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The NAGLY Board is comprised of the following members:
- Margot Abels
- Coco Alinsug
- Alexandra Barrett
- Donna Collins
- Kirsten Freni
- S.G.
- Stephen Harrington
- Jill Lamy
- Abraham Leon Jr.
- Mal Malme’s
- Jim Maynard
- Sean Mcdaniel
- Jim Nemeth
- Alishia Ouellette
- Dianne Ouellette
Margot has over 20 years of experience in the health, education and prevention fields beginning with women's health work and HIV crisis counseling in New York City. After coming north, she was one of the original collaborators on the pioneering Massachusetts initiative, the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students. In addition, for close to seven years, she coordinated the HIV/AIDS and sexuality education program for the Commonwealth's Department of Education. In this capacity she co-authored an HIV prevention curriculum for members of school-based gay/straight alliances. Currently, she lives at the beach in Lynn with her wife, Bridget, and her daughter, Makayla.
Coco is the new Executive Director of NAGLY as of June, 2007. A native of the Philippines and now a resident of Lynn, Coco is a linguist who speaks 9 languages. He is working on a creation of an Asia-Pacific Islander Gay Organization which will cater to gay-related issues within the Asian community on the Northshore. A multi-awarded youth and civic leader and a world traveler, Coco attended International youth conferences abroad to many nations including Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore as an exchange student. At present, Coco is the Recruitment Manager of Fenway Institute at Fenway Community Health Center and a Consultant for a HIV/STD pevention and education program for gay and bi Men on the Northshore. He is also an active organizer of various shows and events at several clubs on the Northshore.
Alexandra Barrett is a graduate of Boston College with a degree in Sociology and Psychology. On campus she was very involved with the Global Justice Society and the Woman's Resource Center. She worked for the District Attorney's Office after graduation as a Victim/Witness Advocate for 5 1/2 years in various courts throughout Essex County including the juvenile courts, the domestic violence unit and superior court. She has been very involved in the community serving on a Board of Directors for a local art therapy non-profit and working with coordinating agencies. Last July Alexandra went back to school to pursue her Masters degree. She will complete the program in May and will graduate with a Masters in Education for Elementary School Counseling. She lives with her boyfriend in Danvers, MA.
Kirsten is an active leader involved in various community and GLBT causes. She is the first female Outreach Educator for an HIV/STD Prevention and Education Program for Gay and Bi Men on the Northshore and received the "Certified Male" title due to her unprecedented involvement with the gay male community. She also works for a leading pharmaceutical company that is working on the development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine. She has been an active volunteer at NAGLY for several months before becoming a board member. Kirsten has a passion for travel, continuing on her path for self awareness and spending time with family and friends.
After spending more than 20 years in the computer industry, Steve changed careers 2 years ago, returning to his first loves: art and writing. An active member of the LGBT community for more than 25 years, he has been involved in such diverse organizations as the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus, Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, Boston Gay Basketball League, Boston Living Center, North Shore Health Project, Denver Soccer Rockies, and is one of only a handful of participants in every Gay Games since their inception in 1982. Steve has also written and spoken on several topics ranging from HIV infection, to homophobia, the sports closet, and gay marriage. Last year, Steve was honored to be one of the presenters in Cologne, Germany, for Boston’s bid to host the Gay Games in 2014. Jeff, Steve’s husband of 23 years, and Ruby, their psychotic basset hound, share a home on the coast in Lynn, MA.
Abraham Has been involved with Nagly since 2005. He started out attending Nagly as just a regular member and traveled all the way from Dorchester, MA every Tuesday to get out of the city, and have a sort of mini weekly vacation. He later went on to become a youth advisor and helped to motivate and influence Nagly to attempt larger outings and field trips. He succesfully organized, and lead the first ever trip on September 17th, 2006, to Out in The Park, at Six Flags New England. Since then, there have been trips from Provincetown, MA to Ogunquit, Maine, with many more to plan. He volunteered to help maintain the Nagly.org website and was voted onto the Board, and offically named webmaster on January 2008. Abraham is currently studying for his Assosciate of Arts with a concenration in Psycholgy.
Mal's background includes work as an HIV/AIDS educator for Healthcare of Southeastern Massachusetts, a Safe Schools trainer with GLSEN, a speaker with SpeakOut, a marriage equality activist and canvasser for The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and MassEquality, and an adult advisor for The North Shore Alliance of GLBT Youth (NAGLY). Mal is a co-founder of Queer Soup Theater, which has produced original works including the critically acclaimed Home and We All Will Be Received. Her solo work Still Married” received a grant from The Cambridge Arts Council. Since 1997 Mal has been clowning around as a clown doctor with The Big Apple Circus Clown Care Program™ at Boston Children’s Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital. Since 2009, she has been on the Cambridge GLBT Commission.
Jim has been a board member since 2003 and has been running youth groups for the past 29 years, but his best experience has been raising his two teenage sons that live with him and his husband in Salem. He manages recruitment, education, and prevention programs in the research department at Fenway Community Health and much of his time is spent working on clinical trials to find an effective vaccine against HIV. He is also an ordained minister with the American Baptist Churches and is the former pastor of the First Baptist Church in Salem.
Jim has been working as a consulting technical writer in the fields of computer software and biotechnology for over eight years, with additional experience as a technical trainer. Also a freelance writer, he has had articles, reviews, and one short story published in a variety of genre magazines. A long-time community activist, Jim is particularly committed to the causes of breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, and LGBTQ youth. He is equally passionate about his involvement in animal rescue. Born and raised in Chicago, he now lives in Marblehead with his husband. He is currently working on a book that will help people who are subjected to bigotry and hate on a daily basis.
Alishia is a firefighter/EMT with the Danvers Fire Department. She also worked as a small business owner/mechanic for over 25 yrs repairing trucks, heavy equipment and emergency vehicles. She is an active member of the transgender community and a political activist. She serves NAGLY as a board member, intern adult advisor and Outreach and Education Director. Alishia also serves as a commissioner on the Massachusetts Commission of GLBT Youth and as a board member and diversity trainer for the Gay Officers Action League of New England. She is a founding member of the North Shore Transgender Alliance, a member of the Mass Transgender Political Coalition and Assistant Director and camera-person for Gender Education and Media (Gender Vision). Alishia is a past member of Speak Out Boston, a volunteer speakers bureau. She has received training from the Massachusetts Commission on Discrimination and is working on becoming a professional diversity trainer and educator.
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