ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced unprecedented, diverse appointments to the Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs. The new appointments represent a wider range of professional and lived experience within Maryland’s LGBTQIA+ communities. Today, for the first time in Maryland, Governor Moore proclaimed Transgender Day of Remembrance in Maryland.

“The Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs embodies the opportunity to deliver on our promise to leave no Marylander behind,” said Gov. Moore. “I look forward to working in partnership with our talented commission members to create full equality and equity for our LGBTQIA+ communities in Maryland.”

The commission was created in 2021 to advocate for more inclusive LGBTQIA+ policies and end discriminatory practices in the State of Maryland. As a unit of the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, the commission advocated for and achieved expansion to be more inclusive during the 2023 legislative session.

The newly appointed, 21-member Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs includes individuals who represent a broader range of racial and ethnic backgrounds, in addition to more diverse identities, including:

• 8 Black/African American members
• 7 White members
• 3 Hispanic members
• 2 Asian members
• 1 American Indian member
• Individuals from 13 of the state’s 24 jurisdictions, including 8 rural counties
• 9 individuals who identify as transgender, nonbinary and two-spirit
• 4 individuals who identify as having disabilities
• 2 individuals who are active-duty military or veterans

The new appointees include: 

Josie Caballero (she/her) is the director of U.S. Transgender Survey and special projects at the National Center for Transgender Equality and is a masters candidate in Political Management at George Washington University.

August Clayton (any pronouns) is the founder and sustainability and facilitation lead of Mosaic, a cooperative dedicated to support Black trans men and masculine Marylanders. Clayton is a development associate at the BYP100 Education Fund (BYP100 is a national member-led youth organizing network focused on Black youth leadership development and core support for institutional strengthening).

Nicole Hollywood (she/her) is a professor of management at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, president of Salisbury PFLAG, and deputy chapter lead of the gun violence reduction group Maryland Moms Demand Action.

Tina Grace Jones (she/her) is the chief financial officer at For All Seasons, a non-profit outpatient mental health and rape crisis center serving Maryland’s Upper Eastern Shore. Jones is the co-founder and secretary of Delmarva Pride and she is the former deputy executive director at Freestate Justice and a current board member at Freestate Justice.

Asher Kennedy (he/him) is a family liaison for Washington County Public Schools and is the vice president on the board of directors for Hagerstown Hopes, a non-profit bringing together Hagerstown’s straight and LGBTQ+ communities. 

Paula Neira (she/her) is the program director of LGBTQ+ Equity and Education in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity at Johns Hopkins University and is an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Hopkins School of Medicine. 

Wendy Novak (she/her) is a research administrator at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Department of Medicine and is a mother of three and advocate for LGBTQIA+ equity in public schools.

M Valle Pease (they/she) is a PhD candidate in counseling psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park and graduate researcher at University of Maryland’s Social Identity Lab.

Sarah Stern (she/they) is a health educator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health and a health content writer for Native American LifeLines, an Urban American Indian Health Program serving Baltimore and Boston.

Kijana West (she/her) is the director and founder of Safe Space Cumberland, Maryland’s first brick-and-mortar queer community space, and is the LGBTQIA committee chair for the NAACP of Cumberland.

The new appointees listed above join the current Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs members:

Nicholas Augustine (he/him) is the assistant chief of police with the Montgomery County Police Department and a masters candidate in public safety at the University of Virginia.

Lee Blinder (they/them) is the executive director and founder of Trans Maryland and the project lead and co-founder of the Maryland Trans Resilience Conference, the state’s first trans-led and trans-run conference. Blinder is also the state policy fellow for GLSEN National, co-chair for the Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities, and a member of the Montgomery County LGBTQIA+ Advisory Board. 

Joan Bryan (she/her) is a career Social Security Administration professional, retired after 40 years, who is known at the Social Security Administration for her leadership of a national project to provide technological and physical support to differently abled front-line employees. Bryan is a member of the Baltimore County Human Relations Commission and PFLAG Baltimore. 

Amit Dhir (he/him) is an infectious disease nurse practitioner and HIV Prevention Clinic manager at Chase Brexton and a PhD candidate in philosophy at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

Kurt Doan (he/him) is the senior executive assistant to the president and liaison for board and legislative affairs at Harford Community College. Doan is the president of Upper Chesapeake Bay Pride.

Deborah Dunn (she/her) is a family physician assistant and trans health coordinator at the LGBT Resource Center at Chase Brexton and is a subject matter expert in transgender medicine for children and adults.

Anthony Fox (he/him) is chief of the Housing and Community Partnerships Division at the District of Columbia Department of Health and a licensed graduate professional counselor for the State of Maryland and District of Columbia.

Jabari Lyles (they/them) is the principal consultant at Jabari Lyles Consulting, whose clients include the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Baltimore Safe Haven, and school systems nationwide. Lyles is a member of the Maryland LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce.

Stephen Martin (he/him) is the section chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology and attending physician at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians and Johns Hopkins Hospital and a researcher focused on improving gynecological care in transgender communities.

Mark Ridderhoff (he/him) is a Behavioral health therapist at University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Hospital and the president of PFLAG Baltimore.

Joseph Toolan (he/him) is the manager of Chesapeake Bay Programs at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and a mentor with the Young Professionals of Color Program at the Choose Clean Water Coalition. Toolan is the chair of Annapolis Pride.