GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE January 29, 2010

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Three new members join TransOhio board

by Shane Morgan

Columbus-Trans Ohio announced January 11 that Ohio residents Jacob Nash, Sarah Wagner and Melissa M. Alexander have been appointed to its board of directors.

The organization, which formed in 2005, is thrilled with these additions to its board, of directors. They each bring experience, expertise and perspective that are invaluable to the continued growth and success of TransOhio.

As TransOhio continues to grow and build its programs and services, it's vital to build a presence in several Ohio cities. Nash lives in Cleveland, Wagner is in Chillicothe and Alexander is in Columbus. Transgender people live all throughout the state, and it's difficult for some to travel to Columbus. Part of TransOhio's responsibility to its community is to make programs and services accessible to all of the Ohio transgender community.

Jacob Nash is the former executive director of Transfamily of Cleveland. He is currently in the masters in psychology, diversity management specialization program at Cleveland State University. Prior to TransFamily, he worked for the law office of

Smith Bernabei & Co., L.P.A. as a legal assistant. He has traveled extensively throughout Ohio and neighboring states to speak with legislators about the importance of inclusive language in civil rights bills.

He has worked directly with Cleveland City Council to include gender identity into the city's non-discrimination policy as well as incorporating the domestic partner registry in Cleveland in 2009. Nash is a board member of the northeast Ohio chapter of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education network as well as actively involved with the Cleveland LGBT Center, People of All Colors Together, Equality Ohio, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality, P-FLAG T-Net and the Human Rights Campaign.

Sarah Wagner is co-facilitator of the TransOhio Partners' Discussion Group. She is the wife of a male-to-female transgender person. Wagner served on TransOhio's planning committee for the second annual Transgender and Ally Symposium, held last August at Capital Law School. She is a lifelong resident of Ohio and currently resides in Chillicothe with her spouse, Jennifer, and their four children. She is currently

pursuing a specialized degree of her own creation, Gender Research, with the help of the faculty at Ohio University. Wagner has spoken to various groups about transgender issues, including her own experiences and observations as a partner.

Melissa M. Alexander works as a meeting and event planner as well as an adjunct faculty instructor for several Ohio community and technical colleges. Prior to her work in this field and her teaching, she practiced employment and labor law for twenty years in West Virginia. She has been admitted to practice in West Virginia and Kentucky as well as several federal courts. In addition to her work with TransOhio, Wagner is active with the National Center for Transgender Equality and Equality Ohio.

TransOhio serves the Ohio transgender and ally communities by providing services, education, support and advocacy which promotes and improves the health, safety and life experience of the Ohio transgender individual and community. More information on the organization's work is available at www.transohio.org.

Shane Morgan is the founder of Trans Ohio.

Sen. Brown to address Akron fund

by Chris Hixson

Akron-U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Gay Community

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Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation. This year's meeting will be held Sunday, January 31 at the Akron Art Museum at 1 South High Street.

Donors, supporters and friends are invited to attend the event, which will celebrate the Fund's recent $100,000 grant-making milestone and introduce its 2009 grant recipients.

The annual meeting will begin at 2 p.m. with hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the grand lobby of the museum. A program featuring Sen. Brown will follow at 3 pm in Lehner Auditorium.

Brown was elected in 2006 after serving six terms as a representative to Congress for Ohio's 13th District and two terms as Ohio secretary of state. Brown is strong advocate for equal rights for LGBT Americans. He was one of the few representatives to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 and was an original cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Prevention Act. Brown is also a sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and scored 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Equality Index for the 109th and 108th Congress.

He lives in Avon, Ohio, with his wife, Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-

winning Plain Dealer columnist and past Fund keynote speaker.

Following the program, guests will enjoy dessert and be among the first to experience the museum's new exhibition, "Pattern ID." The exhibit features 15 artists of diverse origins who use pattern and dress to illustrate the powerful visual connections between themselves, their histories and their audiences. The artists cross generational and geographic boundaries to reveal various influences on their cultural, gender, ethnic and sexual identities.

Tickets to the annual event are $30 each and may be purchased at www.gaycommunityfund.org or by calling 330-376-8522. Tickets are not tax deductible.

Founded in 2001, the Gay Community Endowment Fund is a permanent philanthropic endowment of Akron Community Foundation. It supports programs that positively impact the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community of greater Akron. In 2009, the fund awarded eight grants totaling nearly $30,000. The fund has reinvested a total of $101,242 in the community since its inception.

Chris Hixson is the chair of the Gay Community Endowment Fund of the Akron Community Foundation.

Enjoy a Flats Mardi Gras

by Barbara Ragon

Cleveland-Join the North Coast Men's Chorus for its Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, February 13 at Windows on the River. The event will not only be a night to remember, but will also benefit the North Coast Men's Chorus, Bellefaire JCB and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Enveloped within the city's dazzling downtown lights, you will dine on fine Bourbon Street cuisine. The evening includes a performance by the North Coast Men's Chorus, directed by Richard Cole, live and silent auctions, a Mystery Mardi Gras Mask Wall, and

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a king and queen will be crowned for the best costumes. Enjoy all the traditions of Mardi Gras, including throwing beads, tossing golden coins and much, much more.

So, ditch the dreary winter blues and head toward Cleveland's Windows on the River in the Powerhouse, 2000 Sycamore Ave. in the west Flats, for some hot New Orleans style fun. Admission is only $50 per person.

For reservations or more information see www.ncmchorus.org or call 216-556-0590.

Barbara Ragon is the interim executive director of the North Coast Men's Chorus.

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