staff & board ::

> staff ::


Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director
p. 617.502.8700 x 222
director@familypride.org
A seasoned advocate for LGBT rights, Jennifer Chrisler has extensive experience in all aspects of nonprofit management. She was a fundraising consultant for political campaigns and LGBT organizations and served as Finance Director for special election in the Massachusetts 9th Congressional District. She was honored for her work in the LGBT community in 2002 by the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry Coalition and in 2001 by the Human Rights Campaign. Jennifer also served as director of operations for SoftBank’s i-Group and as director of corporate communications for American Science & Engineering, Inc. She spent five years as a staff director in the Massachusetts State Senate. Jennifer and her spouse, Cheryl Jacques, reside in Washington, DC with their four-year-old sons. She earned her BA degree in Elementary Education from Smith College in 1992.


A. Charlene Leach, Director of Development
p. 617.502.8700 x 225
charlene.leach@familypride.org
Ms. Leach has most recently been a consultant with Hayes-Cozier & Schaeffer Health Partnership, LLC, an organizational development and sustainability consulting firm in Washington, DC. She has more than twelve years experience in program design and implementation, major donor and foundation fundraising, corporate sponsorship, strategic planning, capacity building, and staff and board development. She has worked extensively in the LGBT adolescent field and in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, with the bulk of that work occurring within communities of color or had a focus on communities of color.

Ms. Leach served as a member of the training staff at Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York, where part of her duties included developing trainings to assist the larger community in understanding LGBT youth issues.  She also served as Deputy Director at the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, the only national organization that advocates for and with LGBT adolescents.


Nina Selvaggio, Director of Policy & Programs
p. 617.502.8700 x 227
nina.selvaggio@familypride.org

Nina is an advocate who has deep experience with community organizing, professional development, operations management and strategic leadership; over the past ten years, she has built coalitions and worked with communities around issues of education and social justice.

After earning a degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies from the University of Illinois-Urbana , Nina began her career as a Field Organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation and has served in a number of similar campaign and community organizing roles since.  She ascended to the Executive Director position at SpeakOut in Boston , a role that she held for over three years before moving on to direct the Youth Violence Prevention Coalition at GLSEN Boston.  She also worked in the Massachusetts State House for State Treasurer Timothy Cahill and for the national organization Citizen Schools.  Nina’s dedication to social responsibility and activism extends into her personal time, as well; she has served the National Organization for Women in several roles, including the President and Political Action Committee Chair of Massachusetts and on the National Board representing the Northeast region. 


Sara Leckey, Development & Administrative Associate
p. 617.502.8700 x 223
sara.leckey@familypride.org

Sara Leckey received her BA in Government from Smith College, after which she worked at Smith Executive Education as a program assistant; running programs to help executive level women reach their potential. During her college career she was involved in the Student Government Association and Tangent, a group that worked on gender identity awareness within the Smith community. 


David Jacques, eCommunications Coordinator 
p. 617.418.3226
david.jacques@familypride.org

David Jacques graduated from Seton Hall University with a BS in Business Administration, concentration in Marketing. While attending Seton Hall, David led a student movement for LGBTQ equality—awakening a lifelong commitment to progressive change. With a background in graphic and web design, David is blending the message of equality with the medium of technology. Prior to graduation, David interned at Planned Television Arts in New York City, and GLAD WORKS in Rhode Island. He has been with the Family Pride team since July of 2006.


Dustin Kight, Program & Education Associate 
p. 617.502.8700 x 228
dustin.kight@familypride.org

A graduate of Vassar College, Dustin Kight holds a BA in Political Science. As an undergraduate, he spent three years as intern and then head intern at Blegen House, Vassar’s LGBT Center for the Study of Social Change. He has also worked for the Youth Pride Center, a small non-profit dedicated to the social and educational development of inner-city LGBT youth in Chicago, Illinois. In both capacities, Dustin served to build organizational capacity, develop innovative programming, and foster collaborative partnerships with other organizations.


Kent Peacock, Manager of Business & Operations 
p. 617.502.8700 x 221
kent.peacock@familypride.org

Kent Peacock, originally from the suburbs of Detroit, MI, is a recent graduate of American University holding a BA in Sociology and American Studies. While at AU he also pursued his interests in the performing arts, obtaining a minor in music and participating in numerous theater productions. Academically, Kent focused on the classifications and stratifications of sex, gender and sexuality in American society with an emphasis on how they are presented in the performing and written arts. Kent is thrilled to be a part of such a progressive, forward-thinking, social-justice oriented organization as Family Pride and looks forward to all the successes there are still to come.


Daniel Robinson, Development Associate
p. 617.502.8700 x 224

Daniel is a graduate of Bowdoin College where he majored in Biology and minored in Gay and Lesbian Studies. As Co-President of the Bowdoin Queer Straight Alliance and Student Director of the Queer-Trans Resource Center, Daniel worked throughout his college career to foster a sense of community amongst a growing population of queer students, faculty, staff, and alumni. He looks forward to working with Family Pride to continue the good work of building support for loving families of any and all constellations.

Ariana Flores, Program & Education Associate
p. 617.502.8700 x 229

Originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, Ariana Flores earned her BA in political science from Tufts University in 2004. From there she went to the Boston chapter of Jobs with Justice where she served as an organizer for two years. She has worked on various campaigns in the areas of health care policy, workers’ rights and immigration. Ariana is very passionate about linking the LGBTQ movement with the struggles of other oppressed communities and hopes to build on that work at Family Pride. 


Julia Bean, Program & Education Associate
p. 617.502.8700 x 231

Julia Bean received her BA in sociology at the University of Maine. While an undergraduate student, she spent a year at Ithaca College and also a semester "abroad" in Hawaii. While on the Big Island, she worked with a kindergarten class in an after-school program. She was also a middle school mentor throughout her college career, an Adopt-An-Elder volunteer, and spent many summers as a camp counselor. She recently volunteered during Family Week and is incredibly excited to start passionately working towards family equality!

> Board of Directors ::

Kim Bergman (co-chair)
Ken Manford (co-chair)
Ken Blakeley (treasurer)
Anthony Chiafullo
John Dubrow, M.D. (secretary)
Allison Bauer
Gregg Cartagine
Meg Columbia-Walsh
Mark Corpron
Mary Ann Goloversic
Alex Habib
Will Halm
Rob Keeling
Fran Lichtman
Tim Meyer
Jonathan Shapiro
Ken Weissenberg
Bill Zachs