About Us - The Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute

Staff Biographies

If you would like to contact a staff member, please use this form.

Joshua Beety is the Compliance and Revenue Manager at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. His responsibilities include overseeing all financial processes for the development team, including management and processing of candidate merchant accounts, contribution processing and acknowledgements, candidate contribution disclosures and financial reporting.

Josh comes to Victory with substantial experience in accounting, operations, and retail management both in Washington, D.C., and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where he attended Salisbury University.

He resides in NW Washington, D.C.

Brian Cox is the director of the Victory Campaign Board at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. He is responsible for the day-to-day management, strategic planning, and development of the Victory Campaign Board, a national network of community leaders and dedicated to achieving Victory’s mission.

Brian joined the Victory Fund in November 2007 as a Victory Cabinet Officer, and oversaw Victory’s fundraising and political work in northern twenty-eight states and California. Brian continues to be Victory’s lead fundraiser in California. Before joining Victory, Brian served as a finance assistant at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2007 after graduating from college. While at the DSCC, he assisted in fundraising, and coordinated the DSCC's Gay & Lesbian Advisory Council. Prior to joining the DSCC, Brian served Sen. Edward M. Kennedy for two years as an administrative intern, full time foreign policy intern, and as a staffer on the Senator's 2006 re-election campaign.

Brian graduated cum laude from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. He attained his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He studied under former Massachusetts Governor and 1988 Presidential Nominee Michael Dukakis, and authored an undergraduate political science course titled, "Campaign Strategy & Organization."

He is a native of Portland, CT.

Mark Anthony Dingbaum is the Digital Marketing Associate at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation’s leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. He is responsible for Victory's online presence including it's multiple websites, social networks, and blast email program. He also serves as the organization's in-house graphic designer.

Mark Anthony joined the Victory Fund as an external affairs intern in the summer of 2008. After serving as a field organizer in New York with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s 2008 congressional re-election campaign, he returned to the Victory Fund and was promoted to external affairs fellow.

Prior to becoming a field organizer in New York, Mark Anthony was involved in several community organizing roles including a projects coordination position for United Way and an executive leadership role with a regional grassroots volunteer recruitment endeavor called The 10,000 Hours Show. He also played a significant role in organizing with One Iowa, the statewide advocacy group responsible for securing marriage equality in Iowa.

Mark Anthony received his B.A. in political science and communication studies from the University of Iowa. A midwest native, he currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Denis Dison is the Vice President for External Affairs at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. Mr. Dison, who has been involved in professional media in Washington for the past 15 years, is responsible for Victory’s media outreach and public relations efforts.

Mr. Dison spent nearly 12 years at The Bureau of National Affairs, a publisher of legal and regulatory news and information, both in editorial and marketing roles. Most recently he worked at SmartBrief, where he was the founding editor of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief, a twice-weekly publication of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute.

Mr. Dison is a graduate of the University of North Florida. He resides in Washington, D.C.

James C. Dozier is the deputy political director at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. As a member of the campaign services team, James works to help elect LGBT candidates across the country as well as recruit conservative LGBT leaders to seek elective office.

Prior to joining the Victory Fund, James served as program officer with the Gill Action Fund, where he oversaw the fund’s political investments in target states and managed ongoing relations with grantees. From 2004-2006 James worked to support pro-LGBT legislation and elect pro-equality Republicans as eastern field director at Log Cabin Republicans and the Liberty Education Forum.

James received his B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from American University. A native of Virginia, he currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Liz Edwards is the program assistant at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. In this position, Liz is responsible for assisting the management and creation of professional development and educational programs for LGBT elected and appointed officials.

Liz joined the Victory Fund as an intern in the spring of 2008, prior to serving as a Presidential Appointments fellow in September of that year. Before joining Victory, Liz managed alumni giving at The George Washington University's Annual Fund, was co-chair of Colorado's Cherry Creek Diversity Conference, and participated on Denver Mayor Hickenlooper's Gay Youth Advisory Board.

Liz will receive her Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and Anthropology from the George Washington University in May of 2010. She is a native of Denver, Colorado.

Martin Espinoza is the Development Program Manager at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organizations to identify train and support openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. He is responsible for managing campaign & fundraising events for endorsed candidates along with special events for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute. Martin also serves as the liaison to the Victory Campaign Board, a national board of community leaders located in communities throughout the country.

Previously, Martin worked for six years for former Arizona state legislator Steve May. He has also volunteered much of his time with various LGBT organizations in Phoenix, most significantly with GLAAD, where he co-chaired the first “Thank GLAAD its Friday.” Martin’s connection to GLAAD is through his long time mentor and former mayor of Tempe, Neil Giuliano. Martin has worn many political hats throughout his career, dating back to his first job at the age of 16 where he worked on his first ballot initiative to raise sales tax.

Martin was born and raised in Yuma, Arizona, where he is a former organizer and continued sponsor of the only gay organization, Yuma County Gay Rights.

Martín Garcia is the political associate at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. As a member of Victory’s campaign services team, Martín coordinates candidate endorsements and is responsible for organizing the Leadership Institute’s candidate and campaign trainings, which take place in various cities throughout the country each year.

Martín served as an intern in the fall of 2008 while he was attending the University of California’s Washington DC internship program. After graduating from college, Martín was promoted to political fellow. Prior to joining Victory, Martín served as the co-chair of his college’s Associated Student’s Queer Commission, where he successfully expanded the organization and increased awareness for the LGBT community on and off campus.

In addition to politics, Martín is also passionate about theatre, specifically, political/education theatre that engages youth in civic participation. He toured southern California high schools and community centers with a teatro group that performed one-act plays with political and cultural messages. Of these plays, Martín co-wrote, co-directed, and performed in a piece dealing with LGBT youth’s struggles in public schools.

Martín holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Theatre Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A Los Angeles native, he now resides in Washington, D.C.

Adam Martin is the Director of Board Management & Relations at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. He serves as staff liaison to both Boards of Directors; maintains corporate documents and records and implements future meeting schedules of the directors. He is responsible for assisting the President and CEO; coordinating travel arrangements, fielding inquiries and requests for public appearances. Adam also works with the CFO/COO closely on many projects including the financial and human resources operations of the organization, new hire and intern orientation and exit practices, bank reconciliations, emergency and disaster plans, expense monitoring, and everyday functions of the staff and facilities.

Adam graduated from Towson University in 2005 with a B.A. in Political Science. He interned in the political science department during his senior year; helping with the organization and implementation of the Model United Nations program for students of public schools in Baltimore County.

After graduation, Adam accepted a position with the office of U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici where he served as a staff assistant, legislative correspondent, assistant office manager and, finally, the administrative manager.

Sarah McCall is the major gifts officer at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. Sarah is responsible for growing and managing a portfolio of the Victory Cabinet and is responsible for developing relationships with grant-making foundations.

Before coming to Victory, Sarah worked for the Colorado General Assembly for three sessions as a Legislative Aide to multiple state representatives, and most recently spent a year in Charleston, South Carolina as a fundraiser and event manager for 1st District Congressional Candidate and Victory-endorsee Linda Ketner. Sarah serves on the Executive Committee of Women’s Information Network (WIN), Washington’s premiere, 1,200+ member professional and social networking organization for pro-choice, Democratic women, as the Advisory Council Director.

Sarah received her Bachelor’s degree in Women and Gender Studies with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is a native of Central New Jersey and currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Tim Meinke is the Director of the Victory Cabinet with the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute; the nation’s leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. He is responsible for managing and overseeing the Victory Cabinet, Victory’s major donor program.

Mr. Meinke started at the organization in 2006 and has worked in several roles including: Board & Development Manager and as a Victory Cabinet Officer before overseeing the program across the country. Before the Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, he spent 2005 at America Votes, where he assisted its political department to implement long term change to the progressive political infrastructure. He also contributed to the 2005 Virginia Governor’s campaign by participating in an independent expenditure by the Media Fund.

Mr. Meinke received his bachelor of arts in political science from the American University, in Washington, D.C., and a minor in Communication’s studies. While at the American University he received a certificate from the Campaign Management Institute at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio.

Jason Mida is the Vice President of Development at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation’s leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. Since 2005, Jason has served in several roles for Victory as a Cabinet Officer, Director of the Victory Cabinet, Director of Leadership Giving & Strategic Partnerships, and, most recently, Vice President of Major Gifts. In his current role, Jason oversees all of Victory’s development efforts, including relationships with corporate sponsors. In addition to personally working with Cabinet Members and Leadership Donors, Jason manages a dedicated team working to increase resources for Victory and openly LGBT candidates across the country.

As an experienced fundraiser and political strategist, Jason has worked with dozens of LGBT candidates running for office at the local, state, and national level. In 2006, Jason worked to elect the first openly LGBT officials in Alabama and Arkansas, as well as the first openly LGBT state senator in Missouri. He has also worked with candidates to develop and implement finance plans for their respective races. In 2002, Jason served as East Texas Field Coordinator for Tony Sanchez, who, at the time, was the Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee in Texas. Jason is a previous delegate to the Texas Democratic Convention, a former Precinct Chair for the Smith County Democratic Party, and served as an intern for Congressman Martin Frost in 1999.

Jason earned his Bachelor’s in Human Communications from Abilene Christian University in 2002. He is a native of Tyler, Texas and lives with his partner in Washington, D.C.

Fred Sherman is Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation’s leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. Mr. Sherman is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations including finance, human resources, information technology, legal and compliance, and office management.

Mr. Sherman is a certified public accountant and comes to Victory from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he served as Director for Global Tax Technology. He was with PwC for 15 years and was a co-founder of GALE, their gay and lesbian employee group.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Sherman is now a resident of historic Mount Pleasant in Washington, D.C., and is past treasurer of Mount Pleasant Main Street, an organization that serves to revitalize the neighborhood commercial district. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and earned his BBA in Accounting and Database Management and Analysis (MIS).

George Walker is the Vice President of Leadership Initiatives at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation’s leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. In this position, George is responsible for creating and managing professional development and educational programs for LGBT elected and appointed officials.

Professionally, he served as the development director for the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. Prior to working at ACS, George served as a major gifts officer at the Human Rights Campaign, deputy operations director for the Center for Community Change, and associate director at the Peace Development Fund. He volunteered with the U.S. Peace Corps in Guayaquil, Ecuador from 1994 to 1996.

George has worked extensively in the area of social justice for his entire professional career. A national keynote speaker, he has spoken to gatherings in the areas of religious life, youth motivation, volunteerism, community renewal. George is a graduate of Morehouse College (BA History) and The Divinity School, Duke University (M-Div). He is an ordained minister and serves as Adjunct Minister of Peoples Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in Washington, D.C.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, he resides in Washington, D.C.

Shawn Werner is the Director of Campaign Services at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and officials. He is responsible for recruiting and consulting Victory Fund’s endorsed candidates.

Shawn has been with the Victory Fund since 2004, first serving as an intern before joining staff in 2006. He took a leave of absence in the spring of 2008 to serve as the Pennsylvania director of LGBT outreach with the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. During the Spring of 2006, he served as president and founder of The Fight to Give Life, a national collegiate mobilization against the Food and Drug Administration’s antiquated and discriminatory lifetime ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men.

Shawn received his Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. He resides in Washington, D.C.

Chuck Wolfe is the president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, the nation's leading organization that identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, campaign staff and public officials. He served on the Victory Fund's Board of Directors for four years prior to joining the staff. During his tenure as CEO, hundreds of openly LGBT candidates have been elected to public office, and the list of states with no out elected officials has dropped from 13 to just five.

Mr. Wolfe has an extensive background in politics, issue advocacy and organizational development. He previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the American Legacy Foundation, which was created as a result of the 46-state settlement with the tobacco industry. Mr. Wolfe was the Foundation's first employee and initiated national tobacco control programs such as the groundbreaking "truth" advertising campaign.

Mr. Wolfe entered the public sector as an appointee to the late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles. In addition to serving on the governor's 1994 reelection campaign as operations manager, he served the governor for seven years in such capacities as director of external affairs, director of tobacco control and executive director of the Miami Financial Oversight Board. During his tenure, among numerous other achievements, Mr. Wolfe developed and implemented programs that aided the relief efforts of Hurricane Andrew, the City of Miami's financial emergency and the Florida Tobacco Pilot Program.

Mr. Wolfe, an Eagle Scout, has a long history of leadership within the Boy Scouts of America, including a two-year term on the National Executive Board. For more than ten years he was active and outspoken in the effort to rid scouting of its discriminatory policies towards gays and lesbians. His efforts were profiled in a report on CBS News' 60 Minutes.

Mr. Wolfe is a 1985 graduate of Stetson University in Florida and completed the Negotiating Skills Seminar at the J.F.K. School of Government of Harvard University in 1997. A native of Florida, he has resided in Washington, D.C. since 1999.