Staff Directory
Andrew Barnett joined the SMYAL staff in 2005 and was named Executive Director in February 2009. Through
his leadership, SMYAL has refined its program to focus on empowering LGBTQ
youth through leadership development and advocacy. Andrew's passion is
empowering LGBTQ youth to be advocates and change agents in the broader
community; he also trains teachers, providers, and others who shape the lives
of youth. Andrew
has been recognized for his leadership through receiving the
Metro Weekly Next Generation Award
(2010), the National Center for Transgender Equality's Distinguished Ally Award
(2012), being named a Capital Pride Hero (2012), and being voted "Best Gay
Activist" by the
Washington City Paper's
Best of D.C. Readers' Poll (2013). He also currently serves on the Advisory Committee to the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs for the District of Columbia as well as the Mayor's Bullying Prevention Task Force. Native
to the DC metro area, Andrew began his involvement in LGBTQ youth advocacy by
co-founding a Gay-Straight Alliance as a senior in high school, and continued
to be engaged in LGBTQ student organizing while earning his B.A. at the
Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.
Cathy
comes to the DC area via Boston and Central New Jersey, where Cathy was first
introduced to the LGBTQ movement as a GSA member in high school. While
attending Wellesley College, Cathy developed a passion around community
building and student organizing. Much of that campus organizing centered around
working and studying with other queer folks, people of color, Asian
American/Pacific Islander folks, feminists, allies, and folks at the
intersections of all of the above. Prior to working at SMYAL, Cathy was a
Youth Organizer with the Silver Spring-based youth media non-profit, Gandhi
Brigade, supervising media campaigns on immigrant rights and youth issues. At
SMYAL, you can find Cathy facilitating the Women's Leadership Institute,
organizing students through the DC Regional GSA Network, and conducting
outreach for Q&A Youth (SMYAL's discussion group for youth who are
LGBTQ and Asian American/Pacific Islander - a group she wished she had growing
up). In her spare time, Cathy enjoys cooking, eating, friendly board game
competition, and a good dance party. Cathy is also on the steering
committee of Asian Pacific Islander Queer Sisters (APIQS) and helps to plan
Undoing Racism trainings in the DC area. Cathy doesn't really like
pronouns but is sometimes cool with a sassy she/her/hers.
Sara Conklin came to SMYAL after a year with the
Human Rights Campaign, where she specialized in membership, fundraising, and
gift processing. Prior to this, Sara graduated with her MA in African Studies
from Stanford University, where she concentrated her studies in global health,
gender, and sexuality. While at Stanford, Sara worked at the University’s Health
Center, providing free HIV testing to the campus community. Beforehand, Sara
graduated with a BA in International Relations/Political Science from Florida
International University in Miami. Her global studies have taken her to East
and West Africa, including the summer of 2009 living in Arusha, Tanzania where
Sara worked on HIV/AIDS testing and education. Native to Florida, Sara enjoys a
lot of sunshine and is an avid SCUBA diver! You’ll commonly find her traveling
south in the search of colorful sea life and reefs. Sara is eager and excited
to join the Development team, and to be a part of SMYAL’s wide-ranging and
meaningful work in the community.
Ryan Drab joined the SMYAL team in August 2012 as the HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referrals Coordinator after serving as part of the AIDS United AmeriCorps Team. During his service in AmeriCorps, Ryan worked as a Youth Developer at the Latin American Youth Center and worked directly with LGBTQ youth at their main DC location. Ryan earned a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in philosophy from Seattle University before transitioning into his work in the DC area. Ryan is focused on bringing an anti-oppression perspective and applying a social justice framework to his work with youth. Additionally, Ryan is interested in developing ways for communities to work in solidarity with one another.
Sean Link
Operations & Communications Coordinator
| sean.link@smyal.org
(direct) 202.567.3156
(t) 202.546.5940 ext. 106 |
Sean Link joined the SMYAL team in November 2011 after a year working abroad in South Korea. His prior experience in LGBTQ advocacy includes staffing Boston University's First Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP), where he led teams in completing community service projects in the Gender Focus and HIV/AIDS issue areas. Born and raised in Connecticut, Sean studied at Boston University, where he earned a B.A. in History of International Relations, studied abroad in Morocco, interned on Capitol Hill, and performed in and directed various Shakespeare adaptations. In his rare time off, Sean enjoys long jogs through the woods (especially with the DC Front Runners), getting lost in a good book or new music, and laughing at ridiculous puns.
D'Angelo,
started his advocacy work as a youth here at SMYAL, participating in almost
every program offered at the center and gaining skills that he uses now as a
staff member. His potential and hard work did not take long to be noticed
by SMYAL staff and community partners. He was hired as the youth outreach
intern and later became the HIV CTR Specialist. D'Angelo spends a lot of his
time working and volunteering with organizations around the DC area fighting
the spread of HIV, bullying, homelessness, and other issues facing LGBTQ youth
in today's society. He has testified at congressional hearings as well as given
speeches at a number rallies in support of bills directly affecting LGBTQ
youth. He has been featured in documentaries, major newspapers, magazines,
blogs, and websites internationally. D'Angelo currently facilitates a
support group for young HIV-positive men in Washington, DC. He has been a
valued member of the SMYAL family for about five years and plans to one day
open his own non-profit organization.
Dominique joins SMYAL and the DC metro area by way of
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Originally from outside of Philadelphia,
Dominique earned her B.A. in International Relations from Wellesley College and her
M.Ed. in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her graduate studies allowed Dominique to focus
on issues of race, gender and sexual orientation and further develop her skills
and passion for curriculum design, dialogue facilitation, and popular education
techniques. While earning her M.Ed, Dominique supervised Peer Mentors as a part
of the First Year Education program in the department of Residence Life at
UMass Amherst. She especially enjoyed the opportunity to work closely with
youth as they educated and empowered their peers toward academic and
socio-emotional success.
Jonathan joined the SMYAL team following a decade in academic fundraising at the Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, and most recently, as Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He has been recognized with an award for excellence in fundraising from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Jonathan grew up on Cape Cod and, as a youth, was a member of Cape Cod Repertory Theater Company and the Academy of Performing Arts. A practicing artist, he graduated with a degree in studio art and art history from Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY and has completed graduate course work at the Corcoran College of Art + Design. When not in the office or camping on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Jonathan can be found at home in Silver Spring with his husband and their 17-year-old Lab mix named Joni.
SMYAL Interns:Ari PomerantzAri was born and raised in D.C. and currently lives at home. Ari interns for the
Youth Advocates Program and works on the DMV Trans Circulator, a newsletter and
group of transgender people working to build
transgender community and support inside and outside of prison walls in DC, MD,
and VA. In College, they majored in History, Black Studies, and
Education.
Tatiana NewmanMore info coming soon!
