MOLA Steering Committee

Alexandria Eberhardt, she/her

Executive Director, MA LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Alexandria Eberhardt brings a wealth of experience in economic development and community leadership to her role as Executive Director of the MA LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Her career journey showcases a commitment to fostering growth and collaboration across various sectors. Prior to her current role with the MA LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Alexandria most recently served as President & CEO of the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce. 

Ricardo Martinez, he/him

Executive Director, GLAD Law

Ricardo joined GLAD Law as Executive Director in the summer of 2024 after serving on the front lines of state and national LGBTQ+ advocacy in Texas and Arizona. A first-generation immigrant from Mexico who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, Ricardo has amassed twenty years of nonprofit fundraising, advocacy, and leadership experience.

Finn Gardiner, he/they

Director of Advocacy and Organizing, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

Finn Gardiner is the Director of Advocacy and Organizing at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), where he leads MTPC’s efforts to advance trans rights and lived equity through intersectional policy advocacy, community organizing, and civic education. 

Gretchen Van Ness, she/her

Executive Director, LGBTQ Senior Housing

Gretchen Van Ness is a civil rights attorney and past president of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts and Hyde Jackson Square Main Street. Honored as a Best of Boston lawyer and Super Lawyer and recognized as one of Boston's top LGBT leaders by Boston Magazine, Gretchen has decades of experience in community activism and representing and advocating for the LGBTQ community. 

Gary Daffin, he/him

Executive Director, Multicultural AIDS Coalition

Gary K. Daffin is a long-time civil rights and HIV activist. He’s served as the Executive Director of the Multicultural AIDS Coalition (MAC) since August 1, 2000. Gary has served as co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus; on the steering committee of the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition; on the Boston HIV Prevention Community Advisory Board for Mass General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Fenway Health; and on the board of directors for NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.

Mickie Jones

Mercedes Loving Manley, she/her 

Executive Director & Founder, PrideXtended 

Mercedes Loving-Manley is an artist and community curator whose art, spacemaking and organizing embody radical imagination through intentional dismantling of societal constructs like gender formations. Growing up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, she’s driven by a desire to explore the possibilities of community, security, wellbeing and empowerment within, and beyond the lines of the inner city. As the Executive Director and Founder of PrideX, she works to redistribute resources directly to system-impacted individuals and eliminate risks of violence faced by trans people.

Lilly Rose Valore, she /her

Dancer/Model/Trans Activist

Lilly Rose Valore is a Dancer/Model/Trans Activist from Boston, MA. Her work for Black Trans Lives has led her to become an artist/activist. Lilly has always had an interest in developing the lives of marginalized groups specifically within the city of Boston and often speaks on LGBTQ+ awareness panels, teaches vogue classes and history, and performs at LGBTQ fundraising events. Through her art, she touches on topics such as racial injustices, uplifting marginalized groups, and representation for Trans Women of Color.

Gabriel Rivas

Youth Program Coordinator, Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth

Reggi Alkiewicz, they/them 

Civic Engagement Coordinator, North American Indian Center of Boston

Reggi is the Civic Engagement Coordinator at North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB). As a student, they supported efforts to remove Turner Falls High School’s “Indians” mascot, and are a former AmeriCorps Member at City Year and former volunteer with the Ayanna Pressley for Congress campaign. Reggi is a descendant of Nunatsiavut Government, Labrador, CA.