
Out & Equal in 2006

Out & Equal in 2007
Selisse Berry
Executive Director
Selisse
Berry is founding executive director of Out & Equal Workplace
Advocates, the nation's only national nonprofit organization
specifically dedicated to creating safe and equitable workplaces for
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Under her
leadership, the organization has grown significantly with 1200 percent
expansion in the annual Summit since 1999, and ten regional affiliates
across the United States.
During her tenure at
Out & Equal, Selisse has regularly met with executives, HR
professionals and LGBT employees to expand LGBT equality in workplaces
across the country and globally. Under her leadership, the organization
has created numerous programs to advance its mission, including the
annual Out & Equal Workplace Summit, bimonthly Town Call seminars,
the Out & Equal Workplace Institute—which seeks to bring together
scholarly research on LGBT equality with business and human resource
managers, the nation’s largest registry of LGBT Employee Resource
Groups, the soon-to-launch LGBT CareerLink—a website devoted to
connecting LGBT job seekers with LGBT-friendly companies, and
substantial programming in the growing network of regional affiliates.
Her
clear and unwavering vision has been instrumental in creating an
internationally recognized organization whose philosophies reflect the
importance of treating all colleagues in the workplace with respect and
dignity. Since her first job as a guidance counselor, Selisse has
continued her commitment to justice as a teacher and as executive
director for several social service organizations prior to founding Out
& Equal Workplace Advocates. She has master's degrees in education
and theology from the University of Texas and San Francisco Theological
Seminary respectively. Selisse and her partner, Cynthia Martin, were
married in July 2007.
Ms. Berry has worked for the ordination of out LGBT people in various denominations and is co-editor of the book, Called Out: Voices and Gifts of LGBT Presbyterians.
Selisse has also worked as a special education teacher, a guidance
counselor and has extensive experience as a diversity trainer around
LGBT issues and broader diversity issues and often consults on LGBT
diversity issues.
Out & Equal is widely
known for its annual Workplace Summit, the premier gathering of LGBT
employees and human resources professionals from around the globe. The
Summit brings together LGBT employees, allies and human resource and
diversity professionals to share best practices that address all facets
of workplace equality. Held in a different city each year, the Summit
blends internationally known keynote speakers with educational
workshops and idea-sharing opportunities. The Out & Equal Workplace
Summit will take place September 10-13, 2008 in Austin, Texas. For more
information, please visit our website at www.outandequal.org.
Kevin Lee Shytle
Managing Director
Kevin joined
Out & Equal as an Executive Assistant in the summer of 2002. In
this role he managed daily administrative duties and served as a
liaison for several Out & Equal programs. Prior to joining Out
& Equal Kevin completed his Masters of Business Administration as a
Research Fellow at the University of San Francisco, graduating with
honors.
Kevin worked three years at the North
Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center playing a key role in
building the Center's education initiatives literally from the ground
up. This included managing an arts integration program that has become
a regional and national model for arts integration. Other critical
successes is his ability to build strong relationships between the
Center, school boards, superintendents, principals, teachers, community
leaders and artists. Kevin also worked as an Assistant Events Manager
providing training and management for Front of House paid staff and
volunteers.
Kevin Shytle was a North Carolina
Teaching Fellow at Elon University. He earned his BA in Elementary
Education and graduated with Honors. He served as a public school
teacher in North Carolina for four years.
Beatriz Rincón
Director of Finance & Operations
Beatriz
Rincón is Out & Equal's Director of Finance & Operations. In
addition to her lifelong commitment to the goals of our organization,
Beatriz comes to us with a broad range of experience in both for-profit
(20 years) and non-profit environments (11 years), which accounts for
her well-honed skills in the areas of Fiscal Management, Budget
Development, Financial Analysis, Human Resources, Internal Procedures,
and Operations/Project Management.
Prior to joining
Out & Equal, Beatriz was the Executive Director of AgeSong Senior
Communities, where her responsibilities included directing finance and
operations of two assisted living facilities in San Francisco
specializing in the care of individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s
disease or dementia. Here she refined, developed, and implemented
strategic initiatives to improve organizational performance, and
develop organizational capabilities. She set about overcoming financial
and staffing challenges by totally redesigning the organizational
structure and establishing and implementing procedures, policies, and
cost controls in all key areas of the organization. She also spent four
years as the Director of Finance and Operations at Social Venture
Network, a non-profit that promotes socially responsible businesses.
Reporting to SVN’s Co-Directors, Beatriz had the primary responsibility
for understanding and anticipating the organization’s needs and
providing solutions in all areas relating to finance, accounting, HR,
administration and operations. She was consistently commended by board
members and SVN Co-Directors alike, for successfully bringing
transparency and a solid financial position to the organization.
Beatriz
has also worked at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS),
as the Budget Manager and Special Project Manager, and as the Executive
Director for HOLOS XXI, a clinical and educational organization
dedicated to counseling, education, and research in the mental health
field in Venezuela.
In addition to her expertise in finance and
operations, Beatriz has a MA in Health Education, and extensive
experience as a Chemical Engineer. From 1975-1995, she worked for
Petroleos de Venezuela, managing annual budgets of up to 400 million
dollars, supervising large construction projects, and supervising the
work of dozens of engineers. Beatriz was recognized by the Venezuelan
government with the Jose Antonio Anzoategui Medal in 1983 for excellent
work on the construction and start-up of the first cryogenic plant in
South America. She has also taught courses in Gas Treatment as an
adjunct faculty member at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
Stephen Gould
Associate Director of NETWORKS!
Stephen
is pleased to continue his work at Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
coordinating the efforts of the Out & Equal ERG Registry, Regional
Affiliates and other Out & Equal networks. Stephen joined the staff
as executive assistant in the summer of 2004 after studying and
teaching in Berkeley, CA. Since then, Stephen launched and coordinated
the Out & Equal Institute during its first years before moving into
his current position.
Stephen gained experience
in nonprofit administration working for The Concordia Orchestra and the
Little Orchestra Society, both in New York City, as well as various
theaters. He earned a master's degree in religion at Yale University,
where he got a taste for LBGT activism as the cochair of the Yale
Divinity School LGBT coalition. He also holds an A.B. degree in
political science from Duke University. Originally from New York State,
he is quite happy to be a resident of the incomparably beautiful San
Francisco.
Susan Willm
Associate Director of Development
Susan
Willm came to work for Out & Equal Workplace Advocates in May,
2005, as a contract worker, and officially became staff six months
later. As Associate Director of Development, Susan’s main
responsibility is working with corporate sponsors, and assisting
Development Director Jed Herman.
Susan has worked
in various administrative roles for non-profits, religious and
educational institutions all her life including a community/church race
relations program in South Central Los Angeles, student services at
Pacific School of Religion, and Office Manager at First Congregational
Church of Berkeley. Just previous to joining Out & Equal she was
self-employed as a freelance administrator for other independent
contractors and small nonprofit organizations. She has been Lay
Pastoral Assistant at Epworth United Methodist Church in Berkeley for
six years, and has held a number of positions in the regional church,
including Lay Delegate to the Western Jurisdictional Conference of the
United Methodist Church 2004-2008.
Susan has lived
in her home in Berkeley for over 30 years, and has an adult son living
in the Boston area. She enjoys movies, gardening, reading mysteries,
and living in Berkeley.
Stanley Ellicott
Assistant to the Managing Director
Stanley joined the staff of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates in
June 2008, as the Assistant to the Managing Director.
Before arriving at Out & Equal, Stanley served as a peer mentor at
Wheaton College’s Filene Center for Work and Learning in Norton, Massachusetts,
and as an account representative at Conrad Imports, San Francisco. He is
delighted to be part of the Out & Equal team, providing direct support to
the Managing Director, Kevin Shytle, and working toward achieving LGBT workplace
equality.
Stanley graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College with a
Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Russian language in 2007. While at Wheaton,
he studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, and later in St. Petersburg, Russia
as a Fulbright-Hays Scholar. Stanley's undergraduate thesis, a paper that put
LGBT issues in conversation with economic analysis, was a careful study of
labor market discrimination faced by LGBT people.
Stanley resides in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco with his
boyfriend, Steffan. As a self-proclaimed gourmand, Stanley enjoys both fine
food and wine, and is an active supporter of the slow food movement. He is
a member of The International Association for Feminist Economics, The Union
for Radical Political Economics and is a project advocate for BUTT-OUT!
Ending Big Tobacco Exploitation of the LGBT Community. Stanley maintains
interest in the study of consumer debt, economic inequalities, and Scandinavian
design. He is always happy to visit family in Maine or enjoy good company.
Pat Baillie
Training & Professional Development Manager
Pat
Baillie joined Out & Equal in January 2008 after retiring the
second time in her career from Honeywell Federal Manufacturing &
Technologies in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to that, she
served in the US Air Force retiring in 1993 as a Major. Her entire
career has been involved with training, adult education, and activism
and she is ready to pull all those parts of her history together at Out
& Equal to make a difference for those in the workplace.
Pat
graduated from California State University, Northridge with a Master’s
Degree in Physical Education, Biology and Psychology. After college,
she joined the Air Force and worked as a Weapons Controller and Space
Operations officer. She was also active in LGBT causes her entire
career and decided to retire on the day that President Clinton
announced "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." She was then able to publicly come
out and was the featured speaker at the Veteran’s Day memorial in
Sacramento, California in 1993. She has also worked extensively with
sexual freedom issue as a spokesperson and educator and has work on
national grass roots organizing. In Albuquerque, Pat worked within
Honeywell on their Diversity Council and was asked to present on LGBT
issues at the statewide EEOC conferences as well as being the only
"out" employee that could be a resource. She also helped to grow the
local and statewide LGBT community as the Co-President of Albuquerque
Pride for over 10 years. She continued to be involved in community
events from political to social until she realized she was ready to
return to California. Her goal was to work in a non-profit on LGBT
issues. Out & Equal added to that the ability to use her years of
training experience so in December 2007, Pat moved back to California.
She is living in San Jose and is excited about being back near family and being a Californian again. Her recreational activities include travel, riding her motorcycle to Santa Cruz, softball, working out and learning soccer. The opportunity to find ways to influence the workplace so LGBT employees can be fully themselves is truly a dream job bringing together her political/activist passion with her love of teaching.
Anthony Bannon
Special Events Manager
Anthony
Bannon joined the Out & Equal team in March of 2008 with more than
eight years of experience in non profit management in California.
For six years Anthony supported youth development programs with the
YMCA of San Diego County as Project Director. Upon moving to the Bay
Area, he continued his dedication to youth development working on the
development team of Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco. Working in
his family’s catering business from the age of 11 has prepared Anthony
for great success as Out & Equal’s Special Events Manager.
In
2005, Anthony was selected as a Nelson and Winnie Mandela Fellow and
began a life-altering marriage with Amnesty, Intl. For nearly 5
month, Anthony traveled throughout Northern and Eastern Africa
promoting universal education for all children. Anthony’s wanderlust
has brought him to more than 30 countries on four continents... and
counting. His travels have inspired a collection of
historically-based curriculums for middle school youth focused on the
global impact of ‘local’ events i.e. ethnic cleansing in the Baltics,
Rwandan genocide, end of Apartheid in South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland, Mozambique’s land trust distribution, and the Dafar tragedy
of Sudan.
Currently, Anthony is on the Board of
Advisors for the BOOST Conference and volunteers as a mentor to three
high potential, college-bound youth from San Francisco’s most
disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Anthony graduated with
highest honors from the University of Maryland with degrees in Hearing
and Speech Sciences and Special Education.
Julie Beach
Career Development Manager
Julie
joined Out & Equal Workplace Advocates in the spring of 2008 as
Career Development Manager. Responsible for launching Out & Equal’s
web-based LGBT career development program, Julie is a seasoned tech
expert with an MA in Industrial Psychology emphasizing employment
issues for the LGBT community.
For the past ten
years, Julie has helped dozens of organizations develop their
technological capabilities. As a technology consultant, she worked with
public and nonprofit organizations including San Francisco Unified
School District, Girls, Inc., UCSF and various San Francisco city
departments. At Goodwill Industries, as a member of the IT team, she
helped meet the tech requirements of 15 retail stores and several
hundred employees. And for the San Francisco Children’s Council, she
launched and managed a program to increase the technological skills and
resources of San Francisco’s early childhood education community.
Also
a skilled trainer, Julie has introduced a diverse array of people to
technology. Working with Marin’s adult education programs, Jewish
Vocational Service and other nonprofit organizations, she has enabled
seniors, homeless individuals and those with barriers to employment to
use computers for the first time and, in many cases, begin a path to
sustainable employment.
Previous to her tech
career, Julie received an MA in industrial psychology with an emphasis
on LGBT career development after a 15-year management career with
PG&E. While obtaining her degree, she worked in the human resources
department at Autodesk, Inc.
Enabling LGBT
individuals to develop successful careers with supportive companies and
organizations has been a long-time passion for Julie. She is thrilled
to now be able to combine these diverse interests on behalf of Out
& Equal.
Julie lives in Marin with her partner
of 19 years, a marketing executive for a San Francisco architecture
firm, and their German Shepherd, Dover. She enjoys time at their
Bolinas cottage, along with biking, home repair and digital photography.
Pamela Berkowitz
Operations Manager
Pamela joined the Out & Equal Workplace Advocates staff in June 2006, as the new office manager.
Pamela
earned her bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies with a minor in Judaic
Studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She also spent
two semesters as part of a teaching collective within the Women’s
Studies Department at SUNY Albany, where she co-taught the course
“Introduction to Feminisms.”
Pamela has a long
history working with nonprofit organizations dedicated to social
change. She was on the board of directors for the Social Justice Center
in Albany, NY an umbrella group of nonprofit organizations. She was
also was part of the collective at Peace Offerings (a nonprofit fair
trade craft store) and worked for five years on the committee for the
Women’s Networking Fair in Albany, NY. She is currently active in the
Network of Spiritual Progressives, East Bay Tikkun, and Jewish Voice
for Peace.
Pamela enjoys biking, movies, science fiction, and vegetarian cooking. She lives with her three cats in Berkeley, CA.
Dave Bueché
Senior Office Services Manager
Prior
to joining the staff, Dave was Communications Manager in the External
Relations Department at Stanford University's School of Engineering in
Palo Alto, CA. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with a
minor in Communications from Central Michigan University. Before moving
to California he worked six years as a promotional writer for
Oldsmobile Division of General Motors Corporation.
Dave worked five years in resource development and four years as Vice
President, Strategic Management and Marketing for United Way of the Bay
Area and later with the organization's Alexis de Tocqueville Society.
He is a member of the International Association of Business
Communicators and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce's Leadership
San Francisco program.
Redge Norton
Communications Manager - Media Relations
Redge
Norton joined Out & Equal in April 2008, upon completing an around
the world adventure. During his travels he volunteered at an elephant
reserve in Northern Thailand and taught English in Laos. Redge
brings more than 10 years of nonprofit experience in the areas of media
communications, special events and fundraising. Prior to O&E
he was a consultant with the Kidney Trust and for seven years the media
relations manager at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. He moved
to the Bay Area from Washington, D.C. where he worked for an
association management consulting company and happily indulged his love
of independent film by helping to organize the Washington, D.C. Gay
& Lesbian Film Festival.
Redge has a bachelor’s
degree in political science and philosophy from Utah State University
and a master’s degree from Golden Gate University. When not
planning his next adventure, he likes to cook, bike, snow ski, and hang
out with his friends and cat, Mr. Tucker.
Morgan Green
Program Associate
Morgan
Green currently works as a Program Associate at Out & Equal.
Prior to 2008, she was Out & Equal’s NETWORKS! Intern.
As
the daughter of a lesbian and a female-to-male transsexual, Morgan has
been in contact with members of the LGBT community and exposed to their
common issues of interest since birth. While in high school, she
decided to publicly become a LGBT ally and joined her school’s
Gay-Straight Alliance, which she later led as president. She continued
her LGBT related activism while in college by joining a club that
studied heterosexism and by volunteering for a couple of organizations
that promoted dissemination of information on LGBT issues. Having
recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in English,
Morgan is delighted to begin her professional career and continue her
activism as a LGBT ally at Out & Equal.
Morgan
resides in Berkeley with Scott, her sweetheart, and a very sweet kitty
named Eva. She spends her free time reading curious pieces of
literature, watching films so frequently that she cannot remember the
details of any film, and ogling the cheese section at the grocery store.
Bridget Striker
Technology Intern
Bridget
Striker, a Midwest expatriate, has lived in San Francisco for going on
four years. Formerly, she worked at the San Francisco Department
of Public Health, and previously interned at the Minnesota Fringe
Festival and on the feature film Factotum. She has also worked for the Twin Cities’ own Lavender Magazine.
Bridget
is enamored of fantasy fiction in all its shapes and forms, and also
reads about metaphysics in her spare time. She misses having
cats, and hopes to be owned by one or two again sometime soon.
Luis Vera
Finance and Operations Intern
Luis has been at Out & Equal as a straight ally since the beginning of April, working alongside Beatriz Rincón as a finance and operations intern.
Prior to his internship, he was a member of the University Economics Association as the Director of IT and began a student-led financial group which spawned into the University Investors Forum. His past internship experience started with Developing Effective Engineering Pathways (DEEP) in association with NASA Ames Research Center in the Flight Systems Research Laboratory. Luis graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management Economics .
In his spare time time he blogs about financial issues and is in training for an undetermined triathlon.