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Laurie Peter (She/Her)

Member at Large

Laurie Peter rejoins the SAGE Board after previously serving a 7.5-year term that concluded in October 2022. She brings 25 years of nonprofit board leadership experience to the organization. Her previous board roles include Vice Chair of the National AIDS Fund, Vice Chair of DigDeep, and board member of JBWS, an organization focused on providing safety, support, and solutions for those affected by abuse. She currently serves on the AMA Foundation Commission for LGBTQ+ Healthcare and the JBWS Leadership Advisory Council.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in both New Jersey and Colorado, Laurie maintains a private mental health therapy practice and works with clients through two online platforms. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from Smith College School for Social Work.

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Laurie Peter (She/Her)

Member at Large

Laurie Peter rejoins the SAGE Board after previously serving a 7.5-year term that concluded in October 2022. She brings 25 years of nonprofit board leadership experience to the organization. Her previous board roles include Vice Chair of the National AIDS Fund, Vice Chair of DigDeep, and board member of JBWS, an organization focused on providing safety, support, and solutions for those affected by abuse. She currently serves on the AMA Foundation Commission for LGBTQ+ Healthcare and the JBWS Leadership Advisory Council.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in both New Jersey and Colorado, Laurie maintains a private mental health therapy practice and works with clients through two online platforms. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from Smith College School for Social Work.

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Mady Schuman (She/Her)

Executive Committee

Mady Schuman is Chair of the Development Committee for the SAGE Board of Directors. A veteran of the nonprofit sector, Mady Schuman comes to the SAGE board with 35 years of executive external relations and fundraising experience garnered at respected healthcare, social service, educational, and cultural organizations and institutions. She has spent her career addressing inequities across diverse sectors, combatting many of the greatest societal and medical issues of our time, including HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ equality, cancer, aging and eldercare, women’s and children’s rights and access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.

In addition to her roles as chief development officer for God’s Love We Deliver and senior development adviser to the Treatment Action Group, she served on the NARAL New York board and was a founding board member of Miracle House, an organization that provided temporary housing and support services to the out-of-town families and friends of people with HIV/AIDS in New York City. She also served as senior vice president of development at the New Jewish Home and has held other senior fundraising positions at NYU/Stern School of Business, Planned Parenthood of NYC, the American Cancer Society, the 92nd Street Y, the Dramatists Guild Foundation, and LongHouse Reserve. Mady serves as Executive Director of The Ellen Hermanson Foundation which was established in 1997 to honor the memory of Ellen Hermanson, ensure access to state-of-the-art breast health care, and empower people affected by cancer. Recently, she was elected to the board of the Stony Hill Stables Foundation, providing scholarships to young equestrians to continue their training.

Mady holds a B.A. from Wheaton College and earned an M.A. and ABD from New York University in theater history. A native New Yorker, she lives with her wife in New York City and Amagansett.

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Roy Jimenez (He/Him)

Executive Committee

Roy Jimenez is Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the SAGE Board of Directors. He is a Partner at TLD Law and has over 25 years of experience in business and real estate litigation. Jimenez has extensive experience in resolving or litigating large, small, and complex business disputes. He is successful in economically and favorably settling real estate disputes affecting title, transfer, and use of real property, and in lending issues. In this capacity, he works with agents, buyers, sellers, lenders, and escrow officers.

Jimenez has been an active member of the LGBTQ+ community for many years supporting various organizations throughout his career. He is a donor and supporter of the LGBTQ Center Long Beach as well as the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Center. Jimenez is a Past Co-President of the LGBTQ+ Lawyer Association of Los Angeles and the current President of the LGBTQ Attorneys & Allies Section of the Long Beach Bar Association. He is active in the Diversity of the Profession Committee for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, as well as a former Trustee. Jimenez is a founding member of the first LGBTQ+ Provisors networking group, a founding member of the Pride Real Estate Professional Association of Los Angeles, and a charter member of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. He is also a long-time member of the Great Los Angeles Softball Association, one of the largest LGBTQ softball associations in the United States. Through all his involvement and commitments, Jimenez focuses on giving back to the community by volunteering his time to help and encourage homeless youth, mentor high school, and law students, mentor new lawyers, provide pro bono services to those in need and promote diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

A native of Southern California, Jimenez is also a member of the State Bar of California, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the Mexican American Bar Association, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Jimenez is a member of the Beverly Hills Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors, and a member of the Order of Distinguished Attorneys for the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He has acted in leadership roles in these various organizations and others. In 2019, Jimenez was installed to the Board of Trustees of the LA County Bar Association (LACBA). LACBA has close to 20,000 members and provides countless services to the legal and non-legal community in LA County.

Jimenez is rated “AV Preeminent” by his peers through Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating that can be achieved and is only obtained by 10% of attorneys. In 2018, he was rated a “SuperLawyer” in the categories of Business Litigation, General Litigation, and Real Estate.

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Mark Sexton (He/Him)

Executive Committee

Mark M. Sexton is the Strategic Planning Committee Chair. Mark is a retired tax professional, having most recently held the position of Senior Vice President, Taxes at Revlon, where he worked for 19 years. Before Revlon, Mark worked as an international tax counsel with Bristol Myers Squibb and as a tax associate at two New York law firms.

Mark has also been active in LGBTQ+ philanthropy for years. Mark has served on the boards of the National LGBTQ+ Task Force, which he co-chaired for three years, and the National LGBTQ+ Task Force Action Fund, which he chaired for six years. He also served on the board and grants advisory committee of the Stonewall Community Foundation, as well as the governance committee of the New York City Anti‐Violence Project and strategic-planning committees for AVP, SAGE and the Task Force.

Mark is a graduate of Yale College, with a law degree from the University of Chicago and a Masters of Law in Taxation from New York University. Mark and his husband, Kirk Wallace, lived in New York City for more than 30 years and, since 2017, have lived in Portland, Oregon.

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Scott Bennett (He/Him)

Executive Committee

Scott Bennett is the Secretary and Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee for the SAGE Board of Directors. Bennett is also the Chairman of the Board of Our Fund Foundation, the LGBTQ+ community foundation of South Florida. Our Fund is the second largest LGBTQ+ community foundation in the U.S. He is a volunteer with Equality Florida, which seeks to further the LGBTQ+ political agenda in Florida.

Educated at the University of Michigan and Cornell University Law School, Bennett worked at Standard & Poor’s (formerly the McGraw-Hill Companies) for 37 years. He served as senior vice president, associate general counsel, and corporate secretary and provided legal counsel to the board’s finance committee, nominating and corporate governance committee, and executive compensation committee. Bennett founded the corporation’s LGBTQ+ employee affinity group.

An active supporter of many national and Florida-based nonprofit and political LGBTQ+ organizations, he was previously a member of the board at Empire State Pride Agenda. His volunteer experience extends to reviewing films for Outshine, South Florida’s LGBTQ+ film festival.

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David de Figueiredo (He/Him)

Executive Committee

David de Figueiredo is the Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee for the SAGE Board of Directors. David has over 32 years of experience working in the financial services industry. He retired from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., where he was responsible for all facets of Credit, Operational, and Compliance Risk for Wells Fargo Practice Finance, a $2 billion division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Before the acquisition of Greater Bay Bank by Wells Fargo & Company, David was Chief Credit Officer for the Specialty Finance Division of Greater Bay Bank, N.A. (which included Matsco, Greater Bay Capital, SBA Lending, Greater Bay Funding, Greater Bay International, and Greater Bay Residential Mortgage). Before joining Greater Bay Bank, N.A., David held numerous Credit and Risk positions with other banks and other Wells Fargo business areas.

David was elected to the SAGE Board in 2023. He also serves on the Board of Lincoln Families a 140-year-old agency serving Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, where he has held the positions of Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chair. David termed off the Board of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inc. in 2022 after serving as its Treasurer and then Vice Chair. David recently joined the Board of the Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College, Berkeley to assist with board governance and financial oversight.

He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.

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Loren Ostrow (He/Him)

Executive Committee

With an extensive background in significant project development and management, Loren Ostrow has led successful endeavors as president of Silver Slipper Gaming, Bossier Casino Venture, and principal in KOAR International. His expertise spans major commercial real estate acquisitions, developments, and management, from casinos to hotels to shopping centers and restaurants. Loren currently serves as the CEO and President of Living Out, Palm Springs, a developer of senior housing alternatives for the LGBTQ community. His first project, a 122-unit independent living community, which broke ground in November, 2021 is located in Palm Springs, CA

Loren’s academic accomplishments include a B.A. degree with Magna Cum Laude honors from the University of Rochester, an MBA in finance and accounting from the same institution, and a J.D. degree from Stanford Law School.

As an active member of the LGBTQ community, Loren is well known for his participation in LGBTQ causes and philanthropy. He has served on the Boards of Directors for the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Center, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and Congregation Kol Ami, with over 20 years of dedicated service to the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Center including 8 years as Co-Chair.

Partnered with Paul Alanis for over 40 years, Loren has formed an enduring business collaboration that thrives on shared success.

Loren and his husband, Brian Newkirk, live primarily in Los Angeles and Palm Springs and also have a home in Provincetown, MA

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Ruth Eisenberg (She/Her)

Executive Committee

Ruth Eisenberg is a partner at Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg LLP, concentrating in the areas of employment law and general nonprofit organization law, and has a long history as an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and for the rights of people with HIV.

At Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg LLP, she advises nonprofit organizations in several areas including harassment and discrimination. She works with organizations to establish and enforce harassment-prevention programs and conduct investigations into harassment allegations. Eisenberg also conducts popular training on avoiding workplace harassment and other employment law issues. In 2018, she was rated a “SuperLawyer” in the category of Labor and Employment Law.

In addition to the SAGE board, Eisenberg serves on the ADL Washington DC Regional Board and served as the Director of Legal Service at the Whitman-Walker Clinic (now Whitman-Walker Health) during the height of the AIDS crisis. She has served on the Boards of Directors of Lambda Legal, the National LGBTQ+ Task Force, and Whitman-Walker Health. She is also a co-author of The Rights of People Who are HIV Positive: The Basic ACLU Guide to the Rights of People Living with HIV Disease and AIDS (1996) and a co-editor of AIDS Practice Manual: A Legal and Educational Guide (1992).

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Kevin Williams (He/Him)

Member at Large

Kevin Williams, M.D., is a former Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Pfizer Internal Medicine and is an accomplished medical leader. As CMO for Pfizer, he led a Medical Affairs organization of approximately 700 medical colleagues around the globe supporting Pfizer’s efforts and portfolio of medicines treating primary care diseases affecting millions of patients worldwide. Williams joined Pfizer in January 2004 as a Director, Regional Medical & Research Specialists working in the HIV disease area. After moving into a Team Leader position in July 2005, he has served in various leadership roles during his career at Pfizer.

Williams was reelected to SAGE’s Board in 2019, having previously served on the Board for six years, from 2012 to 2018, as the Secretary and Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and then Co-Chair. Williams most recently served as Board Co-Chair from 2020 – 2024.

Williams received his medical degree from the UCLA School of Medicine and is board-certified in internal medicine. Following a two-year fellowship in Health Services Research at UCLA and a brief academic career as an Instructor of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine, he spent eight years in private practice caring for HIV-positive patients while maintaining an academic appointment at the UCLA School of Medicine as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine.

In addition to his medical degree, he has a Masters in Public Health from the UCLA School of Public Health and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.

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Sue Wilder (She/Her)

Member at Large

Sue is a retired financial services industry executive. She enjoyed a career that focused on wealth management and product development, based on Wall Street in her native New York City.

She has been residing in South Florida for the past 20 years. Sue has become an active member of the local LGBTQ+ community, using her professional background to build a second career to “give back.” Sue serves on the board and as Treasurer of Our Fund Foundation, the LGBTQ+ community foundation of South Florida. She is also a board member of Island City Stage, an LGBTQ+ community theater in Wilton Manors.

Sue has also volunteered in the Archives at Stonewall National Museum and Archives, developing SNMA’s Gallery space and serving on the SNMA Board.

Her second home in NYC is a base for her enjoyment of entertainment, particularly off and off-off Broadway theatre. In addition to theater, her favorite activities include travel, movies, museums, book reviewing and rock and roll.

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Josue Santiago (He/Him)

Member at Large

Josue is the Vice President of IT Strategy and Enterprise Architecture at Signature Aviation, one of the world’s preeminent global aviation companies, operating an industry-leading network of private aviation terminals, with over 200 locations covering key destinations in 27 countries across five continents. As a member of Signature’s Information Technology Leadership team, he is responsible for developing and implementing Signature’s technology and innovation strategy, enterprise architecture, IT capital planning, program management, quality assurance, and IT-related merger, acquisition and divestiture activities.

Prior to joining Signature, Josue served as Director of Transformation at Royal Caribbean Group. He led a cross-functional team that launched the company’s first transformation center of excellence and established an internal communications function that streamlined how the company engaged more than 85,000 crew members all over the world.

Josue has been fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and driving meaningful change across South Florida for more than 20 years, starting with his service to Pridelines, an organization that aims to positively impact the lives of LGBTQ youth. He also served as the chair of the Task Force Gala – Miami hosted by the National LGBTQ Task Force and the chair of the LGBTQ+ Community Projects Fund at The Miami Foundation. He worked closely with other youth organizations to both to help protect the county’s human rights ordinance and found the Alliance for LGBTQ Youth. Overall, Josue has helped raise and direct funds to organizations making a difference in South Florida.

Josue holds three technical degrees, is a Six Sigma Black Belt, and is certified as a change management practitioner and trainer. He graduated with a Masters of Science in Positive Organizational Development and Change from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

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Catalina “Cat” Rodriguez (She/Her)

Member at Large

As an Attorney Resource Manager at DLA Piper LLP, Cat coaches junior associates and helps manage staffing and resource allocation. Previously, she practiced law in DLA Piper’s real estate group, where she worked on complex commercial and residential real estate transactions in South Florida and beyond.

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Cat spent most of her formative years in Texas before attending the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology. She later graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, completing both her J.D. and the Robert Traurig-Greenberg Traurig LL.M. in Real Property Development.

During law school, Cat worked closely with nonprofit and academic organizations to research affordable housing challenges in South Florida and advocate for equitable development and distribution of housing inventory. She also collaborated extensively with the Miami Beach Community Development Corporation, a non-profit affordable housing developer, where she is now a member of the Board of Directors. Passionate about affordable housing and nonprofit work, Cat looks forward to bringing her valuable expertise to SAGE.

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Willard McCloud III (He/Him)

Member at Large

Willard McCloud III is Vice-President of Zimmer Biomet and is responsible for developing and executing the company’s global, enterprise-wide strategies for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

Willard is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and sits on the Business Advisory Council for the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve LGBTQ equality.

Willard holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and was an Oprah Winfrey and Merrill Scholar. Willard also received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia’s Darden School as a Consortium Fellow. Willard is a former Luce Scholar who has lived in Asia, Europe, and worked in six of seven continents.

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Mara Keisling (She/Her)

Member at Large

Mara Keisling is an American transgender rights activist and founding executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). She is currently consulting around trans policy and messaging.

She was the founder and executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, the nation’s leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. Mara’s strategy and vision guided NCTE’s work from 2003 until the summer of 2021. She led organizational and coalition efforts that won significant advances in transgender equality, including the inclusion of gender identity in the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act from 2007 onward and countless other federal- and state-level wins.

A proud Pennsylvanian, Mara received her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and did graduate work in American Government at Harvard University, stopping a dissertation short of a PhD. Prior to founding NCTE, Mara worked for 25 years in social marketing and opinion research.
Mara has served on the board of directors of LGBTQ youth group Common Roads and on the steering committee of the Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition. Mara is currently on the Board of Trustees for Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Mara also co-authored Injustice at Every Turn, the groundbreaking 2009 report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, and the report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.

As one of the nation’s leading voices for transgender equality, Mara is regularly quoted in national and local print media and has appeared on major television networks, including being part of the first all-transgender panel on a national news show in 2012.

In recognition of her activism, Mara has won awards from PFLAG; the Equality Forum; GayLaw; the Transgender Law Center; the Harvard Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters Alliance; and Out for Work, among others.

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Zak Karim (He/Him)

Member at Large

Zak Karim joined Bank of America in 2016 and currently is the HR Executive for Consumer and Small Business Products. Zak’s key areas of focus in his role are talent development, organizational design, leadership coaching, and culture. Before joining BofA, Zak spent fourteen years at Pfizer Inc., in various roles in Strategy, Operations, and Human Resources.

Zak has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Family Science from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and earned a Global Masters in Business Administration degree from Sejong/Syracuse University, a program based in Seoul, S. Korea.

Zak currently Co-Chairs the Enterprise LGBTQ+ Employee Network and is a member of the LGBTQ+ Executive Council Steering Committee. As well, he sits on the New York City Market President’s Leadership Council. Externally, he sits on the Board of Directors for Garden State Equality (GSE) and was recently named to the Board of Trustees for Theater Development Fund (TDF). Additionally, Zak was appointed onto the Aga Khan Council for the Northeastern US, as Member of Communications and Publications.

Zak recently moved back to Manhattan and is enjoying NYC living. He enjoys traveling and has been to over 50 cities in the world. During the winter months, Zak enjoys hitting the ski slopes.

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Vicki Hood (She/Her)

Member at Large

Vicki Hood is a retired partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she served as the head of the Firm’s employee benefits practice. Vicki’s practice focused on private equity fund formation, the employee benefits issues related to restructuring, and corporate and private equity transactions. Vicki practiced in Kirkland’s Chicago office for almost 40 years. She was also responsible for the firm’s private foundation and the administration of its employee benefit plans.

In addition, Vicki previously served on several non-profit boards including the Goodman Theatre of Chicago, Northwestern University Law Board, and Better Government Association. She is chair of the Audit Committee of Sunnylands Foundation in Rancho Mirage, California, and is on the executive committee of the board of directors of Desert X in Palm Springs, California.

Vicki has two adult sons who, with their families, live in Chicago, Illinois, and Boulder, Colorado. Vicki’s late husband, Bill Hood, was most recently a managing director of corporate affairs with American Airlines. Currently, Vicki splits her time between Chicago and Palm Springs.

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