the first‐ever statewide LGBTQ Domestic Violence Network in New York and developed and implemented comprehensive strategies to improve agency outreach to, work with and staff recruitment in people of color and transgender communities.

Mr. Patton was also instrumental in developing and implementing a new agency focus on developing public policy initiative efforts, and oversaw, executed and/or initiated programming that included: significantly enhanced and improved volunteer recruitment, retention, and education initiatives; the creation of a new Youth Anti‐Violence Initiative; the development of Anti‐LGBT violence in the workplace trainings, curricula, presentations and employee protections analyses.

From August 1996 through December 1998 he was also spent nearly three years as the Anti‐Violence Project’s Director of Development. During that time he oversaw and/or executed all aspects of organization’s fundraising activities and supported the growth of the organization’s operating $850,000 to almost $1.2 million. Mr. Patton also created the organization's direct mail and membership program.

Before arriving at the Anti‐Violence Project, he was Program Coordinator at the Empire State Pride Agenda, New York State’s lesbian and gay lobbying group and political action committee.

As Program Coordinator, he was the organization’s primary contact for people of color communities in New York City and all community groups in Upstate New York, where he traveled extensively working on the Pride Agenda’s efforts to organize the state’s lesbian and gay community around political and legislative issues.

For three years, Mr. Patton was Chair of the Board of People of Color in Crisis (POCC), an advocacy and service agency in Brooklyn primarily serving men of African descent living with or at risk for HIV and AIDS.

At Cornell University where he studied Urban and Regional Studies, he was active both in community work in the City of Ithaca as well as the Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Coalition.  While at Cornell, he was also the head of Gays, Bisexuals and Lesbians of Color (GBLOC).  Mr. Patton resides in Brooklyn, New York.

I grew up in various small towns in Western New York and graduated from high school in Avoca, NY. It was one of those small towns we all wanted to get away from as soon as we could, a nice place to grow up but you wouldn't want to live there. I graduated from the State University of New York College at Geneseo with a BA in Speech Communication in 1982 and promptly left for adventures in big cities. After college my brief broadcasting career included hosting a radio talk show, sales and writing news stories at stations from Buffalo to Tampa. My much longer management career included jobs with AMC Theaters, Wells Fargo Bank and several specialty retail chains. My experience includes training and development, human resources and project management. I developed and presented training programs for both entry level and management personnel. I have lived in the Tampa Bay area, Orange County California, San Diego, Los Angeles and passed through thousands of other towns along the way.

I am a former Case Manager and Success Skills Trainer for TeamWorks in Las Cruces. TeamWorks was a program of the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women which assisted women transitioning from welfare to work. I also had a life coaching practice serving the GLBTQ community.

Prior to being a founding Board Member and Executive Director of New Mexico GLBTQ Centers, I served on the board of The South Bay Center: The Lesbian, Gay and Bi Community Organization in Torrance, CA , the volunteer Co-publisher, of The Normal Heart, a 19 year old non-profit statewide GLBT newspaper serving New Mexico and west Texas until 2008. I also was involved with several GLBTQ coaching organizations in leadership roles. My passion is helping people achieve their true potential, connecting people who can change the world and enriching the lives of GLBTQ New Mexicans through the work of New Mexico GLBTQ Centers.

I currently live in Las Cruces, NM with my partner of twelve years, Richard, a Border Collie, Shilow, a Daschlabaniel, Teddy and two foster sons.

Glennda Testone has served as a leader and activist in the LGBT and women’s social justice movements for twelve years.  As the first female Executive Director of the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (as of November 2009), Glennda’s passion for LGBT equality drives her to fight diligently for LGBT New Yorkers who need help and to support the community in achieving their individual and collective dreams. In her first two years, Glennda is re-invigorating the Center’s Board of Directors by recruiting additional women and people of color leaders and revising and updating the Center’s Strategic Plan with a fresh, new vision of the its role in the city and beyond. Glennda was appointed to the NYC Mayor’s Commission on LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth in June 2009 and completed the Tenenbaum Leadership Initiative Fellows Program at Milano, the New School for Management & Urban Policy.  In 2009 she appeared in GO Magazine’s “Women at the Helm” issue and was named one of the most dedicated women in the LGBT movement.  She was also listed on Velvetpark’s “Official Top 25 Most Significant Women of 2009”.  Glennda currently sits on the Human Resources Administration (HRA) Citizens Advisory Committee and the National Council for Research on Women’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Committee.

Prior to the Center, Testone served as the Vice President for The Women's Media Center (WMC) where she established more visibility for women in media. She also created and led the Progressive Women's Voices program which provided media and leadership training for some of the movement's pre-eminent leaders and oversaw the integration of SheSource—a media database of 500+ women experts—into the WMC. As the former Senior Director of Media Programs for the National Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Testone was responsible for directing all of the organization's work in local and regional communities, with a focus on national and entertainment media programs, including outreach to communities of color and youth.  During her six years at GLAAD, Testone played a pivotal role in achieving milestones in LGBT media activism, most notably serving as a leader on the team that persuaded The New York Times to make its watershed decision to include same-sex union announcements.  She was also instrumental in securing a commitment from Nielsen Media Research to include gay and lesbian viewers in its television rating system.

Testone has been a spokesperson for GLAAD and for the LGBT movement, appearing on CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC, and in outlets such as The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Time Out and W magazine.  In 2001, Testone was part of the team that received the PR Week Award for Non-Profit Team of the Year for its work in heightening awareness of homophobia through its Laura Schlessinger campaign.  In 2005, Testone won Syracuse University’s LGBT Foundation Award for Outstanding Alumni and in 2006 she served as an Associate Producer on the Logo & VH1-televised GLAAD Media Awards.

Originally from Syracuse, New York, Testone has a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism and Philosophy from Syracuse University and a Master's degree in Women's Studies from The Ohio State University.  She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her partner, Jama.