Business Council
The HRC Business Council was founded in 1997 to support the Human Rights Campaign's goal of creating an America where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are ensured of basic equal rights — and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. While not necessarily serving as official representatives of their companies, members provide expert advice and counsel on LGBT workplace issues based on their business experience and knowledge.
John K. Barry
VP, Relationship Manager for Pensions, Endowments and FoundationsJ.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Chicago, Illinois
Barry is a vice president and relationship manager for Pensions, Endowments and Foundations for J.P. Morgan in Chicago. He also heads the firm’s LGBT employee resource network, PRIDE, in Chicago and formerly headed up both the NY and Global Steering Committees (with locations in 18 cities, including two in Britain).
Barry was a founding member of Chase’s employee resource network in New York in 1998, then organized the merging of nine LGBT groups in different cities across the firm the following year into a single organization. He also merged J.P. Morgan’s LGBT group with Chase’s when those two firms merged in 2000 and did the same with Banc One’s LGBT group when they merged in 2004.
He has worked with or volunteered for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), GenderPAC and the Hetrick Martin Institute, and is involved with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. He is also a member of the Financial & Securities Industry Exchange (FSIX), an LGBT professional organization and has spoken at the Reaching Out MBA conferences in Chicago and New York.
In 2002, Barry attended UCLA’s Anderson School of Management LGBT Leadership Institute. He holds a master’s of business administration from Loyola University in Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Vanessa Benavides
Senior Counsel
Tenet Healthcare
Dallas, Texas
Vanessa Benavides is Senior Counsel for Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a publicly traded company that owns and operates acute care hospitals and related ancillary health care businesses. Ms. Benavides handles regulatory matters for Tenet, counseling hospitals regarding compliance with the myriad of healthcare laws and regulations.
Prior to joining Tenet, Ms. Benavides was Legal Counsel for Caremark, a Fortune 100 pharmacy benefit management company and began her career in private practice as a member of the Health Care Practice Group with the law firm of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell in Dallas, Texas.
Ms. Benavides serves on the Steering Committee for the Human Rights Campaign in Dallas, Texas as Co-Chair of the Work Place Equality Subcommittee and previously served in various capacities on the Dallas Fort Worth Federal Club Governing Committee and Advisory Committee from 2003-2006. Ms. Benavides is currently a member of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Advisory Council on Diversity; a member of the Advisory Board of Youth First Texas; and is the past General Counsel to the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Texas.
Ms. Benavides received her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law. Prior to law school, she received her B.A. in Spanish and Communication Studies from Vanderbilt University.
Charles A. Berardesco
Senior Vice President and General CounselConstellation Energy Group Inc.
Baltimore, Maryland
Charles A. Berardesco serves as Constellation Energy's Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer. He has primary responsibility for the company's legal strategies and policies, including corporate governance, legal compliance and ethics, corporate finance activities, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation. Charlie formerly served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, a position he held since September 2006. He joined Constellation Energy in January 2003 as Associate General Counsel and was appointed Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary in 2005.
Prior to joining Constellation Energy, Charlie had practiced law for nearly 20 years, both in-house and with law firms. He served as Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Fusura, a consortium of AIG, Kemper and Prudential, and Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of HCIA, a publicly held health care information company. He was Counsel with the national law firm of Piper Rudnick (now DLA Piper), where he focused on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, and a partner in the law firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, where he chaired the firm's corporate department and served as a member of its executive committee.
Charlie is also active in a number of charitable organizations, including having served as Chairman of the Board of the Woodbourne Center, President of the Presbyterian Home of Maryland, Chair of the Church Council of Foundry United Methodist Church and a member of the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.
Charlie received his Juris Doctor (with high honors) in 1983 from The George Washington University, where he was the Managing Editor of The George Washington Law Review, and his Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) in 1980 from Duke University.
Richard P. Clark
Director of Finance, Communications and Technology MarketsAccenture Ltd.
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Richard P. Clark is Senior Managing Director – Investor Relations, responsible for developing the strategy and programs to maintain Accenture’s relations and communications with its shareholders and the broader investment community. Mr. Clark is part of the number one ranked IR team by Institutional Investor annual survey of both the sectors equity analyst and institutional investors.
Clark has extensive financial and operations experience, having held executive positions in several of Accenture’s business areas. Prior to being named to his current position in May 2006, Clark was Director of Finance for Accenture’s Communications & High Tech operating group, the largest of Accenture’s five operating groups. In that position Clark was responsible for formulating and executing financial short- and long-term growth strategies and for interactions with clients, finance employees, members of the investment community and Accenture’s Executive Leadership Team. Clark also served as Director of Finance for Accenture’s Resources operating group.
Clark joined Accenture in 1984 and was promoted to partner in 2001.
A certified public accountant, Clark holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in Public Administration from Stonehill College in Massachusetts and a master’s degree with honors in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Wesley Combs
PresidentWiteck-Combs Communications
Washington, District of Columbia
Wesley Combs is president and co-founder of Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc., the nation's premier public relations and marketing firm specializing in developing strategies for companies looking to reach the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) consumer market. Current and past clients include IBM, Aetna, Marriott, and American Airlines.
Combs has more than twenty years experience in marketing, strategic planning, market research and training, and communications in the private and non-profit sectors. Before launching his own company, Wes worked as a marketing executive with IBM and was a member of the HRC Board of Governors from 1991 to 1993. He currently serves as a member of the Human Rights Campaign's Business Council, as well as a member of the board of the National Organization for Diversity in Sales and Marketing.
American Demographics Magazine also named Wes and Bob two of the 25 most influential people in the past 25 years in the field of market research for their work quantifying the GLBT market. Together with his business partner Bob Witeck, Combs wrote the first business book on marketing to the GLBT market entitled "Business Inside Out: Tapping Millions of Brand-Loyal Gay Consumers" (Kaplan Publishing, September 2006).
Troup Coronado
Vice President, External Affairs - Los Angeles
AT&T Inc.
Los Angeles, California
In March 2008, Troup Coronado was appointed by AT&T as Vice President, External Affairs –Los Angeles. In this position, he is responsible for external, governmental, and charitable affairs in the cities of Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Malibu, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood, California. He is also the company’s lead executive in managing relationships with national LGBT organizations.
In March 2007, Troup Coronado was appointed by AT&T as Executive Director of Constituency Relations based in San Francisco. He was responsible for managing AT&T’s external statewide relationships with the Hispanic, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT), Native American, Small Business, and Consumer Education communities. He was also responsible for managing AT&T’s California’s employee networking groups.
Troup joined AT&T in January 2007 as Senior Director, Federal Relations in their Washington government affairs office. In this position, he was one of the company's principal representatives to the House Members of Congress.
Prior to AT&T, Troup joined BellSouth Corporation in May 2001 as Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations in their governmental affairs office. He also held the position of Director of Government Relations with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc, where he was Sinclair's link to the U.S. Congress. Troup advised and counseled corporate officers on federal legislation concerning the broadcast television industry.
Troup has held various positions on Capitol Hill as well. On two occasions he worked for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Office of the Chairman, Senator Orrin G. Hatch. Prior to that position, he served as a Law Clerk for the Committee and on the personal staff of Senator Hatch.
Troup is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), Equality California (EQCA),“Pets Are a Wonderful Support” (PAWS), the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, (GMCLA), AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), and the Los Angeles City College Foundation. In 2008, he served as the “Executive Chair” of the San Francisco GLAAD “Media Awards” event. In 2006, he was named a "Legal Rising Star" by the Washington chapter of the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Troup received his Juris Doctorate from Notre Dame Law School. He also earned a B.A. degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a native of San Antonio, Texas and resides in Los Angeles, California.
Elaine DeCanio
Region ManagerShell Oil Co.
Houston, Texas
Elaine DeCanio was born and brought up just South of London, England. She came to the United States to go to graduate school, getting her MS from Texas A&M and her PhD from Wesleyan University, CT., both in Chemistry. She has spent her twenty-year career working in refinery and fuels research and technical support for Texaco and Shell, moving to Shell when Texaco and Shell joint ventured in 1998. She is currently working on a team that has been chartered to develop and implement a global, cross-business competence development framework to support new engineers coming into Shell.
She has served on the Westhollow Technology site and the Shell/Texaco JV’s diversity councils, and is on the Steering Committee of SeaShell (the GLBT employee group at Shell.) For several years Elaine volunteered for the United Way of Dutchess County, NY. And more recently for various organizations in Houston: AssistHers, an organization offering help to home bound women, UnCommon Legacy which raises money for college scholarships for Lesbians, the Houston HRC Federal Club Committee, and HERA (Houston Equal Rights Alliance.)
Jorge Farias
Managing DirectorNovations Group Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
Jorge Farías has over twenty-six years of professional experience including management consulting, executive coaching, client services and training delivery. He has worked in business, not-for-profit, and educational environments. He begin his career with J. Howard & Associates (now Novations Group Inc.) fifteen years ago. His responsibilities have spanned from the classroom, to the c-suite, to the marketplace. He has had a series of responsibilities within Novations from facilitating a broad range of training programs, to consulting in many organizations across industries, to managing a training team of over 30 people located across the country, to sales responsibilities, to providing professional coaching, to sitting on the leadership team of Novations. He has done extensive work with executives, managers and individual contributors in Fortune 500 companies. He is also no stranger to addressing large groups on the topics of diversity and inclusion, management effectiveness and personal development. He is presently Managing Director and continues to be involved in many of the same activities stated above.
Prior to joining Novations in 1993, Dr. Farías taught graduate-level courses in the area of ethics. He is an accomplished lecturer, facilitator and consultant versed in career transition, personal and professional development, corporate diversity/inclusion, sales, client services, executive coaching, and leadership effectiveness.
Jorge has assisted numerous individuals, groups and organizations in increasing their effectiveness through a variety of intervention strategies. As a consultant he has helped organizations in aligning corporate policies with inclusion plans. As a consultant he has assisted leaders in understanding the business case for diversity and creating concrete and effective implementation strategies. As a coach he has assisted individuals in maneuvering successfully through the organization by developing strategies to maximize momentum and leverage influence skills. As Director of Client Services he has helped client organizations determine diversity and inclusion needs, create effective solutions to these, and avoid common mistakes and obstacles in implementation of D&I initiatives.
Jorge is fluent in English and Spanish and in addition to working across the U.S., he has also worked with individuals, groups and organizations in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, England, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain and Venezuela.
Troy Greenstreet
Senior Group ManagerPepsiCo Inc.
Purchase, New York
Troy Greenstreet is a Senior Group Manager at PepsiCo. He spearheaded the drive for GLBT inclusion throughout PepsiCo, by working with senior management to add sexual orientation to the corporate Equal Employment Opportunity statement and to secure domestic partner benefits across PepsiCo. Troy is a founding member of the EQUAL employee network at PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division. EQUAL is PepsiCo’s GLBT employee resource group.
Troy has been a member of the PepsiCo EQUAL Leadership Team since 2002. In this role, he helps ensure PepsiCo continues to strengthen their GLBT networks, while affirming the company’s diversity and inclusion agenda. PepsiCo received 100% with HRC’s Corp. Equality Index in 2004.
Troy is a 2005 recipient of The Harvey C. Russell Award, part of PepsiCo’s Chairman’s Award, which honors those who have distinguished themselves as truly extraordinary in their efforts to help PepsiCo further its goal to build a diverse and inclusive culture.
Prior to working for PepsiCo, Troy worked for Deloitte & Touche, where he was a member of the steering committee that added sexual orientation to the corporate Equal Employment Opportunity statement as well as secured domestic partner benefits.
Troy has served on the DFW Federal Club Governing Committee and the DFW Major Donor Committee of the Human Rights Campaign. Troy and his partner Brent Willmott live in Dallas and are currently HRC House Council members, as well as Lambda Legal Liberty Circle members.
John P. Isa
Associate, Employment DepartmentPaul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Washington, District of Columbia
John P. Isa represents employers in all aspects of employment law. His clients include domestic and international companies in the retail, insurance, healthcare, banking, technology and hospitality industry. Isa defends employers in class actions as well as single plaintiff/multiple plaintiff cases under Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. He also represents employers before government agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor. He conducts workplace investigations that include, but are not limited to, harassment and discrimination based on sex, race, disability, pregnancy, age and sexual orientation. Isa has handled many sensitive internal racial and sexual harassment cases.
Isa frequently counsels and trains employers on their compliance with federal, state and local laws as well as internal employment policies, employee handbooks and benefit plans. He also advises employers on diversity best practices and the implementation of related initiatives. While at Paul Hastings, Isa represented and worked on-site and in-house for two years at the headquarters of a major Fortune 5 client in their legal department where he counseled and advised on employment matters and litigation prevention. Before practicing law, Isa served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Glenn T. Harrell, Jr. in the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the state’s highest court. During law school, he clerked full-time for the General Counsel of the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund in Alexandria, Virginia.
John received his JD, cum laude, from the Washington College of Law at American University. Prior to law school, he received his MA in International Commerce & Policy, summa cum laude, and his BA in International Studies, with honors, from George Mason University.
John currently serves on the Board of Governors and House Council for the Human Rights Campaign and he was recently co-chair for their 25th Anniversary Gala.
Emily Jones
Eastman Kodak Co. (Retired)Rochester, New York
Emily Jones retired from Eastman Kodak Company as Director of Imaging Materials Research in January of 2005 after completing 29 years of service in the R&D community. Emily was a member of the founding steering committee that launched the GLBT Network at Kodak in 1992. In 1995, along with Kathryn Rivers she co-chaired the First Educational Event for Senior Management on GLBT issues. She was a member of the design committee for the first GLBT institute at UCLA and a graduating member of the first class. She is the Past-President of the Board of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley of Rochester, NY and is a member of the Finger Lakes LGBT Workplace Alliance Steering Committee and is a board member of the Rochester Chapter of GLSEN. Ms Jones is co-chair of the 2008 ESPA Spring Dinner. She has presented at Out & Equal on marketing to the GLBT Community and how to effect change in corporate policy. In 2006, she received the Outie Trailblazer Award at the Out and Equal Conference in Chicago. At the national level, she recently stepped down as co-chair of the Business Council of the Human Rights Campaign championing the most respected measure of GLBT diversity in the workplace, the Corporate Equality Index.
J. Kevin Jones, Jr.
Deputy DirectorOut & Equal Workplace Advocates
San Francisco, California
Kevin Jones is the Deputy Director of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates in San Francisco, a role he began in February of 2009.
Prior to joining the staff, Kevin worked for nearly 25 years in the corporate world, most recently as a Managing Director for Citigroup in New York City. During his 11 years at Citigroup that Kevin co-founded the company's national and Metro NYC Pride employee resource groups and worked closely with the Office of Workforce Diversity on numerous issues specific to LGBT equality. It was also during his time at Citigroup that Kevin began his relationship with Out & Equal that would include launching the Metro New York regional affiliate in 2001, serving on its Board of Directors (2003-2006), co-chairing the 2004 Workplace Summit in Tempe, Arizona, and co-chairing the Summit's Workshop Committee for five years. Kevin also co-chairs the Board of Directors of True Child, the only national organization helping all children – boys and girls – break through stereotypes and become their true selves.
Prior to relocating to the Bay Area, he was involved in many aspects of life at Christ Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey and is looking forward to connecting with fellow Episcopalians in the Diocese of California.
Kevin is originally from outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds JD, MBA and BA degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and is in a civil union (working on marriage) with his partner of over twelve years, Tony De Sousa.
Trish Jones
Senior Vice President, Strategic Audience Solutions
Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
Atlanta, Georgia
Trish Jones is Senior Vice President of Strategic Audience Solutions for Turner Broadcasting System Inc. Previously, Ms. Jones was Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Turner Broadcasting System International Inc. Ms. Jones managed TBS’ transactional, animation and music legal teams; she lead the Company’s privacy compliance team, and had primary responsibility for managing the day-to-day operations of the TBS Legal Department. She also served as the chief legal counsel for Turner’s international businesses.
Prior to joining Turner, Ms. Jones held both business and legal positions within The Coca-Cola Company. From 1998-2000, she served as Director of Business Planning within the Information Services Division of The Coca-Cola Company working closely with the Chief Information Officer to set and implement global information technology strategies and to structure business planning for the Information Services organizations of The Coca-Cola System worldwide. From 1996-1998, Ms. Jones served as Technology Counsel for Coke. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Ms. Jones was Senior Intellectual Property and International Counsel for Anacomp, Inc., an international Fortune 500 technology company. Ms. Jones began her legal career in private practice as a member of the Corporate & Technology Practice Group with the law firm of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ms. Jones is an avid advocate within her community for children’s issues and human right’s causes. She has a long-standing relationship with the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, a day shelter that provides comprehensive services and counseling for homeless families in Atlanta and is on the board of the Fulton County Children’s Advocacy Center, a public/private non-profit organization committed to addressing the comprehensive needs of neglected and abused children in Fulton County. Ms. Jones is a member of TBS’s Diversity Steering Council, serves on Turner’s Supplier Diversity Taskforce, and is the executive sponsor of TBS’s LGBT business resource group, TurnOut. Ms. Jones is also an active member of the Human Rights Campaign and Georgia Equality.
Susan King
Susan King is a Senior Vice President and a national subject matter expert for health care management programs and technology solutions and health care collaboratives within Aon. She is also leading Aon’s emerging consulting offerings on diversity and employee benefits focusing on health and finance. Susan has more than 20 years of consulting experience consulting in both employee benefits and HR administrative solutions. Her client project experience includes strategy, design and implementation of benefit programs designed to meet client’s unique needs. Overview of projects include: full replacement or optional consumer directed healthcare programs, integrated health care management programs with communications and reporting structures, implementation of integrated health and absence database, strategy and design of integrated disability and absence management programs, and overall project management for integrated consulting and outsourced administration projects across all benefit programs and HR functions. Susan has worked with clients spanning various industries, sizes and private/public domains. Some of her clients have included: The State of Vermont, University of Idaho, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Northrop-Grumman Corporation, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Valley Health System, AAR Corporation, and Tenneco Automotive. Susan graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Economics. She is also a member of SHRM.
Mark McLane
Director, Diversity & Inclusion
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
McLean, Virginia
Mark McLane is currently the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. McLane was previously with Whirlpool for five years, where he worked to develop and implement global corporate diversity strategies and initiatives that will effectively utilize the inherent differences within Whirlpool’s current and future workforce. These initiatives thereby aligned with the organization’s vision of assuring continued leadership in an increasingly competitive and global market.
As an integral human resources team member McLane had responsibility for ensuring that the talent pool process is consistent with the companies diversity strategies, he developed educational programs and curriculum for leaders and employees that facilitates understanding, behavioral expectations, company philosophy and diversity strategies. He examined and reports cultural norms within the organization that might have posed as barriers to the advancement of women and minorities and oversaw the organization’s community-based diversity and inclusion initiative.
Susan McManus
Associate Vice President, Internet
Nationwide Insurance
Columbus, Ohio
Susan McManus, Associate Vice President, Internet at Nationwide Insurance, has responsibility for www.NationwideInsurance.com and all
associated online sales and service applications. Under her leadership, www.NationwideInsurance.com has been ranked #1 insurance website by Dalbar, Inc. (2002); Most Usable Insurance Website by Kasina (2001); and ranked #2 best U.S. insurance carrier website by Gomez (2003). Additionally, her Electronic Business Intelligence (eBI) reporting and analysis group was awarded the Best Practice – Web Analytics Award by The Data Warehouse Institute (2002). She has spoken at numerous national conferences and has been featured in many insurance and technology magazines.
In the community, McManus serves on the Steering Committee for the Human Rights Campaign in Columbus, Ohio. McManus co-chaired the annual HRC Columbus Dinner in 2001, raising nearly $100,000. Beginning in mid-2001, she currently chairs the HRC Corporate Sponsor Committee, more than doubling corporate sponsor contributions from central Ohio in the first year and setting another new record in 2003.
In the academic arena, McManus designed and developed an executive education seminar for The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business in the fall of 2002 entitled, "Marketing Leadership: Capturing the Gay Market." The first offering of its kind at any major U.S. business school, the program drew over 150 participants from multiple states and received national attention.
She is a Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of Wittenberg University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science, and she earned a master’s degree in applied statistics from The Ohio State University.
Marc Nichols
Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel
Green Advantage
Frederick, Maryland
Marc A. Nichols, Esq., is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for Green Advantage. Nichols was most recently acting Executive Director for SB NOW, a community-based non-profit dedicated to building a more socially, environmentally, and financially sustainable local economy. While there he managed the creation and implementation of the organization’s Green Business Certification and Audit Program, a similar, though non-competitive, program to Green Advantage’s green building certification offerings. Prior experience includes Inspector General for the U.S. Government Printing Office and Vice President and General Counsel for Copper Irle LLC, an Oregon-based online financial services company where, among other roles, he established the legal department.
Nichols is the first COO and General Counsel for Green Advantage. His responsibilities include oversight of the organization’s overall operations, including their green building practitioner certification programs, their relationships with seat-based and online authorized training partners, as well as overseeing all community-building, marketing and communications functions. Nichols is also be responsible for all legal relationships and development of all required policies and partnerships.
Nichols is a member of the Washington, D.C., Colorado, and U.S. Supreme Court Bar. He holds a J.D. from the Washington and Lee University School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Wabash College. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Business Network of Washington and serves on the business council of the Human Rights Campaign. A U.S. citizen, Nichols has lived and/or worked in the U.K., Belgium, and Germany. 
Bryan Parsons
Manager, Strategy and Operations/Financial Services
Ernst & Young LLP
New York, New York
Bryan is a manager in Ernst & Young LLP’s audit and business advisory practice with specific focus on strategy and operations of the financial services group. He is responsible for quality and risk management initiatives relating to over 40 partners who service the New York and Boston areas’ financial market clients. In this unique roll at EY, Bryan concentrates on best practices development and implementation.
Prior to his current roll, Bryan spent over five years as an auditor in the Boston and New England market, serving primarily mutual and hedge fund clients. Additionally Bryan was part of EY’s campus recruiting group, working to build relationships and the reputation of the firm with students, faculty, and alumni at strategic college campuses within New England.
As a founding member of bEYond, EY’s LGBTA affinity group, Bryan serves on the firm’s international 20 person LGBTA Inclusiveness Steering Committee. During his tenure with bEYond, Bryan has been instrumental in changing firm policy with respect to overall LGBT Inclusiveness in the workplace, as well as the issues of: marriage recognition in Massachusetts, gender identity/expression, and transgender transition. Bryan leads national bEYond efforts with the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility group and sponsorship opportunities including EY’s relationship with HRC. Currently he is working with a team of senior EY leadership to explore the firm’s support of ENDA and the Tax Equity Act. Additionally Bryan was the co-creator of "Making it Real-Moving beyond corporate policy in the day-to-day lives of LGBT employees", a thought leadership report exploring how organizations change culture after changing policies.
Bryan is a member of New York’s Interbank Roundtable, F-SIX, Out Professionals, the AIPCA and the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. He was an active member and vice president of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, prior to relocating to New York.
Bryan received his BS Accountancy, magna cum laude, with a minor concentration in Government from Bentley College. He is a certified public accountant, licensed to practice both in the state of New York and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Keith Powell
Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer
KodakGallery
Concord, California
Keith Powell is currently the Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer of KodakGallery. Previously as Director and Vice President of Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis at Eastman Kodak Company he was responsible for corporate management reporting and analysis, financial reporting and analysis for the global functional and R&D areas, process improvement for the global functional areas, and coordinating the annual budgeting process and strategy analysis.
Keith joined Kodak in 2000 and has held a number of financial positions in the company, including Worldwide Finance Director for Kodak’s Global Capture Products Manufacturing, Manufacturing Services Organization and Global Equipment Manufacturing operations. He most recently served as Assistant to the Chairman and CEO. Keith is a past recipient of the Chairman’s Leadership Award at Eastman Kodak Company. Prior to joining Kodak, Keith worked at General Chemical Corp. and AlliedSignal/Honeywell in various financial positions throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Keith has an MBA in Finance from Indiana University and BS degrees in Finance and Business Management from Virginia Tech. A native of Virginia Beach, VA, Keith makes his home in East Rochester, New York. He is active in several Kodak employee networks and community organizations, with special interests in anti-bullying initiatives, adult and youth leadership development, education, and civil rights for all. Keith is a member of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and currently serves on the Business Council of New York State Board of Directors, the Junior Achievement of Rochester Board of Directors, the Human Rights Campaign National Business Council, GLSEN Rochester Board of Directors (Board Co-Chair), the Community Task Force on Bullying Prevention, the GLSEN National Advisory Council, and the Board of KodaPAC (Kodak’s political action committee). During his spare time, Keith enjoys gourmet cooking and baking, watching football and basketball, reading, and following politics.
Robb Puckett
Irving, Texas
Robb joined Citi in 1993 and is a senior analyst for Citi Employee Services. He is the former manager of diversity and inclusion within Citi’s consumer division and has held leadership positions in Citi Pride Network as co-chair of Citi Pride Network – US and Citi Pride Network – Dallas / Ft Worth. Robb began his corporate work around LGBT inclusion ten years ago when he founded the first LGBT employee resource group in one of the legacy Citi organizations and later co-founded the Citi Pride Network. His work included increasing LGBT visibility, changing discrimination policies, and providing professional development opportunities for its members.
Robb is an active member of the Dallas LGBT community and is serving in his second term on the HRC DFW Steering Committee as Co-Chair of the Workplace Equality Committee. Additionally he as served on the board of directors for the Dallas Gay & Lesbian Alliance and Youth First Texas, and is a founding member of the North Texas Chapter of Out & Equal and the North Texas Diversity Council. Robb has done workshop facilitation on LGBT topics at the Texas Diversity Conference, the University of North Texas, and Out & Equal. Robb and Chuck, his partner of twelve years, live in the heart of Dallas with their two dogs and hope to adopt a child in 2009.
Robert E. Shook III
Business Development Executive
Global Market Strategist, Linux and Open Source Middleware
IBM Software Group
Austin, Texas
Rob leads the development and coordination of IBM's global market strategy for IBM Middleware running on Linux and Open Source software platforms.
Previously, he led the expansion of IBM's sales to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) market in Asia/Pacific, and the sales of IBM's Human Capital Management solutions to customers around the world. Prior to that role, he was a project executive for IBM's Product Lifecycle Management work on the US Navy's DD(x) next-generation naval destroyer program. From 2000 - 2003, Rob was the executive leader of a worldwide team that managed the Passport Advantage program, the means by which customers of all sizes purchase IBM software products in volume. Rob's twenty-year career with IBM has provided a variety of work assignments from New York to Florida to New Hampshire, and from Sydney to London. Austin remains "home".
Since 1993, Rob has been actively involved in a corporation-wide diversity task force, addressing issues important to IBM's GLBT employees. IBM announced domestic partner benefits for its US employees in September, 1996 and added "sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression" to its global nondiscrimination policy in 2003.
Rob, his partner, their Labrador, and their guinea pig live in Texas. He is an active member of Mensa, a Freemason, and is raising his sixth puppy for the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind. He serves on the board of directors for his community, and when away from the office enjoys working with photography. He is a licensed real estate agent in Texas.
Meghan Stabler
Director & Strategist, Worldwide Marketing
BMC Software Inc.
Houston, Texas
Meghan Stabler is a Global Strategic Marketing Executive for BMC Software; a $7bn technology company where she helps develop and drive BMC’s industry strategy and messaging. As a spokesperson to industry and media Meghan has also been a constant presenter in BMC’s executive briefing centers as well as conferences worldwide. She was formerly the head of sales and business development at IT Masters before leading it’s eventual sale to BMC. She spent six years at Computer Associates as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and led several of CA’s business units including research & development, marketing, channels and strategic alliances. After an impressive 25 years leadership in I.T, she took on her toughest challenge and transitioned openly in the workplace at BMC Software. At BMC she helped establish understanding, communication and policies within the company to support global diversity and credits her co-workers and company DNA culture for LGBT support throughout the company.
Meghan is a past board member to the National & International Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
She currently serves on the board for: AIDS Foundation Houston; Human Right Campaign’s National Business Council; HRC Steering Committees of both Houston & Austin; Pres. Obama’s National LGBT Policy Committee; AETNA Healthcare GLBT Advisory Board; PRIDE Houston Board and Out and Equal Workplace Advocate’s Conference Committee.
As a nationally recognized spokesperson and activist Meghan has appeared globally on the television, radio and print media representing a number of industry and board related issues. Meghan has used her no-nonsense approach to advise a number of international governments, including members of the US Senate and House of Representatives. In June 2008 she submitted written testimony to Congress on Transgender Workplace issues.
Chuck Stephens
Atlanta, Georgia
Chuck has been with the Deloitte U.S. Firms for over eight years having focused on serving global clients in the areas of process improvement and systems implementations. Currently, he is a member of the National Diversity & Inclusion Center where he is responsible for managing the organization’s Business Resource Groups and delivering the Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Connectivity, networking, and professional development are core focus areas in serving his clients. He supports the businesses’ leadership and U.S. based professionals in helping make the Deloitte U.S. Firms a place "Where the Best Choose to Be."
Additionally, Chuck is active within the Atlanta community supporting the arts and civil rights. He is a member of the Human Rights Campaign National Board of Governor’s and Business Council advising corporate America on GLBT inclusivity.
Atticus Tysen
Vice President, Product Development
Intuit Inc.
Mountain View, California
Atticus Tysen joined Intuit in January of 2002 to create and lead Intuit’s patent program. In this role, he created the current patent incentive program, worked with inventors across Intuit to file invention disclosures, and built a robust process for protecting Intuit’s intellectual property. He then became Director of New Technology and added responsibility for working with external standards bodies and driving awareness of new technologies across Intuit. In December of 2003, he took a one-year personal leave of absence to work on a farm and remodeling project in northern Michigan and returned in February of 2004 to become the Product Management Leader for the Small Business Division. In this role, he drove overall product strategy, jointly leading the offering creation process with Pankaj Shukla, the Product Development Leader, was responsible for self-service help methods, and was the functional leader for Product Management. He is currently the Vice President of Product Development for the QuickBooks Connected Group, leading the technical teams delivering QuickBooks, Point of Sale and related hosted services such as Customer Manager and Business Intelligence. Atticus is also the executive sponsor of Intuit Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual employee resource group.
Prior to Intuit, Atticus worked for Aveo, Inc. as the vice president of engineering where he set overall technical direction and lead product development, program management, quality engineering, and information systems groups to build and deliver proactive tech support and messaging systems for personal computer manufacturers such as Dell and Gateway. Prior to Aveo, he worked as a software engineering manager for OCTel creating visual mailbox software for voicemail access from personal computers. Prior to OCTel, he worked at Apple Computer as a software engineer on PowerTalk, AppleMail, and the Digital Signature Toolbox. Atticus earned a BS in Computer Science from Stanford University.
David Wilson
Diversity Consultant
AKConsulting Services Inc.
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
David Wilson is the only child of African American parents, born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from Northeastern University with a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Business Administration, he began a 30-year career with Verizon Communications. As an Assistant Vice President, he managed union and non-union employees responsible for providing telecommunications services to residential and business customers throughout the New England Region.
As a parent, grandparent and out gay man, David has been an active member of the Gay and Lesbian community for over 15 years. He is a former President of the Board of Directors of Men of Color Against AIDS and the Greater Boston Business Council, one of the largest Gay and Lesbian Chambers of Commerce in the United States. He currently serves on the MassEquality Board as Vice-Chair and the National Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign. David and his partner, Rob Compton, were one of the seven same-sex couples that sued the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the right to marry in the Goodridge vs. The Department of Health. The case was settled in favor of the seven plaintiff couples by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on 11/18/03 opening the door for David and Rob to be one of the first same-sex couples in the United States to legally marry on 5/17/04.
David currently is a consultant specializing in race, gender and GLBT diversity training. His client base includes corporate, non-profit and community based organizations offering local, state-wide and national diversity training programs.
Helga Ying
Director Worldwide Govt. Affairs & Public Policy
Levi Strauss & Co.
San Francisco, California
Helga Ying is Director of Worldwide Government Affairs and Public Policy at Levi Strauss & Co.
In her position, Helga is the principal advisor and strategist for LS&CO. on government affairs and public policy. Her responsibilities include international trade and labor, corporate citizenship and human rights, brand protection (intellectual property rights), and other issues that promote LS&CO.’s business success and social responsibility.
Helga is LS&CO.’s chief lobbyist before all governmental bodies. She represents LS&CO. as an advisor to the U.S. government (Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Textiles and Apparel (ITAC-13) representative), the Vice Chairperson of the Government Relations Committee of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), and as a member of the Board of Directors for the California Council for International Trade (CCIT). She is also a member of the Human Rights Campaign’s Business Council.
Prior to joining LS&CO., Helga served for four years as Program Manager and then Director of Member Services at Business for Social Responsibility. At BSR, she advised member companies on a range of corporate social responsibility issues, including community involvement, global and strategic philanthropy, human rights, volunteerism, and workplace diversity.
Helga was a member of Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s staff, as a legislative assistant both in the Foreign Policy office and on the Labor and Human Resources Committee from 1993-1996. She also served for two years as an Associate Buyer for Dayton-Hudson Department Store Company.
Helga holds an M.A. in International Relations and Economics from The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Macalester College. She was also a Fulbright Scholar in Germany, studying business management and labor relations in 1989-1990.
Helga lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, with her husband Jonah Levy and their three children.
Betty Young
Director, Diverse Segment Marketing
AMR Corp. (American Airlines)
Fort Worth, Texas
A native of Dallas Texas, Betty Young, is a seasoned employee at American Airlines, where she began her career as a reservations agent in 1989. Through years of excellence in service at American, Betty was promoted throughout the company, where she now serves in her most recent appointment as National Sales and Marketing Manager for the Rainbow TeAAm - the first-ever LGBT sales and marketing group created in a Fortune 500 company. At American, Young has held positions as Meeting Planner in Passenger Sales as well as Sales Manager for the CorporateAAcces.com product.
Young is known throughout American Airlines for her enthusiasm and dedication both to the company and to her customers. In her previous position as Sales Manager, she excelled in the implementation, growth and sales of the very popular CorporateAAcces.com product, by using incentive campaigns and other intuitive and creative approaches. Her success is attributed to accomplishments in training American’s entire sales force, building an advocate awareness program, delivering effective presentations to corporate accounts, and managing relationships with her many customers.
As a valuable member of American Airlines’ Global Sales Department, Betty promoted a variety of travel products including AAirpass, Incentive Certificates and the UATP card program. Her in-depth knowledge of these travel products will be invaluable to the many gay and lesbian community groups and national and local organizations that she now serves.
Year round, Betty Young works closely with LGBT community leaders and organizations to earn their business and their trust, while serving as one of corporate America’s most respected bridges to the community. Through her leadership and others at American Airlines, the company has maintained a perfect 100% ranking on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) since its inception – a record for citizenship unmatched by any other airline in the nation.
Betty resides in Fort Worth, Texas with her partner of 9 years and their two children – a 14 year old son, and 15 year old daughter. Four Italian Greyhounds complete their family.