The following is an alphabetical list of the professionals, facilitators, and parents who took part in the various sessions for the 2022 Philly Family Pride conference. This conference would not be possible without their commitment to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ led families.
Marc Berman (he/him) served as the Chair of the PFP Board from 2010-2013. Marc lives in Chestnut Hill with his husband David, and their sons Daniel (21) and Andrew (20).
Jeff Chirico, he/him, is a Realtor® and team leader with BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors® in Chestnut Hill, who specializes in representing first-time homebuyers, home sellers and LGBTQA+ individuals. A former investigative news reporter, Jeff lives in Montgomery County with his husband and their son.
Coyote (they/them) plays Minecraft and Roblox and is a YouTuber. They live in East Mt. Airy with their queer parent and four cats. Coyote remembers the bear statue at the Great Wolf Lodge at their first PFP event when they were two.
Mario Cruz, MD (he/him) A 2020 Top Doc, Dr. Cruz is a board certified pediatrician and the founding Medical Director for Philadelphia FIGHT Pediatrics. More about Mario.
Michael R. Galvan (they/them) is a PFP Board Member and has spent their career dedicated to community outreach, public policy, and advocacy. Michael experience working on many campaigns and has extensive knowledge of public policy related to youth education and workforce training, having served as the Director of Education Policy for the City of Philadelphia, the Executive Director of the YouthBuild Pennsylvania Coalition, and most recently as the Policy Director for Breaktime. Michael currently resides in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia with their husband, son, two dogs, and two cats.
Jackie Gambardella (she/her) is the co-founder and director of Camp Highlight, a camp for kids with queer parents/caregivers. She is passionate about finding and creating spaces that are welcoming to people with varying needs, especially at camp.
Marla J. Gold, MD, (she/her) is the Chief Wellness Officer at Drexel, oversees University population health, including COVID-19 operations, and is Dean Emerita and professor in Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health. Gold’s award-winning career dedicated to philanthropy, health equity, education, research and practice includes creating the HIV Partnership Comprehensive Care Practice, and roles as Chief of HIV/AIDS Medicine and Vice Chair of Medicine at MCP Hahnemann Medical School, Philadelphia’s Assistant Health oner for Infectious Disease Control, and serving on Philadelphia's Board of Health over 3 Mayoral administrations. She and her wife Debra Brady are founding members of PFP who were very involved for over 15 years. They have two children and live in Chestnut Hill.
Emily (Em) Harnett (they/them) is a second generation queerspawn! They recently graduated from Point Park University with their Acting BFA. Em has been involved in COLAGE for many years and through the years has been a volunteer, a program intern and a facilitator. Oh, they are passionate about the interaction of theater and social justice. You can find more about them at Emilyaharnett.com.
Malcolm Kenyatta (he/him) is a state representative for Philadelphia's 181st District and longtime friend of PFP. More about Malcolm.
Angel Martin (they/them) is the National Program Director at COLAGE. They are a second generation queerspawn with a lesbian mom. Angel started COLAGE programming at the age of 7 and has been an active member of the COLAGE community ever since. Angel played an instrumental role in establishing COLAGE’s Transformative Justice Committee in 2020. Angel lives in New York City with their partner and is a singer-songwriter in their free time.
Adam Moskowitz (he/him) has worked in childcare for the past six years. Currently, Adam directs a childcare facility in Philadelphia. He is excited to share his expertise at this year's conference.
Rebecca Nayak (she/her) is a partner with Jerner Law Group, P.C. whose practice is focused on assisted reproduction law, adoption law and family law. Rebecca also handles cases involving legal parentage issues. Rebecca is a PFP parent and serves on the PFP board of directors. She lives with her blended family in Mt. Airy. More about Rebecca.
Nhakia Outland (she/her) is a mother of three children (ages 23, 21 and 12). She is a master's level social worker, sexuality educator and therapist and adjunct professor with more than 15 years experience working primarily with Black, Caribbean, African, Latine/x and LGBTQ+communities. She has worked in diverse clinical, community, private sectors, non-profit and healthcare settings as both a social worker and upper management. Currently, she is building a non-profit she founded in 2018, Prevention Meets Fashion Inc.
Jourdan Porter, PsyD, MEd (she/her) is a Black, cisgender, queer woman, and psychologist. She specializes in relational therapy for trauma and mood disorders. In this work, she has become well-versed in helping clients set boundaries, regulate emotions, navigate interpersonal relationships, and communicate effectively. More about Jourdan.
Shanay Rowe (she/her) is the Assistant Director of PFP. She is a Philadelphia native, a queer parent of an 11 year-old, lives in Delaware County near West Philly, and was married last summer. Shanay is a social worker and Clinical Case Manager on the autism/neuro divergent unit at Belmont Behavioral Health and doctoral candidate.
Diego M. Sanchez, APR, he/him is Director of Policy for PFLAG National. He was the first openly trans senior staffer on Capitol Hill, serving Congressman Barney Frank (MA-4) as Senior Policy Advisor until his 2013 retirement. More about Diego.
Michaela Santisi (she/her) is a COLAGE Youth Action Board Member. She lives with her two lesbian moms and twin siblings in the Philly area.
Gregory Yorgey-Girdy (he/him) is a municipal court judge in Philadelphia. Greg served on the Philly Family Pride board from 2016 through 2020 when he led the annual Great Wolf Lodge trip among other contributions to the organization. Greg, his husband and their children live in South Philadelphia.