Press Releases
WILLIAM WAY LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER ANNOUNCES
NEW BOARD ELECTIONS AND BOARD LEADERSHIP
PHILADELPHIA, PA 01/17 – The William Way LGBT Community Center, which serves the Greater Philadelphia region’s community of sexual and gender minorities through service, recreational, educational and cultural programming, elected new board members at its Annual Meeting on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at the center located at 1315 Spruce Street in Philadelphia. The four elected board positions (two-year term of office) were confirmed by a vote by current members of the organization. The board of directors following the Annual Meeting unanimously confirmed Board officers for a two-year term of office.
The membership of the William Way LGBT Community Center has elected the following board members: Deja Lynn Alvarez, The City of Philadelphia’s Assistant Prevention Navigator of Public Health, Director of the LGBTQ Home for Hope; Lauri A. Kavulich, Esq., member in charge of the Philadelphia Office of Clark Hill, PLC; Maryellen Madden, Esq., Attorney at Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney; and Meg Rider, Guest Relations and Volunteer Services Manager at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.
In addition, the center’s Board of Directors has elected the following board officers: Meg Rider, Guest Relations and Volunteer Services Manager at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, Co-Chair; Paul R. Steinke, Executive Director, Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, Co-Chair; Steve Brando, Manager, Employer Services - The Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Church USA, Secretary; and Chad Bundrock, Director, Client Analytics at Aramark, Treasurer.
Deja Lynn Alvarez
Deja Lynn Alvarez is The City of Philadelphia’s Assistant Prevention Navigator of Public Health, Director of the LGBTQ Home for Hope the first and only LGBTQ shelter and recovery facility in PA, a Community Organizer, and Activist.
Alvarez is a proud Trans woman and longtime activist and advocate for the Trans Community. She was a part of Galaei’s Trans Health Information Project and Mazzoni’s Trans Wellness Project. She serves on the Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee where she works directly with the Deputy Commissioner and other committee members to end the long history of issues between the police and the Trans community. Deja serves on the board of directors for the William Way Community Center, is chairwoman of the Philadelphia Trans Day of Remembrance, and Co-chair of the Philadelphia Trans March. Her mission is to end discrimination and oppression and foster equality and acceptance through education and empowerment.
Steve Brando
Steve Brando chairs the Nomination Committee, serves on the HR Committee and has served as the Board Secretary for 5 years. Steve has served on the Board since 2011 and is currently works for The Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Church, USA as the Manager of Employer Services.
Chad Bundrock
Chad Bundrock currently is the Director of Client Analytics for Aramark where he also is the Internal Engagement co-chair for Aramark’s Pride ERG. Chad has served on the William Way finance committee for two years and has been a board member for just over a year. Originally from Montana, Chad has lived all over the western United States before settling into his new hometown of Philadelphia almost seven years ago. Chad, a self-described avid traveler, received his degree in international business from the University of Nevada.
Lauri A. Kavulich, Esquire
Lauri A. Kavulich is the member in charge of the Philadelphia Office of Clark Hill, PLC, a full service law firm with offices throughout the US. She specializes in employment law, and represents both public and private employers. She serves as a consultant to employers regarding FMLA, ADA, handbooks, employment policies and procedures, terminations and virtually any issue regarding employees. In addition, she defends employers in administrative and court proceedings filed under such statutes as the ADA, FMLA, Title VII, PHRA, and ADEA. She has been named one of the top 50 female lawyers in Pennsylvania, and a SuperLawyer every year since 2004.
Lauri is active in her community and has served on a number of Boards throughout her career. She served on the Board and as the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA), the oversight board for the City of Philadelphia finances. She also served on both the working Board and Advisory Board of MANNA for many years. She served on the Committee of 70, and served as a committee person in her division for the Philadelphia Democratic Party. She was on the policy committee for Jim Kenney’s mayoral election and a member of the transition team for his incoming administration.
Lauri currently serves as the Chairperson and President of the Delaware Valley Economic Development Fund, an economic development nonprofit, and has served in that capacity since 2000. She also currently serves on the Board of the Independence Visitor Center.
Lauri lives in Chestnut Hill with her husband, Ed Reitmeyer and has two daughters. Her eldest daughter just completed her first semester at the University of Pennsylvania. Her youngest daughter is in 8th grade at SCH Academy.
Maryellen Madden, Esquire
Maryellen is a transgender woman who lives Center City with her partner Judy and practices law in the Philadelphia office of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney. Maryellen’s practice focuses on complex commercial, appellate and Constitutional litigation, including First Amendment, Intellectual Property and Transportation issues.
Maryellen is a member of the Board of Directors of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF), is coordinator of her Firm’s participation in TLDEF’s Name Change Project, is a member of the Firm’s Non-Traditional Couples Practice Group and was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Reading Terminal Market (appointed by the Reading Terminal Market Merchants Association) as well as Chair of Annual Giving at Friends Select School. While on the Reading Terminal Market Board, Maryellen was instrumental in obtaining dedicated parking for the Market and in qualifying Market merchants under the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, making the benefits of that food subsidy program available to inner-city needy women, infant and children for the first time. An award for outstanding service to the Market is given in Maryellen’s name by the Market’s Merchant Association. Maryellen earned her JD at Duke University School of Law (a long time ago), with Honors, where she was a member of the Editorial Board of the Duke Law Journal.
Meg Rider
Ms. Meg Rider holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. She has more than 25 years of experience working with regional and national non-profits and corporations on customer service initiatives, event and volunteer program management and on public relations, social media and fundraising campaigns.
Formerly the Director of Events and Communications at MANNA, Meg began working at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia in November of 2010. She currently manages the Guest Relations and Volunteer Services departments serving as a key leader in patient experience and customer service initiatives.
Meg is a member of two professional associations for volunteer administrators, and formerly served as the State Board Vice President and the Eastern Chapter Secretary for the Pennsylvania Association of Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals (PAHVRP) and served as the Web Editor for the Delaware Valley Association of Volunteer Administrators (DVAVA).
In her volunteer work, she has been active with many community organizations and committees including the AIDS Fund’s Gay Bingo, Human Rights Campaign Philadelphia, National Liberty Museum, MANNA, Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and WXPN Fund Drives. Meg joined the board of Philly AIDS Thrift in 2013 and joined the William Way LGBT Community Center’s Resource Development Committee in 2010, and joined the board in 2015 filling a vacant elected position.
Born in South Jersey, Meg has been a Philadelphia resident since 1997 and currently lives in Old City with her partner and their dog, Louise.
Paul R. Steinke
Paul Steinke serves as executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, a membership-based organization whose mission is to promote the appreciation, adaptive re-use and development of the Philadelphia region’s historic buildings, communities and landscapes. He started in this role in June 2016 after serving on the organization’s board of directors for many years.
Paul ran for Philadelphia City Council in the May 2015 Democratic primary. Although he was not elected, Paul received endorsements from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, Philadelphia Tribune and former Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell, and was recommended by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
Prior to his run for public office, Paul served as general manager of the Reading Terminal Market for 13 years, where he oversaw numerous improvements in the facility and tenant mix. In 2014, the market was recognized by the American Planning Association as one of the Great Places in America.
Earlier in his career, Paul served for four years as the founding Executive Director of University City District, a neighborhood improvement organization that has been central to the revitalization of West Philadelphia. Before that, Paul was a founding staff member of the Center City District, Philadelphia’s downtown improvement agency, where he spent seven years as its Finance Director.
A lifelong Philadelphian, Paul holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Economics from Pennsylvania State University, and pursued an MBA at Drexel University. Paul serves as board co-chair of the William Way LGBT Community Center. He lives in University City with his husband and partner of 21 years, David Ade, an architect with a practice based in Center City.
William Way LGBT Community Center Board of Directors 2017
Board Officers
Meg Rider, Co-Chair
Paul R. Steinke, Co-Chair
Steve Brando, Secretary
Chad Bundrock, Treasurer
Board Members
Deja Lynn Alvarez
Marc Coleman
Anh Dang
Sue Gildea
Lauri A. Kavulich
John Loesch
Robert Lenahan
Maryellen Madden
Robb Muse
Jose Sabalbaro
Leona Thomas
####