ST. LOUIS - The Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender Community Center of Metropolitan St. Louis has announced its new Board of Directors, appointed to revitalize its plan to grow and develop into the nucleus of LGBT organizations in St. Louis. Through service, outreach, and education, the goal of The Center is to become the heart beat of the community.
The new Board of Directors offers The Center additional expertise as it executes its business plan. The Board of Directors includes:
Leon A. Braxton – President: Leon has been active in the St. Louis LGBT community for over 25-years raising countless dollars and having served on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis AIDS Foundation and as a master Guardian with Project Ark since 2004. In addition to the Center, he serves on the Boards of Pride St. Louis and SAGE Metro St. Louis, was a founding member of and still serves on the Board of St. Louis Effort for Aids, and is the founder of the I CARE! Campaign. Leon is a successful Mortgage Broker by day but is best known for his illusion of the incomparable Dieta Pepsi. Dieta can be found on drag and theatrical stages across St. Louis or at the Vital VOICE where she entertains audiences across the globe with her on-air antics as the On-Air Hostess.
Colin Lovett – Vice President: Colin is a teacher, entrepreneur, activist, writer and salesman. Actively involved in uniting the St. Louis LGBT Community, he serves on the board of directors for Pride St. Louis, writes for the Vital VOICE, and uses almost all of his free time trying to make a difference for oppressed members of society. Teaching youth with developmental disabilities during the day, Colin also co-owns a school of self defense for adults with developmental disabilities. He was recently selected by the Regional Arts Council as a 2011 Community Arts Training Fellow, where he will further his training in community empowerment. Addicted to Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and the Romantics, Colin plays double bass with the St. Louis Civic Orchestra, of which he used to serve as the President of the Board.
Dara Strickland – Vice President: Dara is a partner at Strickland Jansen, PC, a law firm dedicated to offering sterling representation to families in the St. Louis area for their family law and estate planning needs. She graduated from Washington University School of Law in 2007 and opened the firm in 2010 with one idea: family law is for every family. Through her professional work, public speaking, media appearances and now serving proudly on the board of the LGBT Community Center, Dara hopes to make the law a shield for the community, not the barrier it is often perceived to be.
Colin Murphy – Secretary: Celebrating 20-years in LGBT media, Colin Murphy is Senior Writer and Web Editor for the Vital VOICE. He has written for numerous community publications since 1991 and his op-ed, “1 Out of 10 Ain’t Bad!” is one of the longest running columns in St. Louis. An avid gay history buff, Colin is a member of the St. Louis Gay History Project and has collaborated with the LGBT Archives at UMSL. He is a member of the Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and Vital VOICE Advisory Board. Colin is a former Vice President of The Late Knights of Pythias and currently serves as Secretary of the Pride St. Louis Scholarship Committee and as Vice President of Metro East Pride. In 2010 he was honored as a St. Louis Pride Parade Grand Marshal and is the recipient of the 2010 Missouri Award.
Richard Norlin – Treasurer: After receiving a bachelors degree in Zoology, Rick earned his Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine from Illinois College of Podiatric Medicine in 1979 and has been practicing foot and ankle orthopedics ever since. In addition to serving as active podiatric staff at Des Peres and Forest Park Hospitals, Rick practices privately at Crestwood Foot Care Center. Naturally being quick with his feet, Rick is an avid tennis player and distance runner, competing in marathons such as the Chicago Marathon and the world famous Bix 7.
Heidi Clark – Advisory Board Chair: Heidi is the Director of Consulting, a writer, trainer, and editor for Leader Resources, a national Episcopal publishing company. In 1997 she co-founded Oasis Missouri, the LGBT welcoming program in the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, and was the Diocesan Staff Officer for LGBT Ministries. Heidi is on the National Task Force in the Episcopal Church seeking to provide resources for "same-gender rites of blessing" for the church. Heidi is married to Mike Clark. They have a son in 5th grade, and live in Kirkwood with their three cats - Storm, Trooper and Chewbacca.
Scott Emanuel – Scott has been an active community organizer in the St. Louis LGBT community for the last twenty years. He is the Lead Advisor for Growing American Youth, a social support organization for LGBTQ youth in the St. Louis area. Scott is the Development Associate at the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. He and his husband, Ed Reggi, organize the Show Me Marriage Equality Bus taking same-sex couples to Iowa to be legally married. Their bus efforts are documented in the short film, Heartland Transport, currently playing in festivals across the country as well as on The Documentary Channel.
Cindy Walker - Cindy is a St. Louis native and a founding member of QFest.
After The National Lesbian and Gay Task Force held their annual Creating Change Conference in St. Louis in 2004, the Creating Change St. Louis Host Committee and the St. Louis LGBT community met and determined one of its largest needs was a community center. Thus, in 2006, paperwork was filed for a 501c3 and a virtual center was established. Two years later, the Center was opened at 625 N. Euclid Avenue (Suite 420) in the Central West End.
The mission of The Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender Community Center of Metropolitan St. Louis is to provide service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and ally community of St. Louis and its surrounding areas through education, outreach, healthy living and community building.
"I am honored to be President of the Board of the LGBT Center of Metropolitan St. Louis,” said Braxton. “We as a board have some new and exciting ideas to enchance the visibility of the center and make it accessable to everyone. We want the entire community to think of the center as "A Place To Call Home."
