PFLAG Queens Chapter
Parents, Families and Friends
of Lesbians and Gays
18th Annual Morty Manford Awardee
Melissa Sklarz
Melissa Sklarz became the first transgender person elected to office in New York
in 1999 when she was elected Judicial Delegate from the 66th Assembly District.
In 2004, Melissa became the first transgender person from New York to be part
of the state delegation at the Democratic National Convention, by being
appointed to the Credentials Committee and again on the Rules Committee in
2008.
She helped bring civil rights to transgender people in New York City when INT 24
became law in 2002, served on the Working Group with the New York Human
Rights Commission to flesh out the law, and has been a lobbying leader for
GENDA (Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act) since the bill was
developed.
Melissa is a past president of Gay & Lesbian Ind. Democrats, and is now a vice
president of Stonewall Democratic Club of New York. After serving on the board
for the past 8 years, she is now the co-chair of the Board of Directors of National
Stonewall Democrats.
In 2008, Melissa was a co-chair for Obama Pride NYC, helping to organize the
LGBT community for the campaign and was
one of 250 activists invited to the
White House in June 2009 to celebrate the Stonewall Rebellion.
In 2010, Melissa was at the side of Governor Paterson when he announced an
executive order protecting the rights of transgender people employed by New
York State.
Locally, Melissa served on Community Board 2 in Manhattan for 6 years, is the
current secretary of Northern Regular Democrats of Queens, sits on the NYPD
Commissioner’s LGBT Advisory Committee, and helps Hetrick-Martin Institute
with its new transgender program for young adults.
Melissa had a featured role in the film Transamerica.
14th Annual Carmel Tavadia Memorial Awardee
Andrew Ronan
Andrew is a life long Jackson Heights resident. He and his brother are first -
generation American with a mother from Ireland and a father from Scotland.
Andrew's diverse career in New York has spanned several areas of the arts,
education, and more recently, city government.
As Director of Audience Development for Queens Theater in the Park, Andrew
worked to diversify the theater's audience which included developing LGBT
programing. He brought shows like “Santa Claus is Coming Out”, a one man show
about the world wide scandal surrounding the outing of Santa Claus, and “Tara's
Crossing”, a full length play addressing transgender issues and immigration, to the
theatre. As a result of this programing, many audience members were challenged
to consider LGBT issues in new ways.
Andrew is also an accomplished teaching artist with a passion for inspiring young
people to reach their full potential through the arts. Andrew has worked in schools
throughout the City to produce the “Underage Cabaret”. A creative self expression
project it encourages young people explore their thoughts, feelings and ideas about
the world and express them in a positive and creative way.
As a volunteer with the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee for the past five
years, Andrew has worked alongside a great group of committed individuals to
produce the annual Queens Pride Parade and Festival. As a chair of the Winter
Pride Dinner Dance, he has helped raise over $20,000.00 for the organization. In
2009, Andrew's work with the Pride Committee earned him a citation of honor
from Queens Borough President Helen Marshal.
Andrew was able to bring his creative skill set to his home town by helping to
produce June in Jackson Heights. An initiative sponsored by Council Member
Daniel Dromm, the event served to draw attention to the diverse creative and
cultural offerings of the neighborhood. Subsequently, Andrew has become Chief of
Staff for the Council Member where he enjoys working with a dedicated team
helping constituents and working on important legislation.
Andrew lives with his husband Chris and their three cats. They Married in
Connecticut on July 28, 2009. Andrew looks forward to the day that theirs and
other same sex marriages are federally recognized.
6th Annual Brenda Howard Memorial Awardee
Lisa Jacobs
Lisa Jacobs identifies as bisexual, pansexual, queer, polyamorous, and genderqueer, as well as a transgender and
intersex ally and queer activist. She feels strongly that people have the right to be their own complex selves,
despite labels and social expectations. She is currently President of Transcending Boundaries, Inc., a 501(c)(3)
organization which focuses on the bisexual/pansexual, trans/genderqueer, intersex, polyamorous and other communities
often ignored by the mainstream GLBT community. Currently, Transcending Boundaries is planning its 8th annual
conference in Springfield, MA on November 11-13, 2011, as well as hopefully expanding its scope to include social
and support groups throughout the Northeastern U.S.
After coming out as bisexual 14 years ago, Lisa has been involved in various organizations, such as Conn-Bi-Nation,
Stonewall Speakers, and BiNet USA. She has also presented workshops on bisexuality, polyamory and activism at several
conferences, as well as spoken at various high schools and colleges. In 2001, Lisa, along with Alice Leibowitz and
Vincent Cangiano, co-founded Transcending Boundaries, Inc., an organization born from the former BiNet Tri-State Bisexual
Conference. Transcending Boundaries expanded the conference's scope to include not only bisexual, but also transgender
and intersex issues. Over time, Transcending Boundaries expanded further to include other often ignored groups, such
as the polyamory, kink and asexual communities.
Lisa resides in central Connecticut most of the year and south Florida the rest of it. She graduated from UConn
in 2004 and works in the family antiques business. She also keeps busy as an amateur genealogist, historian,
photographer and bunny enthusiast
Other Information
We also have an ad journal and YOUR AD DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
For more information regarding our celebration ad journal, see our ad journal webpage at
http://www.pflag-queens.org/journal.html
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Last updated 1/25/11 by LDN