Gary Cosgrove began his life in public service at age 24 when he was elected as the youngest town councilman in Wood Ridge, NJ. And for the past 24 years, Gary has helped to raise public consciousness of the continuing fight against HIV/AIDS with the Imperial Court of New York. In 2000, Gary was elected as the 10th Emperor of the ICNY along with his Empress Victoria Weston. Together they traveled the United States & Canada to bring awareness to the plight of our homeless LGBTQ youth and the stigma of HIV/AIDS. Gary served 10 terms on the Board of Directors and served as Board President for 10 more years, stepping down in September 2016. In those years as President, Gary’s leadership and commitment helped the Imperial Court of New York, raise over half a million dollars in corporate sponsorships and grants. Gary legally married is partner of 22 years, Damian (Emperor 11 Damian Valentino), on July 24, 2011, being one of the first couples to marry in New York State on the day Marriage Equality was legal on the steps of NYC City Hall. They have been together for 22 years. Gary continued his fight for marriage equality joining the Board of Directors of Garden State Equality and finally helping to achieve marriage equality in New Jersey in October of 2013.

Anthony Crisci is a Connecticut-based LGBTQ+ activist and non-profit leader. Anthony has been engaged in grassroots organizing and capacity building with various LGBTQ+ organizations for the past ten years. He is currently the Director of Marketing and Communications at Circle Care Center, an LGBTQ-focused primary care medical center in Norwalk, CT. Previously, he served as the first Executive Director of Triangle Community Center, Fairfield County's LGBT community center, from 2013 - 2018. During his tenure, Crisci led the revival of Fairfield County's Pride Festival, the creation of TCC's social service navigation program and the launch of a training program to promote LGBTQ+ culturally appropriate services. Anthony recently rejoined the board of The Pride Network, an organization he helped start while attending college with its founder, Christian Fuscarino. 

Brian Hwang is passionate about placemaking and the way the built environment changes how we live. Brian is an associate relationship manager in M&T Bank’s real estate debt group and has 10 years of experience in the real estate industry. Some notable projects Brian has been involved with include the Domino Sugar Factory Redevelopment in Williamsburg and a Mott Haven creative office repositioning in the South Bronx. Brian graduated with a MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the steering committee of the Urban Land Institute Young Leaders Group, is a member of the Gay Real Estate Group of New York, and sits on the M&T Bank LGBTQ employee resource group steering committee. Brian has spoken at the Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) conference on impostor syndrome (2018) and developing an intentional personal professional brand (2019). Outside of work, Brian can be found at Barry’s Bootcamp or trying to find the best bagels and dim sum in NYC.

Dean Dafis is a councilman in Maplewood, NJ – the township's first out, LGBTQ+ elected councilperson. He’s a social justice advocate having worked across the country in efforts including the fight for marriage equality, to ban conversion therapy, in bail reform and youth restorative justice, reentry, the current effort to fairly and equitably legalize adult use recreational cannabis, in law enforcement data tracking and transparency, in trans health equity, in expanding social services to LGBTQ+ youth, and combating housing insecurity. A first generation Greek American who grew up in the melting pot urbanity of 1970’s downtown Philadelphia, Dean is an attorney who began his legal career in legal aid in the criminal & family courts & then later worked at prominent law firms & on Wall Street in economic fraud & white collar crime. Dean championed NJ’s first permanent rainbow crosswalks as a welcome marker of his community’s sanctuary status & inclusivity. In his words, “For our youth in particular, those struggling with doubt or isolation & in need of affirmation, I want them to have a place where they can proudly cross or walk over their fear and shame.”

Sam Del Propost (Board Chair) is a principal of Kaufmann Kozuch Del Propost Wealth Strategies in New York. He is a Certified Financial Planner TM practitioner and an Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisors (sm). Sam and his colleagues have been serving the LGBT community for over 20 years providing financial planning, retirement planning, investment advice, and asset and risk management. He is a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce of New York. Since 1999 Sam and his long-term partner of 36 years have lived in Maplewood, NJ, where they married in 2013 when New Jersey recognized marriage equality.