GLAA 2008 Officers
President Barrett L. Brick
is GLAA’s immediate past Secretary. He previously served as GLAA’s Treasurer from 1996 through 1999. He has also
been a member of the Board of the Capital Area Log Cabin Club (1995-1998), as well as of the
Washington DC Jewish Study Center (1994-1998).
Barrett leads services at and is also a former President of Washington's
Congregation Bet Mishpachah (1984-1985), after having served on the
congregation’s Board from 1980 to 1984, and also is the former Executive Director of the
World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations (1987-1993). He is a recipient of GLAA’s
Distinguished Service Award (2000),
Bet Mishpachah’s Harvey Milk Chesed Award (2002), and has been honored as a Community Pioneer by the
Rainbow History Project (2007).
Professionally, Barrett is an attorney, and serves as Vice Chair of the Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity of the American Bar Association. He was graduated from the Horace Mann School in 1971, received his BA from Columbia University in 1976, and his JD from Columbia University in 1979. As a student at Columbia University, he was Treasurer (1974-1975) and Vice President (1975-1976) of Gay People at Columbia, and in 1979 founded the Columbia Gay and Lesbian Law Students Association. While in New York, Barrett served as a member of Manhattan Community Board 9 (1978-1980), and as a member of the Board (1974-1975) and Chair of the Community Outreach Committee (1977-1980) of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah.
Barrett is a member of the Screaming Eagles, proud supporters of 4-time MLS Cup Champions and InterAmerican Cup Champions DC United. He also serves on the planning committee for Gaylaxicon 2008, the annual international science fiction, fantasy, and horror convention for GLBT fans and friends. In addition, he is an avid amateur astronomer, and is recognized as one of the world’s top ten eclipse chasers. Barrett’s partner, Antonio Ruffini, a writer and engineer, lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Vice President for Political Affairs Richard J. Rosendall
was president of GLAA for three years ending in January 1999. He received GLAA's
Distinguished Service Award in April 1999. He is a columnist, writing "Holding the Center” for the Boston gay newspaper
Bay Windows
and "Center Field" for Washington's Metro Weekly.
His work has appeared in
Salon.com and
FrontPageMagazine.com.
He is a contributor to
Independent Gay Forum
and
Liberty Education Forum.
He co-founded the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) in 1981,
served as its public relations director from 1985 to 1996, and received its Circle of Excellence Award
in 1992. He was active with the
Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses in the 1980s and 1990s,
and attended its first five choral festivals. He produced benefit performances by the gay male vocal quintet
The Flirtations for the
Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League in 1991. His interest
in international activism led him to persuade both GLAA and GALA Choruses to join the
International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA),
whose conferences he
attended in 1993 and 1994. In 1996 he launched world wide web sites for GLAA and
GMCW, and he continues to administer the GLAA site. He is a founding member of the NAACP-DC
Metropolitan Police and Criminal Justice Review Task Force. He participated
in "celebrity roast" fundraisers for DC's
Black Lesbian and Gay Pride Day in 1996
and 1997. He wrote and officiated at a gay wedding
ceremony for friends in October 1994. He is a native Washingtonian.
His personal webpage is at
www.holdingthecenter.net.
Vice President for Administration Kevin Davis has been a GLAA member since 1998.
He previously served as president, administrative vice president & secratary. Kevin is employed by Host
Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a Bethesda based real estate investment trust company.
Kevin is an "Unsung Hero" awardee for the Mautner Project (2006).
Mautner is a national lesbian heath organization. Volunteering since 1999 and in 2001-present Kevin has helped
coordinate Mautner's annual GALA benefit. Mautner educates all women on women's health issues regardless of
sexual orientation.
Secretary Mitch Wood
Treasurer Rodney Elin has been active in community service in Washington, D.C. ever since his arrival in 1986. He has worked with Hugh O'Brian Youth leadership (HOBY) for twenty years, The Washington Jaycees, the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), the Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force (WACDTF), as well as GLAA. He currently also serves as a representative on Metro's Rider's Advisory council.
Rodney works as a professional Mystery Shopper, providing local restaurants and retail establishments with customer service evaluations. As GLAA's treasurer, his goals are to improve GLAA's responsiveness to its members through effective communication, as well as work to increase membership in GLAA.
