Michael Grosberg (he/him/his) re-joined the Board of DVLF in March 2021. As a committed champion of the community, Michael believes in the enduring mission of DVLF as a convener of LGBT philanthropy, and sees fostering community-based charitable giving as a moral imperative of his generation. His engagement with DVLF spans more than a decade, including 8 years as Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee. In his previous term of service, Michael led key initiatives to modernize DVLF's operations, including financial and donor management systems, as well as branding, strategic planning, and capacity-building projects. In rejoining DVLF, he is looking forward to driving towards the organization's strategic goals and building a $5M endowment by 2025.

Michael brings to DVLF extensive experience in analytics and strategic business performance management. He is currently Director of Product Management for Model N, a revenue management software vendor for life sciences and high-tech manufacturers, and was previously with Deloitte & Touche LLP in a similar role. Michael holds a Master of Public Management in Information Technology degree and a Bachelor of Science in Statistics degree, both from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Michael and his husband are recently married and split time between Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Philadelphia.

Karl Michelfelder joins the DVLF board after over ten years of working with the organization in various capacities, namely volunteering DJ services for the annual TOY fundraiser for the past ten years, and more recently serving on various DVLF event planning committees to help market and produce the organization’s annual fundraisers. Karl grew up in Bucks County and moved to Center City when he began Temple University at age 19. Karl has, since the age of about 18, worked as a DJ for nightclubs and events around the country, traveling for most of the 2000’s entertaining diverse crowds all over the U.S. and Mexico. After the industry calmed, Karl stayed active locally as a DJ for just about every major nightclub in the city, shifting focus to LGBTQ+ venues in order to get in better touch with his community. But always moving, Karl always maintained full-time work building creative, effective marketing campaigns for varied industries - including LGBTQ+ publishing, online dating, restaurants, and most recently moving on to HealthCare IT marketing and demand generation for NextGen Healthcare. More recently, Karl moved to the IT side and works with Duane Morris LLP.

Through his connection to the Philadelphia LGBTQ+ community, Karl has over the years volunteered for numerous charitable organizations, including DVLF, Mazzoni Center, AIDS Fund, Philly Pride, Morris Animal Refuge, and William Way Community Center. Karl is excited to join this dynamic group who care deeply about providing for the emerging needs of the LGBTQ+ community in the Delaware Valley. Karl also serves on the board for Jazmine’s Fund, an organization dedicated to breaking down barriers to mental health care for underserved communities.

William (Bill) Leffler joined the DVLF Board of Directors in March of 2018 possessing a background in culinary arts and management.  He has an extensive history in hotels, restaurants, corporate services and healthcare settings both in Washington, DC and Philadelphia. Originally from Lexington, Kentucky,
Bill moved from DC to Philadelphia for work in 2012. 

Bill brings with him many years of experience on volunteer boards and in philanthropy.  He has been a Director for 2 homeowner associations as President, Vice President and Treasurer.  He has been a strong advocate of the American Heart Association by actively facilitating and fundraising for their annual
HeartChase event.

Bill champions a workplace environment of acceptance and equity for all LGBTQ+ and ally team members through employee engagement, community involvement, education and awareness. He is an active member of the Aramark PRIDE employee resource group; and has sat on many Hospital Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion Councils.

Clay worked in public sector administrative positions for over 20 years. After retiring as Director of Public Services and Human Resources for the Atlanta-Fulton County Library System, Clay worked for the Washington, D.C. branch of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Throughout his career, he has worked to provide programs and services to disadvantaged and marginalized communities. Clay has since moved on from public sector positions into the corporate world and he is now the Vice President of Micro Logic, Inc.

Clay brings with him a dedication to the LGBTQ community having worked to raise funds for numerous LGBTQ+ organizations. He completed a B.A. in Journalism and History from Louisiana State University and a Masters in Library
and Information Science from Clark Atlanta University. In addition, he recently completed DE&I certification from Stanford University.

Chase Wright joined the Board in 2020 and currently serves as Secretary. Chase is an attorney practicing in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracting, and general corporate law. Chase earned his Juris Doctor from the Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law, where he served on the Penn State Law Review. Chase has continuously served on LGBTQ+ focused non-profit boards since 2016 and currently also serves on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association.

Dr. James T. Wright, Jr. was born in Yonkers, NY and he was raised and educated in NJ where he graduated from Linden High School.  He attended Howard University in Washington, DC majoring in Chemistry.  After graduating magna cum laude, James received a National Science Foundation Fellowship to fund his graduate education studying computational chemistry at UCLA and physical organic chemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA where he earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry.  

During his career, James worked at Georgia-Pacific Corp as a Sr Manager in R&D, at Arclin as Director of Technology, at EcoSynthetix as VP of R&D and at Evertree North America as CEO.  Today Dr. James T. Wright, Jr. is the Vice President of Business and a Technology at Arclin USA.  As VP, he leads all commercial activities, research and development efforts focused on Arclin’s chemical sales.  With his extensive industrial experience and chemical industry network, James serves as a leader on the Arclin Leadership Team.  

Among James’ many honors are scholarships, professional scientific awards and over 35 patents.  James has volunteered at many organizations mainly focused on education, healthcare and supporting families.  He attributes his success to hard work, access to education, and a loving family.

Gloria is Counsel to the Asset Management Group at PNC in Philadelphia, where she focuses on investment management and securities matters for the individual wealth and institutional lines of business. Prior to joining PNC, Gloria served as a judicial law clerk to a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Jersey. Gloria is Vice President of PNC Proud, the LGBTQ+ Employee Business Resource Group at PNC. A member of the PNC Legal Dept.’s D&I Council, Gloria is Chair of the Summer Intern Committee and supports the Council’s commitment to promoting diversity in the legal community by managing approximately 6 diverse legal interns each summer. In addition, she Co-Chairs the Mentorship Committee of GALLOP, Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association. Gloria was selected by the National LGBT Bar Association as one of the “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 – Class of 2019.” With this award, the LGBT Bar honors outstanding LGBT legal professionals who have distinguished themselves in their field and demonstrated a profound commitment to LGBT equality. Gloria received her B.A. from Rowan University and her J.D. from Rutgers Law School in 2015. She is a member of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania state bars.

Sappho Fulton She/Her/Hers. C.E.O. Of Sappho and LaRoyce Foundation.  Community leader and activist she continues to work effortlessly on issues of domestic violence and developing effective intervention strategies specific but not limited to LBTQ WOMXN of Color. She serves in our community as a life coach and business consultant. She will be co creating Philadelphia’s first Black LGBTQ + and Juneteenth 20/20.

Kina Beltran is a healthcare information technology professional who oversees the day to day operations of Ambulatory Information Systems as the Ambulatory Lead for Inspira Health Network.  She provides ongoing process improvement, risk assessment, and mitigation plans while analyzing business/clinical needs and is also skilled in developing and maintaining effective relationships to provide an in-depth analysis of best practice application processes. Kina has a graduate certificate in Healthcare Informatics and is currently pursuing her MBA.  During her undergrad, she was the president of the African American Club and also volunteered with the Gay Straight Alliance at Rowan University and for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Christopher Barrett Politan is the principal of Give, Get, Grow - a Philanthropic Advisory and non-profit Consulting firm. His work seeks to provide insight, counsel, and implementation-based strategy for creating sustainable, innovative, and deeply engaged organizations throughout the sector. His client focus has been within organizations working on cultural, LGBTQ, environmental, and health concerns. Within the LGBTQ community, he has worked with a number of national and international LGBTQ organizations including:  National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, SAGE, Ali Forney Center, Anti-Violence Project, Immigration Equality, The Legacy Project, Northalsted, and OutRight Action International. 

Additionally, he has been honored to serve on the boards of The Legacy Project, Chicago House and Social Service Agency, and the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Association (IGLA). He presently serves as a Board member and Strategic Planning Chairperson of Chicago Dancemakers Forum an organization providing annual unrestricted grants to choreographers and Dancemakers in Chicago.

A life-long competitive swimmer, Christopher coached masters athletes in Washington, DC, New York City, and Chicago, having most recently led the Chicago Smelts to three consecutive state championships and a new national relay record, and having previously helped Team NY Aquatics win an IGLA World Championship in Iceland.

Having relocated to Philadelphia in the spring of 2017, Christopher looks forward to working with DVLF to advance its mission and build upon its tremendous legacy to the Philadelphia community.

Jake Maroney joined the Our Night Out committee in 2017 as a way to give back and raise funds for the important work being done in the LGBT community. He is joining the DVLF board as the recently named chair of the Our Night Out committee and brings with him the philanthropic experience gained from serving on boards for the Friends of The Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and raising money for the AIDS Fund AIDS Walk.

Originally from upstate New York, Jake moved down to the Philadelphia suburbs in high school and has made Philadelphia his adopted hometown since graduating from West Chester University. He began writing professionally for The Bucks County Courier Times while still in high school before transitioning into marketing. For his marketing efforts, he has won multiple awards, including a Platinum MarCom award in 2018. Additionally, his first book, It All Began with a Scream, was published in 2021. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Scream franchise.

James (Jim) is a Philadelphia native having graduated from Central High School. He attended the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy.  He is a registered pharmacist in the state of Pennsylvania.  Jim also has a Master’s of Business Administration from La Salle University with a concentration in Health Care Administration.  Jim has a 26 year tenure at Fox Chase Cancer Center, part of Temple University Health System. Jim has worked at several health care institutions in the Philadelphia area. At Fox Chase, Jim serves as a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The purpose of the IRB is to assure, both in advance and by periodic review, that appropriate measures are taken to protects the rights and welfare of individuals taking part in clinical research trials. In addition to his work, Jim has been involved in numerous volunteering initiatives and has also been active in church related activities including church related boards and councils.

Alexander (Alex) Ames is an historian, author, and library/museum professional who lives in Philadelphia. He works as Director of Outreach & Engagement at the Rosenbach Museum & Library, where he oversees the institution’s gallery exhibitions, tours, as well as digital and onsite public programs. He has been a member of DVLF’s legacy giving committee since January 2022. Alex holds an M.A. in American material culture, an M.A. in history, and a Ph.D. in history of American civilization and museum studies from the University of Delaware. He is passionate about helping LGBTQIA+ people find their voices and stories reflected in the many collections of archives, rare books, manuscripts, and art throughout our region, and fostering meaningful relationships between arts and cultural heritage institutions and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Jason recently completed a Masters in Public Administration, and a Certificate in Politics from the University of Pennsylvania Fels Institute of Government. In addition, Jason also holds a BA in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Certificate in Law from Penn Law School.

Currently, Jason is the Manager of Supplier Diversity for TD Bank. Jason also is a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Penn Fels, while owning and operating his own Consulting and Government Relations business, J D Evans Solutions LLC.

Jason has almost ten years of experience in supplier diversity and procurement, specializing in developing programming and opportunities for minority and diverse businesses. By bringing tough issues to light and collaborating with other leaders and legislators to solve the most challenging problems in the Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ Communities, Jason is in high demand as a liaison and community activist.  

Jason has over 20 years of volunteering and leadership experience in various organizations, including former Vice-President of Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, and Co-Chair of the Mayor's Commission on LGBTQ+ Affairs.

Jason's recent honors include City & State Pennsylvania’s 2023 50 Over 50 Most Influential Pennsylvanians, 2023 Pride Power 100 list, the 2022 Community Heroes Award from the DVLF for his exceptional humanitarian work in addressing complex issues and collaborating with other leaders and legislators.

Laura Ryan (she/her) joined the DVLF Board in January 2024, after serving as a member of the DVLF Our Night Out and Marketing/Events Committees throughout 2023. Laura dedicates much of her free time to LGBTQ+ organizations, and is also on the Board of Directors for the William Way LGBT Community Center, Chair of the Governance Committee, and a member of the Finance Committee. 

Laura is passionate about finding ways to help improve the health and well-being of those in the LGBTQ+ community, and to further her knowledge she recently earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from George Washington University. Most of Laura’s research centered on topics related to the LGBTQ+ community, specifically surrounding physical and mental health disparities. Laura’s thesis was focused on the health and identity of the Bear community.  

In her career, Laura has concentrated on trying to improve health outcomes through the education and assessment of those providing health care. To this end, Laura has focused much of her work in the digital product, medical content and health education space. She has recently moved into the health assessment domain and is currently the VP Product Management, Growth & Innovation, at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).