2023 Board of Directors & STAFF
Board members and staff at the Juneteenth Summer Pride Picnic in June, 2022
We adopted of our bylaws in 2007 and expanded the board in 2015 with the addition of the Event Planning Committee Chair, and then again in 2017 to add an additional six board members to the existing ten. In the summer of 2019, we added two more who are graduates of the first-ever Community Leadership Pipeline. In early 2022, we changed the board leadership structure from a Chair/Vice-Chair to two Co-Chairs.
The board members serve for one year terms, except the co-chairs who serve for staggered two year terms. The elections are held at our annual Winter Wonderland party each January. The elections in 2021 and 2022 were held on Zoom.
All email addresses for board members are their first names @phillyfamilypride.org.
The board members serve for one year terms, except the co-chairs who serve for staggered two year terms. The elections are held at our annual Winter Wonderland party each January. The elections in 2021 and 2022 were held on Zoom.
All email addresses for board members are their first names @phillyfamilypride.org.
executive committee
|
Michael Galvan, they/them
Board Co-Chair michael@ Board member since 2022. Michael R. Galvan currently serves as the Policy Director at Breaktime, and has spent their career working to advance public policy for youth and young adults. Michael currently resides in Germantown with their partner, son, two dogs, and two cats. |
|
Hunter McCorkel, she/they
Secretary hunter@ Board member since 2019. Hunter is a proud butch parent of two amazing kiddos. They are a nurse, copy editor, backyard vegetable gardener, and stay at home parent. Hunter lives in Mt Airy with their family.
|
“We are the first of our close friends to have a baby, so when we got pregnant we knew we would need to build new community. Philadelphia Family Pride has been a fantastic way to meet other queer families, and Philly is lucky to have this organization.”
|
Jadzia Axelrod, she/her
Treasurer jadzia@ Board member since 2019. Jadzia is a writer and cartoonist who lives in West Philly with her wife and daughter. When we first became parents, we looked around for a warm, welcoming community that our queer family would feel at home in. PFP has been that community since the day we joined.” |
committee chairs
Lori Keslowitz, she/her
Events Planning
lori@
Board member since 2019.
Lori (pictured right) works in education, loves to garden and read. She lives in South Philly with her wife and 2 kiddos.
Events Planning
lori@
Board member since 2019.
Lori (pictured right) works in education, loves to garden and read. She lives in South Philly with her wife and 2 kiddos.
My wife and I were so happy to find out about PFP after moving here from NY. It’s always been very important to us that our kids grow up around other queer families.”
Members at Large
|
Melissa Charfadi (she/her)
melissa@ Board member since 2023. Melissa (pictured left) is a mental health therapist with a passion for working with the LGBTQIA+ community. As the daughter of a queer woman, she grew up navigating the world of queer families. Now, as the mother of a daughter with two moms, family pride is even more important and connection and representation a priority. Melissa currently resides in South Jersey with her wife, daughter (2yo as of 2023), and two dogs! Melissa hopes to extend the reach of PFP to those in the SJ area as the need for connection and supports is so needed.
|
|
Alex Cruz (she/her)
alex@ Board member since 2023. Alex is a Puerto Rican North Philly resident and Executive Director of the Girard College Alumni Association. She is blessed to be able to co-parent her teenage nephew Giani and looks forward to expanding her parenting journey in the near future. She is always planning her next adventure around the globe.
|
|
Sebastian Miller, they/he
sebastian@ Board member since 2020. Sebastian (pictured, right) and his husband made the move to Philly from Florida while they were expecting their second child. Sebastian is the gestational parent of both of their kids - ages 4.5 and 3 year old (as of 2022), and the kiddos are their greatest gifts.
PFP to me means a chosen family and being understood and accepted. So much of parenting is cis/het oriented, and it's refreshing to have a queer space to be at ease with ourselves." |
|
Adam Moskowitz he/him
adam@ Board member since 2023. Adam is a future parent who lives in Northern Liberties and works as a director of childcare. "I have been on the conference planning committee for the past 2 years. After being in person and meeting others, I wanted to be more involved with PFP. " |
|
Rebecca Levin Nayak, she/her
becca@ Board member since 2019. Becca lives in Mt. Airy and is a family law attorney. “I became involved in PFP before starting my family and found the conference and other events a great place to learn. Now that I have a son, PFP has been a great place to build connections and community!” |
|
Sherley Olopherne, she/her/they
sherley@ Board member since 2022. A creative in the past life, an educator in the current, and hopefully a parent in the future . I think the supports & services PFP offers are of value and I want to help highlight all that is available to those of us on this journey of parenthood." |
Skott Stotland, they/them
skott@
Board member since 2021.
skott@
Board member since 2021.
Our Staff
|
Stephanie Haynes, she/her
Executive Director stephanie at phillyfamilypride.org Staff since 2009. Pictured here (right) with her wife and kids in the fall 2022. Stephanie is in her 15th year with PFP. She is a full time, stay at home, homeschooling parent and a volunteer on the Philadelphia Mayor's Commission for LGBT Affairs. She also enjoys running and photography. My wife and I joined PFP shortly after our twin boys were born. We knew one other two mom family, but wanted to expand the opportunities for our children to meet other LGBTQ families. Attending PFP events has been a great way to connect and normalize our family for them." |
|
Sandra Telep, she/her/ella
Assistant Director sandra at phillyfamilypride.org Staff since 2023. Pictured here in the winter of 2023. Sandra, parent to two kids (13 and 11), has worked at various organizations including the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU, and the AFL-CIO. She recently spent a year in Mexico with her children to cement their connection with their family, culture, and language. I moved to Philly when my oldest was a newborn, and I didn’t know a single person in the city. I joined PFP and found community. I made friends through PFP that are now over a decade old! It’s been so wonderful to see our kids grow up together.” |
