Board of Directors

Pauline Park (president)

Pauline Park (paulinepark.com) is chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), a statewide transgender advocacy organization that she co-founded in 1998, and president of the board of directors of Queens Pride House (queenspridehouse.org), which she co-founded in 1997. Park also co-founded Iban/Queer Koreans of New York in 1997 and served as its coordinator from 1997 to 1999, as well as the Out People of Color Political Action Club (OutPOCPAC), the first political club by and for LGBT people of color in New York City, which she co-founded in 2001, serving as co-president of the club from 2007-2010.

Park currently serves as vice-president of the board of directors of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF). She named and helped create the Transgender Health Initiative of New York (THINY), a community organizing project established by TLDEF and NYAGRA to ensure that transgendered and gender non-conforming people can access health care in a safe, respectful and non-discriminatory manner. And as executive editor, she oversaw the creation and publication in July 2009 of the NYAGRA transgender health care provider directory, the first directory of transgender-sensitive health care providers in the New York City metropolitan area and the first directory of transgender-sensitive health care providers published in print format anywhere in the United States.

Park led the campaign for the transgender rights ordinance enacted by the New York City Council in 2002 and she served on the working group that helped to draft guidelines — adopted by the Commission on Human Rights in December 2004 — for implementation of the new statute. Pauline negotiated inclusion of gender identity and expression in the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), a safe schools law enacted by the New York state legislature in 2010, and the first fully transgender-inclusive legislation enacted by that body, and she is a member of the statewide task force created to implement the statute. She also served on the steering committee of the coalition that secured enactment of the Dignity in All Schools Act by the New York City Council in September 2004.

Park did her B.A. in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her M.Sc. in European Studies at the London School of Economics and her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana. She has written widely on LGBT issues and has conducted transgender sensitivity training sessions for a wide range of organizations.

In 2005, Park became the first openly transgendered grand marshal of the New York City Pride March. She was the subject of "Envisioning Justice: The Journey of a Transgendered Woman," a 32-minute documentary about her life and work by documentarian Larry Tung that premiered at the New York LGBT Film Festival (NewFest) in 2008. 

Charles Ober (treasurer)

Charles Ober was one of the original co-founding members of Queens Pride House and is the only member of the board of directors to have served continuously since the organization's founding in January 1997. Ober served as president of the board of directors from January 1999 to January 2008. He was the founding treasurer and festival chair of the Queens Lesbian & Gay Pride Committee, founded in 1993, and he served on the steering committee of the Stonewall 25 commemoration in 1994.

Ober served as president of the Ridgewood Democratic Club (founded in 1908) for four years and he currently serves as president of the Ridgewood Property Owners & Civic Association, the first openly gay person elected to that position. Ober is also a member of the community advisory board of LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York and treasurer of the Asian-American Consulting Service/New Land Community Center. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation and a member of the board of directors of the Richmond Hill - Woodhaven Kiwanis.

Ober led the effort to pass a graffiti nuissance abatement law for the Queens Civic Congress; he wrote the law enacted by the New York City Council in December 2005 and later amended. Ober served on the board of Dignity New York from 1992 through 2000.

A financial executive for a building supply firm based in New York City, Ober worked as controller for a Manhattan-based construction firm prior to his current position. He earned his M.B.A. in quantitiative analysis from St. John's University and completed post-graduate credits in finance. Ober was endorsed by the New York Times when he ran for the City Council in 2008. He lives with his partner of 11 years in Ridgewood.

Audwin Edwards (Vice President)

Audwin Edwards has a demonstrated ability to instill confidence and establish rapport through the use of motivational interviewing for change and has had responsibility for organizational planning, communicating, coordinating, and scheduling. Audwin Edwards is a human resource rehabilitation workforce professional counselor experienced in employment and career advisement training and assessment. He has expertise in motivational and behavioral changes, and jobs development. Driven by a sincere interest to help others solve problems, meet daily needs, and adjust behavior to attain long-term improvements in lifestyles, Edwards began his career in counseling.   

Edwards earned his M.S. and B.S. in Human Resources in 1998 from the Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management & Urban Policy at the New School for Social Research in New York City. He earned post-graduate certificates as a mental health counselor in 2006, as an Adkins Life Skills Certified Trainer in 2001, in financial aid novice training in 1999, and in training and development in 1998. Edwards has worked as a senior vocational counselor at the Metropolitan Hospital Center in East Harlem since 2001, where he works to prepare individuals for employment by providing ongoing group and individual counseling. At the Met, he also develops and implements curriculum to consumers within the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation guidelines.

  Sara Gillen (Secretary)

Sara Gillen has more than 15 years of experience in the field of HIV/AIDS services, overseeing HIV prevention programs since 1997.

Gillen is currently Senior Vice President, Community Health Services at Harlem United Community AIDS Center where she has developed, implemented, and evaluated some of Harlem United’s most innovative HIV prevention programs, including a 40-person peer education training program; individual and group HIV treatment education and adherence support; substance abuse and harm reduction services for HIV-infected persons; and community-based outreach and prevention education for diverse groups ranging from Spanish-speaking women in East Harlem to substance users in single room occupancy hotels citywide. She conceived Harlem United’s prevention program for youth, HOME (Helping Our Men Evolve).

Prior to coming to Harlem United, Gillen was director of Prevention Services at the AIDS Service Center in the East Village. She holds a master’s degree in public health from the Hunter College School of Urban Public Health.

 Kleber Jalon

Kleber F. Jalon is a seasoned business manager with over ten years of experience in accounting.  As Assistant Controller of Rocket Jewelry Box, he is responsible for financial and fiscal functions.  Jalon speaks Spanish, Dutch and German.  Jalon holds an MBA from Baruch College

Itala T.C. Rutter

Itala T.C. Rutter is currently the Director, Emergency Food & Shelter Program at United Way of New York City.   Rutter served on the Board of the Emergency Rent Coalition, the Policy Committee on New York City Hunger Resources and participated in Philanthropy New York.  Rutter, born in Trieste, Italy has published papers on Italian feminist texts.  She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).