Janelle Perez

Executive Director

The daughter of Cuban exiles who fled Castro’s communist dictatorship and became successful entrepreneurs, Janelle Perez is an advocate, policymaker, and small business owner. After graduating from Florida International University, Janelle moved to Washington, D.C. and began her career on Capitol Hill. While seeking her Master’s Degree from The Johns Hopkins University, Janelle worked for a non-profit where she led the educational and advocacy activities to support federal funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. At the age of 28, Janelle was diagnosed with Stage IV Follicular Lymphoma, an aggressive cancer. After her diagnosis, Janelle moved to Miami in order to prioritize her health and start a family with her wife, Monica. Today, she is one of the owners of a Hispanic-owned and family- owned Medicare company in Miami-Dade County. Janelle was the Democratic nominee in the election for Florida State Senate District 38 in 2022. She was endorsed by LPAC in that election. A graduate of Florida International University and The Johns Hopkins University, Janelle currently lives in Pinecrest, FL with her wife and two daughters.

Michelle Atwood

National Political/PAC Director

Michelle Atwood is the Political Director at LPAC, where she oversees LPAC’s endorsement process and campaign support for LGBTQ women and nonbinary candidates running for office at every level of the ballot. She was previously the Political Manager at LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, where she oversaw all aspects of the endorsement process and helped candidates succeed across the country. Prior to joining LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Michelle worked at BallotReady, an elections data startup, conducting research on voting accessibility and elections across the U.S. to make information about elections more accessible to voters across the country. Michelle is based in Los Angeles, CA.

ALLIE OWEN

National Development Director

In 2022, Allie served as a fundraising consultant for former LPAC endorsed candidate and current Executive Director, Janelle Perez. She also served as fundraising consultant for Rep. Brian Sims' historic campaign for Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania, and as development director for Generator Collective, a 501c4 devoted to mobilizing millennial and Gen Z voters across the country. She previously served as Campaign Board Manager for LGBTQ Victory Fund, where she managed a candidate endorsement and bundling operation of more than 150 LGBTQ candidates running for office at all levels of government across the country. She previously served as a Major Gifts Officer with LGBTQ Victory Fund, where she worked to expand and steward donor relations in the Southeast, Pacific Northwest, Midwest, New England, and Texas.

Before joining Victory, Allie worked as a political fundraiser on several statewide, federal, and local campaigns, including Attorney General of Massachusetts Maura Healey, several incumbent Democrats in the United States Senate, and Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), the first Latin American immigrant elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition to her role with LPAC, she serves as the chief finance advisor for Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, a bipartisan arm of the Florida Abortion Referendum chaired by Hon. Donna Shalala, and serves on the kitchen cabinet for Out for Biden.

Allie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies with a minor in Psychology from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An openly bisexual woman, she is passionate about LGBTQ visibility in all levels of government and the political arena. She can usually be found professing the gospel of David Bowie, or telling candidates in the call time room: "Don’t get mad—get elected."

Joanna Hoffman

Communications Director

Joanna Hoffman (she/her) has worked in nonprofit communications for over a decade, with expertise in using strategic digital engagement to guide audiences towards social action. Previously, she was the Director of Communications at Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization championing LGBTQI+ inclusion in and through sports. In that role, she led spokesperson trainings, developed key messaging for stakeholders, events and campaigns, and authored op-eds for top-tier outlets. She has a Masters of Public Administration from New York University. 

Joanna is also an award-winning poet honored by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change for LGBT Advocacy Through Art. Her full-length book of poetry, “Running for Trap Doors” (Sibling Rivalry Press) was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and featured in the American Library Association’s list of recommended LGBT reading. Joanna loves to run, and completed the New York City Marathon in 2019. She lives in Houston with her wife, two stepsons, and dog Bagel. 

shari weiner

Chair of the Board

Shari Weiner is passionate about getting women elected to political office! To that end, she is a past president of the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey and a current board member and member of the contribution committee of Tri-State Maxed-Out Women’s PAC. She regularly appears on the annual NJ Women’s Power List. Shari is a former elected official herself, having served as Mayor of the Township of Livingston, New Jersey, where she recently resigned as Township Attorney. Now residing in New York City, Shari was appointed by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine to serve on Community Board 8, representing the Upper East Side. Shari is of counsel in the law firm of Murphy McKeon P.C. and a licensed real estate broker with Stribling at Compass in New York City.

nikki barua

Vice Chair

Nikki Barua is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and leading expert in helping people and organizations accelerate success. Nikki is the CEO & Co-Founder of Beyond Barriers, an AI-enabled professional development platform that helps companies develop highly engaged, future-ready talent.

Nikki serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors of LPAC and is on the Board of Advisors at Switch. Nikki has won numerous awards, including Entrepreneur of the Year by ACE, named as an EY North America Entrepreneurial Winning Woman, honored as one of the 21 Leaders for the 21st Century, recognized as Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Women, LA Woman of Influence by The Business Journals and Women of Entrepreneurship by LA Lakers. 

Nikki holds three Masters degrees and is a lifelong learner with insatiable curiosity. She is fluent in 5 languages and speaks from her heart in all of them. She believes that we are all limitless; she leads her life committed to going beyond barriers and inspiring others to live up to their highest potential.

rebecca buckwalter-poza

Treasurer

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza is an attorney, writer, and advocate. Rebecca was part of the founding team of Prism. Previously, she covered the Supreme Court, judicial nominations, and law as Daily Kos Judicial Affairs Editor. She has worked on progressive campaigns and policy projects on five continents in a variety of capacities, including as a Henry Luce Scholar at the Asian Legal Resource Center in Hong Kong and served as a Fellow at the Center for American Progress. Rebecca also served as the Democratic National Committee Deputy National Press Secretary during the 2008 presidential election and co-authored James Carville's 40 More Years.

Charlotte Clymer

Charlotte Clymer is a writer, transgender activist, communications consultant, and military veteran. She writes “Charlotte’s Web Thoughts”, a blog/newsletter about politics, current events, and LGBTQ equality. In 2021, she signed an exclusive one-year deal with Substack to host her blog on their site. She was most recently the Director of Communications & Strategy at Catholics for Choice. Prior to that role, she served as the Press Secretary for Rapid Response at the Human Rights Campaign. Her day-to-day work involved running the organization’s messaging in response to the White House and federal policy. Her political and social commentary has been quoted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and numerous other outlets. Her work has been published in USA Today, The Washington Post, NBC News, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, GQ, The Independent, and other publications. She has also been a guest commentator on MSNBC and CBS Sunday Morning.

Liz Culley

Liz Culley has been in the entertainment and digital advertising industry for over 13 years. Currently the Executive Director of Entertainment and FYC Partnerships at Condè Nast, she leads studio partnerships and Vanity Fair's FYC strategy. In December of 2022, she was appointed to hold the Brand Revenue lead of them, Condè Nast's LGBTQ editorial site. A seasoned producer and host, Liz launched her solo podcast "Cool Cool Cool" in the Fall of 2022, rising to Number 3 on the Entertainment Charts. Before the launch of "Cool Cool Cool" she was the co-host of the successful Embassy Row (Watch What Happens Live, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire) produced podcast, "Scissoring Isn't a Thing." She has been featured in Out Magazine, People, E! and Teen Vogue, and is currently writing a book of memoirs. Outside of podcasting and selling digital media, Liz donates to the Latina Trans Coalition and BLM where she has been profiled for her work most recently in The New York Times. Liz is a member of the Soho House West Coast Board Committee and Glendale Historic Society.  She lives in Glendale with her wife Rachel and rescue puppy, Ravioli.

Laura Ricketts

Laura Ricketts is a Director of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball Club and Board Chair of Chicago Cubs Charities. Much of her work with the Cubs is focused on community relations, government relations and philanthropy. A former corporate attorney and entrepreneur, Ms. Ricketts is a full-time mother of three. She currently sits on the board of directors for Hickory Street Capital, EMILY’s List and Opportunity Education, serves on the Inclusion Council of the Obama Foundation, and is a Trustee of the Kennedy Center. Ms. Ricketts earned an A.B. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. She lives in the Chicago area with her wife and three children.

alix ritchie

Alix Ritchie is an independent media strategy consultant, a self-described agitator and an activist who is passionate about the principle of stewardship: the long-term commitment to leaving this world a better place than you found it. She is a political leader in the women’s and LGBTQ equality movements. Alix is the founder and, until recently, also the owner and publisher of the Provincetown Banner, a community newspaper covering the outer arm of Cape Cod, which was recipient of the New England Press Association Newspaper of the Year Award. She has long been a feminist activist and is a member of the advisory board of Ms. Magazine, was a board member of GLAD and an advisory board member of the Stonewall National Museum and Library. Ms. Ritchie and her spouse, Marty Davis, have been in a committed relationship for 39 years and were married in Massachusetts in 2009. They are residents of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

rennae stubbs

Rennae Stubbs is a former professional tennis player who was ranked #1 in the world in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles, 60 WTA Tour titles, and four Olympic appearances under her belt. After her retirement from the WTA, Stubbs transitioned to TV sports broadcasting. She is currently a contributing broadcaster at ESPN Tennis, The Tennis Channel, and Channel 7 Australia Tennis, and has previously been a lead analyst for NBC at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. She also works with life skills educational program Train Up First.

Lindsey Sugar

Lindsey Sugar is an accomplished executive and entrepreneur with more than twenty years of real estate investment, strategic advisory, and capital raising experience. She has advised on more than $6 billion in real estate transactions for leading institutional investors, including the largest public pension funds and foundations. Lindsey has championed minority and women-owned emerging investment managers for more than a decade. She was most recently Senior Managing Director of Capital Markets at Elion Partners, one of the few Latino-owned real estate private equity companies, where she was instrumental in growing the firm from $1.4B to $3.6B AUM in under three years. Lindsey earned her Master of Real Estate Development with honors from New York University, where she held the Dean’s Fellowship for Academic Excellence, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago. She was recently named a 2023 “Woman of Influence” by Globe Street. She cares deeply about empowering the next generation of leadership and widening the circle of inclusion. Lindsey serves as an NYU Shack Real Estate Institute Alumni Mentor and is a member of Chief. She lives with her two daughters in Los Angeles.

Mary L. Trump

Mary L. Trump, is a trained clinical psychologist and noted author. Her first book was a definitive portrait of Donald Trump that shone a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who threatened – and continues to threaten—the nation’s health, security, and social fabric. She has become a leader among progressives across the country seeking more diversity in the halls of power and more equity and inclusion in all aspects of society. She leads with a unique perspective on the impact of these changes on the mental health of communities most in need. She is now working on her second book, “The Reckoning,” about the trauma this country has suffered over the four years Donald Trump was in the Oval Office, how the damage inflicted by him and those who share his beliefs has been rooted in our history and how we must work together to heal our trauma. Mary L. Trump holds a PhD from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies and taught graduate courses in trauma, psychopathology, and developmental psychology.

urvashi vaid

Founder & Board Member Emeritus

Urvashi Vaid was President of The Vaid Group LLC, a mission driven consulting and social innovation firm advising nonprofits, foundations, businesses and individuals working for equity and justice, and executive director of Justice Work, a social justice incubator and think tank. The initiatives of the Vaid Group and Justice Work include the LGBTQ Poverty Initiative, the National LGBT/HIV Criminal Justice Working Group, and the Donors of Color Network. Vaid held leadership roles in philanthropic, advocacy, community, and academic organizations, including as: Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation; Deputy Director of the Governance and Civil Society Unit at the Ford Foundation; Senior Fellow at the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School; Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force; and Staff Attorney at the National Prison Project, ACLU. She was the author of Irresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and The Assumptions of LGBT Politics (2012); Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation (1996); a co-edited anthology titled Creating Change: Public Policy, Sexuality and Civil Rights (2000); and many reports. She was on the Board of LPAC, the Gill Foundation, Roadwork Center, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Provincetown Commons, and the American Museum of LGBTQ History & Culture. Vaid graduated from Vassar College and Northeastern University School of Law. She passed away in 2022.

maureen guthman

Maureen Guthman was the Senior Vice President of Content for BET Networks. She was responsible for 80% of the networks’ schedule through acquired content and co- production deals. Her responsibilities also included the planning, packaging and scheduling of all programming. Previously, Ms. Guthman was SVP of Programming Strategy and Acquisitions for TV One, LLC, a network devoted to serving the African American community. She was also VP of Acquisitions and Co-Productions for multiple networks within Viacom, including Vh1, Vh1 Classic, Vh1 Soul, CMT, Logo, and Palladia. She conceived, developed and executive-produced Say It Loud, a ground-breaking documentary mini-series celebrating Black American music, co-produced with Quincy Jones and featuring Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. Ms. Guthman was also a key member of the 12-person executive team selected to launch the Logo network and design its brand strategy. Maureen passed away in 2022.