Staff Biographies
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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.
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.
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 longtime 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.
Outside of his political involvement, Martin comes with knowledge and experience in the fields of operations and sales and event management from his time in the financial industry as a branch manager as well as a partner and area manager for a natural food company.
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.
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.
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.
Lauren Peters is the political 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. As a member of
Victory’s political department, Lauren coordinates candidate
endorsements. She is also responsible for coordinating the Leadership
Institute trainings.
Lauren comes to Victory with a strong background in politics and the LBGT
movement. Lauren worked on recent campaigns for Senator Stabenow and Governor
Granholm’s in their 2006 re-elections. She also served as a Legislative intern
in Senator Stabenow’s office in the spring of 2006. A recent graduate from
college, Lauren served as the President of Hope College’s Gay Straight Forum
and with the help of others, broke ground in making headway for LBGT inclusion
on her campus.
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hope College
in Michigan.
A Michigan native, she now lives in Arlington, Va.
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 field director 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 on political campaigns
in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions, as well as growing and strengthening the Victory family donor base.
Shawn served as a Victory
intern in the summers of 2004 and 2005. During the Spring of 2006, he was the 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 recently 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 Foundations 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 governors 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 Miamis 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.
Paul Zolandz is the director of visual communication 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 maintaining high visual standards for all of Victory's communications products, both print and electronic. In addition to his graphic design tasks, Paul is also responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of Victory's family of websites and is a point person for on-site technology issues.
Paul comes to Victory with a diverse background in politics, design and technology. He was most recently employed with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, where he produced distance learning DVDs and collateral for internal physicians overseas. Additionally, he has been a freelance designer in both DC and Delaware, specializing in providing high-quality materials for performing artists and organizations.
Paul recently received his Bachelors of Music magna cum laude in vocal performance with a minor in French, from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he performed regularly as a principle in opera productions. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Paul currently resides in Washington, DC.
