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Barbara Smallwood (She/Her)

Member At Large

Barbara Smallwood is an accomplished financial services professional with over 40 years of experience on Wall Street. Widely regarded as a leader in the industry, she has built a distinguished career across major markets, delivering expertise in institutional sales, strategy, and team development. Barbara spent 37 years at Citi, most recently as an Institutional Sales Manager until her retirement in 2023. She has overseen top-tier institutional accounts while playing a key role in talent acquisition, mentorship, and analyst training—strengthening the next generation of market professionals.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Barbara has also championed inclusion within the financial industry. She played an early role in LGBTQ+ recruiting efforts and contributed to launching one of the first pride networks and work streams within the markets division. She has also supported corporate initiatives for women and people of color.

In addition to her financial career, Barbara has a long and meaningful history of nonprofit and LGBTQ+ community engagement. Her advocacy began in Dallas in the early 1990s as Co-Chair of Leadership Lambda, where she contributed to leadership development and civic engagement for LGBTQ+ professionals across the Dallas Metroplex.

In 2003 she was an active board member with the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center (now the Los Angeles LGBT Center), supporting programming and services for one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ organizations.

Since 2019, Barbara has been on the board of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center (BCPC), helping strengthen community connections and expanding local LGBTQ+ initiatives.

Barbara holds FINRA Series 7, 63, 53, and 24 licenses. Her academic studies include business from University of Florida ‘84 and design from College of the Canyons ‘96, reflecting her creative interests and multidisciplinary background.

Barbara is a proud “Bibi” to her two-year-old grandson. She and her wife are retired and currently reside in Atlanta, Georgia, where they enjoy life with their two rescue pit bulls, Brinlee and Archer.

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Barbara Smallwood (She/Her)

Member At Large

Barbara Smallwood is an accomplished financial services professional with over 40 years of experience on Wall Street. Widely regarded as a leader in the industry, she has built a distinguished career across major markets, delivering expertise in institutional sales, strategy, and team development. Barbara spent 37 years at Citi, most recently as an Institutional Sales Manager until her retirement in 2023. She has overseen top-tier institutional accounts while playing a key role in talent acquisition, mentorship, and analyst training—strengthening the next generation of market professionals.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Barbara has also championed inclusion within the financial industry. She played an early role in LGBTQ+ recruiting efforts and contributed to launching one of the first pride networks and work streams within the markets division. She has also supported corporate initiatives for women and people of color.

In addition to her financial career, Barbara has a long and meaningful history of nonprofit and LGBTQ+ community engagement. Her advocacy began in Dallas in the early 1990s as Co-Chair of Leadership Lambda, where she contributed to leadership development and civic engagement for LGBTQ+ professionals across the Dallas Metroplex.

In 2003 she was an active board member with the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center (now the Los Angeles LGBT Center), supporting programming and services for one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ organizations.

Since 2019, Barbara has been on the board of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center (BCPC), helping strengthen community connections and expanding local LGBTQ+ initiatives.

Barbara holds FINRA Series 7, 63, 53, and 24 licenses. Her academic studies include business from University of Florida ‘84 and design from College of the Canyons ‘96, reflecting her creative interests and multidisciplinary background.

Barbara is a proud “Bibi” to her two-year-old grandson. She and her wife are retired and currently reside in Atlanta, Georgia, where they enjoy life with their two rescue pit bulls, Brinlee and Archer.

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Lisa Middleton (She/Her)

Member at Large

Lisa Middleton is the first openly transgender person elected in California for a non-judicial position. She served on the Palm Springs City Council from 2017 to 2024 and was Mayor of Palm Springs from 2021 to 2022. Lisa has a background in political science and public administration, having graduated from UCLA and earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. She has also completed the UCLA LGBT Leadership Institute.

Lisa was appointed to the CalPERS Board of Administration by Governor Newsom in September 2025, as the representative for the insurance industry. She previously served on the CalPERS Board of Administration, as the representative for local government elected officials from 2019-2024 as a member of the Palm Springs City Council.

Prior to her Palm Springs City Council election, Lisa served as a member of the Palm Springs Planning Commission and as chairwoman of the Organized Neighborhoods of Palm Springs. In addition to serving on SAGE’s Board, she is a member of the board of directors and treasurer of the Equality California Institute and has served on the board of the Desert LGBTQ Center. In 2014 she was the Center’s interim executive director.

Lisa retired after serving 36 years with California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund. At her retirement she was the senior vice president of Internal Affairs with executive responsibility for internal audits, fraud investigation, public records, and governance. Lisa was also a member of California’s Fraud Assessment Commission, which she chaired in 2010.

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Elliott Sernel (He/Him)

Member at Large

Elliott Sernel rejoined the SAGE Board after previously serving a seven year term that concluded in October 2024. Elliott was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and attended law school at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.

After clerking for Senior United States Appellate Judge Stanley N. Barnes, Elliott joined the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) as a Deputy District Counsel. Elliott spent his legal career at the SCAQMD, where he retired as a Senior Deputy District Prosecutor, responsible for both civil and criminal prosecutions of environmental rules and regulations.

Elliott served on the board of Lambda Legal for eight years including service on its Executive Committee. He also serves on the board of the Center Theater Group, one of the largest not for profit theater companies in the country, which operates three theatres in the Los Angeles area – The Ahmanson, The Mark Taper and The Kirk Douglas Theaters. This has given Elliott the opportunity to engage in his passion for theater and enabled him to participate in the workings of theater management. During his previous SAGE Board service, Elliott served as Chair of the Development Committee and served on the Executive Committee.

Elliott lives with his husband, Larry Falconio, and their dogs, and enjoys splitting his time between their homes in Palm Springs, Los Angeles and New York City.

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Michael Lombardo (He/Him)

Member at Large

Michael Lombardo is an entertainment executive based in Los Angeles. Michael is the former President of Global Television at Entertainment One (eOne), where he oversaw eOne’s Scripted and Unscripted television departments across businesses in the US, the UK and Canada. Prior to eOne, Michael served as President, Programming, at Home Box Office (HBO) for 12 years. During his tenure at HBO, Michael was responsible for overseeing all of HBO’s and Cinemax’s programming initiatives. He also oversaw the Marketing, Business Affairs, Legal, Scheduling, Research and Production Departments.

Michael Lombardo was appointed a member of the National Council on the Arts by President Biden in 2022, and to the Board of Trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by President Obama in 2014. Michael has served on the boards of The Los Angeles LGBT Center, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), Project Angel Food, and the Saban Community Clinic.

Michael has an AB degree from Cornell University and JD from the University of California at Berkeley. Michael resides in Los Angeles with his husband, Charles “Sonny” Ward, and two children.

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Lynn Faria

Lynn Faria (she/they)

Chief Executive Officer

Faria was SAGE’s Executive Vice President for a decade before becoming CEO. In that capacity, she was instrumental to SAGE’s growth from a New York-focused non-profit to a national organization recognized for its expertise on LGBTQ+ aging-related education, training, advocacy, direct services, and virtual programming. Prior to their time at SAGE, Faria held senior leadership roles at other non-profit and community organizations, including instrumental roles in the LGBTQ+ movement. They served as Deputy Executive Director at Empire State Pride Agenda, where Faria led and contributed to critical statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts, including winning the freedom to marry in New York State and launching the first-ever statewide transgender rights campaign in New York.

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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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Roy Jimenez (He/Him)

Executive Committee

Roy Jimenez is the Secretary and Chair of the Nominating and Governance 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/They)

Member at Large

Mark Sexton 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 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 142-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)

Executive Committee

Josue Santiago is Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee for the SAGE Board of Directors. 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

Cat is an Assistant City Attorney at the City of Miami Beach, where she provides transactional legal counsel to City departments on a wide range of municipal contracts and operational matters, supporting the City’s day-to-day functions and public initiatives. Her work spans diverse subject areas across City government, with increasing involvement in development- and construction-related projects. Previously, Cat 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 Bogotá, 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 more equitable development and distribution of housing resources. She also collaborated extensively with the Miami Beach Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, where she now serves on the Board of Directors. Deeply committed to affordable housing and nonprofit work, Cat looks forward to contributing her legal expertise and public-sector perspective to SAGE’s mission.

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