Marriage Equality USA Board of Directors

Marriage Equality USA's Board of Directors is responsible for the governance, health, welfare and conduct of our organization. The Board monitors the organization and its volunteer leaders and staff.

As of December 2011 MEUSA and Marriage Equality New York (MENY) are in the process of consolidating to create an even stronger force in the fight for marriage equality. We will be updating this list upon completion of that process. Click here for more information on MENY.

Dave Janis-Kitzmiller President

Dave has been a gay rights activist since his teens. As the Chairperson of the Conference Council on Youth Ministries for the California Nevada Methodist Church he was a supporter that stood up for the rights of gay and lesbian clergy. As a young adult, Dave became active as a member of the California Alliance for Pride and Equality (CAPE), which later became the foundation of Equality California (EQCA). Dave has always been a leader involved in community activities and helped out as a Volunteer Supervisor with San Diego Pride as well as well as the San Diego Aids Foundation. Dave continues to volunteer as a member of the Solano Pride Center, the Solano-Napa LGBTQI Organization Coalition, the Vallejo Gay Network, Stonewall Democrats, Log Cabin Republicans, NAACP, and EQCA as well as Marriage Equality USA's Solano County Chapter.

Dave met his husband Jeff in 2000, filed as Domestic Partners with the state of California's Domestic Partner Registry in 2001 and then was married in the rotunda of San Francisco's City Hall along with many other same-sex couples on 15 February 2004. Dave has been featured in the documentary I Will, I Do, We Did! which chronicles the historic San Francisco same-sex marriages of 2004, in AB205 training materials prepared by the Department of Justice, on websites such as The Rainbow Wedding Network, Gay Rites, Love & Pride as well as in the Spouses for Life-A Wedding Album exposition. Most recently he was featured on ABC Television's Good Morning America as California became the second state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriages. Dave has served on Marriage Equality USA's Board of Directors since 2006 and was president of the organization for two years. In 2008 he legally married his husband Jeff during California's "Summer of Love".

Dave's highly sophisticated list of fave foods includes: Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oscar Meyer hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, PB&J sandwiches, and Spaghettios! His favorite books are The Celestine Prophecy, The Tenth Insight and The God Memorandum.

Sam Thoron Vice President

Samuel Thoron, is a highly respected leader in the Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) community nationwide. Sam and his wife Julia are the parents of two straight sons and a lesbian daughter. Sam's rich history of dedication both to PFLAG and his community began in the summer of 1990 when he became part of the steering committee for the San Francisco Chapter of PFLAG. Sam quickly became an instantly recognizable figure in the community, dedicating countless hours to answering PFLAG help line calls and responding to requests for speakers from the organization.

In September 1992 Sam was honored with an invitation to join the PFLAG National Board as Regional Director for the Mid-Pacific Region. Sam also distinguished himself by his leadership of PFLAG's San Francisco Bay Area Chapters, producing the hugely successful San Francisco PFLAG National Convention in 1994. Eventually rotating out of his Regional Director duties, Thoron continued to serve on the National Board for an additional 9 years. In these capacities and other volunteer situations, Sam currently handles our organizational insurance and he's also held the positon of Treasurer. He is volunteering with Marriage Equality USA because he strongly supports the work of volunteer run organizations whose goals and vision compliment those of PFLAG.

Sam and Julia are long-time San Franciscans -- together the couple was featured in a television commercial during the No on 8 campaign in California. Sam also serves on the board of Freedom to Marry. Not a frequent film-goer, appropriately enough, the last movie Sam saw was The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Christine Allen

Christine is a long-term political and community activist -- she is passionate about civil rights and equal justice for all. She's worked in the arenas of racial and economic injustice, fair housing and LGBTIQ rights.

Christine and her wife, Ann Brown, were married for the first time, soaking wet, at San Francisco City Hall, after spending the night in a winter storm and waiting on line for 27 hours during the "Winter of Love". Christine and Ann have shared their lives and love for more than 26 years. They are the matriarchs of an extended family, raised 5 children and are the grandmothers of 3. They were able to enter into legal marriage on 17 June 2008.

Christine intends to keep working in the marriage equality movement until all loving and committed adult American couples are able to access civil marriage and be treated equally under the law. Once we realize that goal she will transfer her focus to another human rights issue, likely Universal Health Care. Christine says, "Politics keep my blood moving."

Christine thoroughly enjoys playing word games such as Scrabble and Bananagrams with her family, and she is an avid reader -- good fiction all the way! She loves music and R&B heads her list.

Pamela Brown

Pamela and her spouse, Shauna, were one of the fortunate couples to have participated in the life-altering experience of being married in San Francisco in 2004. The couple legally married during Califlornia's 4-month window when same-sex marriages were legal in 2008. Pamela works at UC Berkeley as the Executive Director for Planning and Analysis where she supervises a large department and focuses on project management, including the production of statistical analysis and ways to present information to various audiences.

In addition, Pamela participated in Professor George Lakoff's (Don't Think of an Elephant) linguistics course to examine ways to successfully frame messages and has volunteered with Lakoff's Rockridge Institute to provide background information and materials on how progressives and conservatives discuss marriage equality. Pamela brings these skills and her research on marriage equality to her position as Policy Director for Marriage Equality USA. Having served as a grassroots Chapter Leader in CA Alameda County and having supported a successful effort to pass marriage equality legislation in that county, Pamela appreciates the hard work and contributions that grassroots leaders make in our marriage equality movement. Pamela is here to help and she can pull the stats and facts together quickly to assist our leaders and members on the front lines to target and communicate our message: that marriage matters and that civil unions and domestic partnerships are not equal.

Jane Wishon

Jane Wishon is a straight ally who has held leadership positions in a number of socially conscious organizations for the last 20+ years. She currently serves as a CA Los Angeles County Chapter Leader for Marriage Equality USA, volunteers in Case Management for AIDS Project LA, reaches out to high school students for UCLA Admissions, blogs on behalf of the LGBT community, and works with The Trevor Project both in schools and online.

Jane's background includes an MBA as a Baker Fellow at the Anderson School of Management UCLA, New Business Research and Development for Xerox Learning Systems, and Store Management for Bullocks Wilshire Department Stores. Jane lives in Los Angeles CA with her husband of 34 years and her three children. She is an Elder of the Presbyterian Church.

Jane focuses on building coalitions and her work for Marriage Equality USA includes networking with People of Color communities. She also serves on the board of the Latino Equality Allance.

Jane likes to read, and her favorite teams are the Lakers and the Dodgers. Her family teases her about being blonde and speaking slowly (she grew up in Texas). Inequality is the thing that gets Jane's blood to boiling!