meet our advisory board
Martha Bernstein
Martha Bernstein is actively involved in a number of community efforts. She currently serves on several area Boards including the Mattatuck Museum, the Waterbury Symphony, the CJR and the Susan B Anthony Project. As a former Board Chair of the Connecticut Community Foundation, she has been aware of the Pride in the Hills Fund since its founding and has admired and supported its work.
Martha lives in Litchfield.
Kathy Bower
Kathy is the managing partner at the Southbury, Connecticut law office of Gager, Bower & Scalzo, LLP. She is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey and the United States Supreme Court. Kathy presently serves as a Special Master in the United States District Court and as an Attorney Trial Referee/Arbitrator at the Superior Court. She is past president of the Southbury Business Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Audubon Center at the Bent of the River, Southbury Perpetual Fund and the SUNY Oswego Foundation where she chairs the Governance Committee. She is founder and past chair of the Women’s Giving Circle. Kathy is also a trustee and executive committee member on the Connecticut Community Foundation Board, where she serves as chair of the Trustee’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee.
On weekends, she is active with the social justice movement called Justice Southbury. She lives in Southbury with her husband, Rick, three daughters, Anna, Julia and Grace, and two pups.
Jennifer Burke
Jennifer Burke is a marketing and public relations pro who - fueled by a desire to to do good - left a corporate PR career to start her own agency in 2005. For nearly two decades, InsideOut Partners has worked with clients who share Jen's mission to make the world a better place. She's built countless charitable partnerships, run award-winning social and earned media campaigns, directed massive service events, award shows, concerts and fundraising galas, and - in doing so - has helped raise the profiles of a long list of noble causes that are impacting lives all over the world. Jen is passionate about supporting and affirming the LGBTQ+ community, having helped to facilitate related conversation and education for community members in conjunction with organizations including The Trevor Project and S.M.A.R.T. Jen grew up and currently lives in Southbury with her husband and business partner Tony, their kids and their two puppies.
Michael Cobb
Rev. J. Michael Cobb (he/him/his)
Michael is passionate about ministries of justice and inclusion, and enjoys bringing his entrepreneurial experiences and enthusiasm for various pop culture fandoms into ministry. He is pastor of The United Methodist Church of Danbury, having previously served churches in New York and Connecticut.
Before recognizing his call to ministry, Michael worked in business communications, focusing on public relations and branding for financial companies ranging from startups to managing public relations and marketing for two business units of a major international energy company. His nonprofit professional work has included advocacy for homeless and immigrant populations with the Association for Religious Communities (ARC), and working for sexual justice and education in faith communities and in society with the Religious Institute. Other nonprofit work has included the National Black Justice Coalition advocating for African-American LGBT civil rights, plus diverse consulting positions.
Michael is a graduate of Gettysburg College, and earned his Master of Divinity at Yale Divinity School, with coursework completed at Hartford International University and at Asbury Theological Seminary. He lives in Danbury, Connecticut with his wife and two sons. He is passionate about justice, faith, music, comics, cooking, good tea, and his wife and two sons (not always in that order).
George John FrantziS II
George John Frantzis II, 62, is a co-owner of Quassy Amusement Park and Waterpark, Inc. in Middlebury, Conn., a traditional family park purchased in 1937 by his late grandfather, John Frantzis, and two business partners.
Today, the 20-acre park is entirely family owned by the Frantzis and Anderson Family and operated with fourth generation of members of the family working at the property.
George Frantzis II helps to oversee the daily operations of the 115-year-old park and its catered outings division.
He resides in Woodbury, Conn., with his wife, Joanne. He has two children, Alexandra, 31, and George III, 29. And one grandchild, Emmeline.
He is treasurer of the Woodbury Ambulance Association and a past president of the New England Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. In addition, he has served on boards of the Foster Adoptive Mission, Women’s Emergency Shelter Community School and the CBIA.
George is a member of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions and has recently been asked to sit on the Board of Shakesperience Productions, Western CT Tourism District and Pride In the Hills.
joanne frantzis
Joanne is a Philadelphia native, and has made Connecticut her home for the past 34 years with her husband, George. Mother of two and grandmother to Emmeline, who arrived this past summer.
A Licensed Massage Therapist specializing in NeuroMuscular Bodywork, Joanne has had a practice in Woodbury for the past 25 years. Forever believing in community, Joanne has served on the Board of Directors of the St Mary’s Hospital Foundation, Child Guidance Clinic, The Waterbury Girls Club, and many other philanthropic organizations.
An avid and unwavering advocate for children and human rights, Joanne lends her enthusiasm to raising awareness and support to any and all who are in need. As strong believers in education and community, Joanne and her family have sponsored and hosted hundreds of fundraising and educational events at their family business, Quassy Amusement Park.
Deborah Fuller
FOUNDER
Deb is the former Senior Vice President, Human Resources, at The New York Hospital (now New York Presbyterian) in New York City. Since moving to Woodbury, CT, she has been engaged in various elected and volunteer community activities. She is President of the Board of Directors of Spruce Bank Farm, a 60-unit affordable housing complex for seniors in Woodbury and she is a member of the Board of the Housatonic Valley Health District. Deb served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Finance from 2000-2013 and Vice-Chair of the Charter Revision Commission in 2001 and 2015. She is a member of the Connecticut Community Foundation’s Arts & Culture Grants Committee and a 2016 participant in their Western Connecticut Leadership Program.
Kamora Le’Ella Herrington
Kamora Le'Ella Herrington is a mother first, in all of the ways that a mother is. She is the owner and operator or Kamora’s Cultural Corner and is an active Cultural Humility presenter and educator who began her formal career as a teacher for the City of Hartford’s Early Learning Centers in the early 90’s. Through the years she has worked with numerous organizations and groups committed to marginalized communities, and ran a mentoring program for Queer youth in out of home care for 15 years. Kamora is a member of the National Black Justice Coalition's (NBJC) Leadership Advisory Council, a founding member of CT Black Women as well as a current member and former Chair of the City of Hartford’s LGBTQ+ Commission.
Kamora has been honored as a person committed to supporting and nurturing humans, most recently as a 2019 recipient of the 100 Women of Color Award; she is also very proud to have been awarded the 2016 Association for Experiential Education Person in Charge of Unlocking Potential (PICCOUP) award. Her personal life mission includes, “creating spaces where families are free to love their children” which is the guiding principal of all of her work.
“I’ve lived a life that has placed me in positions where I could either uphold the status quo, or share truths that may not be pleasant, but are necessary,” ‘we are the ones we’ve been waiting for'; humans willing to step in when necessary and step out when it’s time.”
Chris Herrmann
FOUNDER
Filmmaker, environmentalist and LGBTQ activist, Chris is the founder and creative director of Mannicmedia, a film and video production co, based in NYC working in education, sustainability, fashion and fragrance since 1995. He has a degree in Poli Sci from CUA, Washington, D.C. and worked on the hill interning with Sen. Patrick Leahy and the DNC. Moving to NYC he continued his studies at NYU Film School and worked in the performing arts world creating films for Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp and others for PBS, BBC and Bravo, as well as writing and directing a feature film on Martha Graham, Ghostlight that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, Chris volunteered during the height of the AIDS crisis for four years as a councilor on the GMHC AIDS hotline. He has also been deeply involved with The Rainforest Alliance and The Martha Graham Dance Company for many years. Chris and his husband Joseph Lorino reside in NYC, the South of France and have also lived in New Preston CT since 2002.
Mauria Jacobi
With over 25 years of experience as a physical therapist, I am dedicated to helping my clients achieve their health and wellness goals.
Alongside my professional commitments, my passion for community involvement has led me to serve on various committees. I co-chaired the Women Fore Women golf tournament which raised funds for mammograms for women in the Waterbury area. I also collaborated with the St Mary’s Hospital Foundation, co-chairing their annual gala with my husband Greg.
In addition, over the years, I served on various committees with the Mattatuck Museum.
In 2022, I joined the Pride in the Hills committee, where I co-chaired the Youth Quassy event, and I recently co-chaired the annual auction at the Owl in New Preston. I am proud to have joined the Pride in the Hills board in 2024, continuing my commitment to make a positive impact for the LGBTQI community.
When I am not working or volunteering, I enjoy running, working out, and enjoying new culinary experiences with my family.
As a proud mom of three, I value time spent traveling and creating memories with my family.
Kevin jennings
FOUNDER
Kevin is the CEO of Lambda Legal, America’s premiere LGBTQ legal advocacy organization. He is a longtime leader in the LGBT movement. In 1988 Kevin created the first high school-based Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club, leading him to found and lead the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) for 18 years. GLSEN grew the number of GSA’s in the US from one in 1988 to over 6,500, with at least one in every state. Kevin then served as Assistant Secretary of Education for Safe & Drug Free-Schools in the Obama Administration Kevin then served as Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation, a leading international funder of LGBT human rights work, and President of the Tenement Museum before coming to Lambda Legal in 2019. In 1997 a documentary he wrote and produced on LGBT history for young people, Out of the Past, won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary and in 2018 he was Executive Producer for the PBS documentary The Lavender Scare, which details the 1950’s witch hunts for LGBT people. In 2020 he served as an Executive Producer on the HBO documentary Welcome to Chechnya, which was short-listed for an Academy Award for exposing the ongoing pogrom against LGBT people in the Russian Republic of Chechnya. Kevin has published seven books and holds degrees from Harvard, Columbia, and NYU.
Tony Labriola
Tony Labriola has been a public relations and corporate communications strategist for nearly 30 years, 25 of which he spent as an executive leader at one of the world’s top integrated communications agencies. In 2018, Tony left corporate life to join his wife Jen in running InsideOut Partners, and today serves an eclectic roster of feisty startups, established brands, and non-profit organizations nationwide. While the agency's client roster spans disparate categories and industries, they all share a distinct and common purpose: to affect positive change in the world. Tony works alongside every client to hone their vision, articulate their story, and exert their influence on the industries they serve and society at-large. Closer to home, Tony’s professional life has become profoundly personal as he’s taken an active role in the Southbury/Middlebury Equity and Inclusion Council’s LGBTQ+ Working Group, and now as a board member for Pride in the Hills. When not at work you can usually find Tony behind a stove sustaining his family, friends, and anyone else who shows up with great food and fun, driving the Dad bus, or walking the family pups.
joseph lorino
Joseph joins the board having co-chaired the silent auction along side Jennifer Burke with great success. He is an award winning Realtor in Connecticut and New York City for 19 years. He and his husband, Chris Herrmann, have lived in New Preston, Connecticut since 2002 and have been supporters of local charities like Housatonic Valley Association, Library Luminaries and Tea for Two Hundred. He and Chris reside in Connecticut, Manhattan and Barçelona.
Christopher Rempfer
Chris is Professor of English at CT State Naugatuck Valley in Waterbury, a college that educates, encourages, and serves 22 cities and towns from Waterbury to Danbury and the Litchfield Hills. He lives in Southbury where he serves on the Board of Directors of the Southbury Public Library and is a member of the Southbury Democratic Town Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Palace Theater in Waterbury.
At CT State/NV, Chris is English Department Chair, is Faculty Representative for the Naugatuck Valley Foundation, and serves as faculty advisor to Naugatuck Valley’s LGBTQIA+ student club, the Pride Alliance.
In addition to serving on the PITH Advisory Board, Chris is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Community Foundation where he sits on the grantmaking committees for The Southbury Community Trust, Building Equitable Opportunity, Pathways for Older Adults, and the Pride in the Hills Fund.
Chris is grateful for being lifted up by the strong, resolute shoulders of LGBTQIA+ individuals and supporters who have come before him and hopes to provide the same strong, resolute shoulders for those who will follow.