PEOPLE TO WATCH 2003

Profiles by Clarence Burton Bagby, Thomas Robert Blanton, Tonia Nita Bowser, Tim Brookover, Andrew Christopher, and Eric A. T. Dieckman

Poised for her city controller race, Annise Parker leads our list of GLBT Houstonians who will make headlines or make news this year

With a twinkle in her eye, Houston City Council member Annise Parker last month discussed her plans to run for city controller in November.

“I really enjoy local government and want to stay in local government as long as I can,” a visibly enthused Parker said. “I would love to be mayor someday or make the transition to county government, but I’m not ready for that right now.”

Known for her passion for electoral politics and her work as a lifelong activist for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality, Parker served two consecutive terms in the mid 1980s as the president of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. She has been and continues to be active in historic preservation, environmental, and affordable housing causes and organizations. Parker currently serves on the Contemporary Arts Museum board as well as the advisory boards of Trees for Houston and the Houston GLBT Community Center.

The city charter limits city council, the mayor, and controller to three consecutive three-year terms. Parker is currently in the middle of her third and final term as an at-large city council member.

Although city government elected office is generally considered entry level, as an at-large Houston city council member Parker’s constituency is larger than the population of 16 states, she explained. “I represent more people than a third of the nation’s governors, so this has been a great proving ground for national politics,” she said.

Known as a financial watchdog during her tenure as chair of the City Council fiscal affairs committee, Parker feels well prepared to take on the job of city controller. She also chairs the Neighborhood Protection Committee. Kathy Hubbard is Parker’s life partner of 12 years. A board member of the Political Caucus and the John Steven Kellett Foundation, Hubbard has also been extremely active in civic affairs for years.

There have been some big changes in the Parker-Hubbard household. Parker said friends should call to find out about the newest member of their family and that “after 12 years in our previous home, we recently bought a new house in anticipation of changes in our household.” —Clarence Burton Bagby

Michael DeVoll

A teacher at private Episcopal High School, Michael DeVoll leads the group trying to re-start a Gay, Lesbian & Straight Educators Network chapter. So far, Houston teachers, who lack job protection, have been reluctant to join, he reports. “There still seems to be a lot of homophobia in HISD.” He persists. “I am interested in all this because I know things can be better for the kids.” DeVoll, who studied teen development issues in grad school, has contributed a chapter to From Our Voices: Art Educators and Artists Speak Out About Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Issues (Kendall/Hunt), to be published in 2003. —Tim Brookover

Vanessa Edwards Foster

“The only time I’d vote was to vote someone out of office,” says Vanessa Edwards Foster, explaining her unlikely move into transgender activism. Not until she transitioned from male to female did Foster realize how much her community was neglected by the political process. Now the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition chairperson and Texas Gender Advocacy Information Network co-chair, Foster is coordinating a fall 2003 Federal Lobby Days event, when NTAC and a coalition of other transgender organizations will visit Capitol Hill to spread awareness of transgender community needs, focusing on employment nondiscrimination. “We have a realistic shot at this,” Foster says. —Thomas Robert Blanton

Steven Foster

What do you do?

I’m a writer-director-producer for ADV Films.

In “the biz,” you’re a hyphenate.

Yeah, I’m a hyphenate.

How was your 2002?

Amazing. I went to Cannes this year. Had an NPR interview a week ago. Channel 11 the other day. The entertainment industry’s looking at us like a real player, which we are. And, oh yeah, we’re launching our own television network. Nice year.

What’s happening in 2003?

I’ll have a series on our network. MTV wants to spin-off a series I’ve done, so I’m working with them on that. One day I’m in Houston working on these little cartoons, then all of the sudden I’m in the office of the guy who discovered Beavis & Butthead and South Park. That resulted in some VH1 stuff in the pike. “Check your local listings,” you know? —Andrew Christopher

Justin Frazier

A veteran of the youth-support group H.A.T.C.H., Justin Frazier begins his second semester this month at Houston Community College—“thanks to a HATCH/PFLAG scholarship,” he points out. Known for his exuberantly decorated outfits, Frazier, 19, is naturally a fashion major. However, as he looks to the future, Frazier also ponders possible careers as a therapist, writer, or musician. In 2002, he graduated from Lamar High School, where he transferred in his sophomore year after a stint in the country. “Those 5 years there were kind of just for me. In Waller, I didn’t have that many friends, but I had a lot of spare time to teach myself to sew and cook. That’s what made me strong.” —TB

Shari Goldsberry

Forging ahead where others do not tread, Shari Goldsberry has assumed the mantle of the Log Cabin Republicans. “I am looking forward to growing Log Cabin-Houston back into the powerful club it once was under the leadership of Gary Van Ooteghem,” Goldsberry says. “He was a fantastic leader, and I’m not certain the club has recovered fully from his departure and subsequent passing. But we must continue his work if we are to make life better for those that come after us.” Goldsberry, 29, is a student at the South Texas College of Law. She and partner Jennifer are the parents of six-year-old Jonathan. —TB

María González

University of Houston English professor María González is completing her second book, a history of Chicano studies. “One of the arguments I make is that it was the queers that really opened Chicano studies,” she says. “They moved it from a macho boys’ club to a more complex, interesting field.” González, director of graduate studies in her department, also teaches an undergrad queer theory course. “Teasingly, I tell my friends I’m the big dyke on campus, even though I am only 5’2,” González quips. “I like to be the really out faculty member.” She is also National Women’s Studies Association president, which in June will convene in New Orleans. —TB

Leslie Hamilton

A senior University of Houston biology major/chemistry minor, Leslie Hamilton, 42, began serving as president of GLOBAL in spring 2002, not long after becoming involved with the group. He was recently re-elected to office through fall 2003. Hamilton’s aims for the student group include reaching beyond campus by organizing Houston GLBT Community Center benefits, an alumni advisory board, and a scholarship program for GLOBAL members. Plans don’t stop there. “Some of our members expressed interest in starting a fraternity,” he says. He points out funds for such an effort are not now available. Obviously, the ambition is present. —Eric A.T. Dieckman

Ray Hill

Without a doubt the backbone of Houston’s GLBT community, Ray Hill has been an activist, a stage performer, a radio personality, and now a movie star. A documentary of Hill’s life, written and directed by Erin Sax and focusing on his prison activism, is set to premiere in 2003. Additionally, Hill will be featured on a January 23 episode of “The Connection,” the local PBS newsmagazine, in a piece on Richard Cain, a lifelong convict and ex-white supremacist who Hill counseled and helped reform. Hill is also planning a Valentine’s Day revival of Ray Hill in Love, his one-man show about his past relationships.—TRB

Lynne Huffer

2003 will be a very busy year for Lynne Huffer. A French professor at Rice University, this year Huffer will assume the post of director of Women and Gender Studies, a new graduate program. One of the faculty sponsors of the PRIDE student group on campus, she will also teach “Introduction to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies.” In addition, Huffer (partner of companion person-to-watch Tamara Jones) will work on two books in 2003: The first is an academic book on ethics and literature in contemporary society. The second is a memoir about her relationship with her mother, who is also a lesbian. —Tonia Nita Bowser

SoFonda St. John

By raising money night after night, drag artists help make the community run. One of these glam fundraisers, SoFonda St. John, got her start in the Miss Camp America system. Jason Cryer by day, St. John moved on to perform benefit shows for causes including the Galveston transgender shelter. Miss Gay Pride in 2001, she is now a candidate for empress of the Royal, Sovereign, and Imperial Court of the Single Star (see page 9). “We have so many worthy causes,” says the diva. “I hope to create one of the best attended and in turn one of the most profitable years we have ever seen.” —TB

Kendric Johnson

Early on, Kendric Johnson learned an amazing secret—giving back to the places where we live and work warms hearts and makes our eyes do that sparkly thing. A Kentucky transplant, Johnson is a dedicated activist committed to improving life through his service as a Houston GLBT Community Center volunteer. Johnson, 28, says he received many affirming lessons from other gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women while serving in the army, and he is eager to pass on what he has learned. In 2003, Johnson hopes to mentor at least one student at Houston Community College, which he will enter in the fall. —TNB

Tamara Jones

Tamara Jones is a thoughtful and thought-provoking woman. That’s why she is in sync with the political pulse of our city. As chief of staff and legislative aide for council person Ada Edwards, Jones is an empathetic, emphatic, and effective manager and political strategist. In 2003, Jones will lend her talents to the Radical Progressive Political Study & Action Group, a local organization she will co-found to strengthen the political movement around town. My mom says womenfolk carry strength in their hair. Tamara Jones’ distinctive dreadlocks must hold astounding power. —TNB

Mitchell Katine

In 2003, attorney Mitchell Katine will not only make headlines. He will make history. Katine is the attorney for John Lawrence and Tyron Gardner, arrested in 1998 while having sex in Lawrence’s apartment. Four years later, the Supreme Court will consider Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, a challenge to the state “Homosexual Conduct” statute. Katine brought in the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and attorneys will present arguments in the spring, with an expected summer decision. “Most commentators are predicting that we will win,” he says. For Katine, though, the case is not only development. He and partner Walter Avila have adopted two infants, named Sebrina and Sebastian Katine. —TB

Shirley Knight

One of the founders of and force behind the Houston Women’s Festival, Shirley Knight also sits on the board of the Athena Art Project, the nonprofit organization that sponsors the festival (October 18 this year) and holds events that raise awareness of women artists. Next month, Athena will host its second annual Speed Dating event at Meteor. Participants will pay a nominal fee to chat briefly with different women in hopes of clicking with someone special. According to Knight, the event last year attracted more than 70 singles. “People have been clamoring for another one.” —TRB

Alton LeDay

Proving that art history is a valid college major, Alton LeDay has turned his design skills to charity. LeDay—Decorative Center Houston director of marketing and design services—recently organized a chapter of Quilts for Kids, which provides quilts to children battling HIV/AIDS and terminal illnesses as well as abused children and adults in AIDS hospices. Over the past six months, LeDay and a 10-volunteer team distributed more than 150 quilts. “The quilts mean so much to the families,” LeDay says. LeDay is now coordinating The Bag Lunch, a fall 2003 auction of handbags created by local designers (he will create a gym bag) that will raise money for Quilts for Kids. —TRB

Edwin Leslie & Russell Coker

Next month, Edwin Leslie (pictured) and partner Russell Coker will break ground on a new Holiday Inn Express in Texas City. The hoteliers will add this property to an expanding empire that includes a hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Galleria, which they took over last March, is one of the few properties in the chain with openly gay owners. Leslie and Coker have been negotiating with bankers to buy a hotel in Cincinnati and plan to sign the contract this month. “Our goal for 2003 is to acquire between five and eight hotels,’ Leslie says. “The new year looks really good.” —TB

Sue Lovell

In February, Sue Lovell—the first woman president of the Gay Political Caucus (1983-85) and the first openly gay or lesbian person from Texas elected to the Democratic National Committee—will announce her candidacy for an at-large city council position. “2003 is a very important year for the whole city and our community,” Lovell says. “To solve some of the problems that the city is facing we are going to need people who are creative and can think outside of the box:” The mother of three, Lovell works for MATCH (Mills Access to Training and Service), which provides job opportunities at Katy Mills Mall. —TB

Mary Ann McBee

Dreams sometimes change, but the core of the important ones often stays the same. Growing up, Mary Ann McBee hoped to become a pro athlete. Today she is dedicated to helping others. In 2002, McBee purchased Fitness Exchange, a business institution in the community, from Al McClerran, prior to his death in July. In 2003, her goal is integrate Fitness Exchange even more into the community through personal training, classes, and other programs. “We want to make this not only a place for weights and cardio,” she says, “but to include education seminars of all types of health issues that face men and women.”—TNB

Uri McMillan

Some say sticks and stones break bones but that words don’t hurt. Uri McMillan knows that is nonsense. An outspoken student and activist at Rice

University, McMillan strives to enlighten students, faculty, and the community about diversity issues, including how language can warm spirits or crush souls. As president of PRIDE, the GLBT student group, McMillan helped lead the protest in response to published anti-gay comments by the Rice football coach. These efforts included t-shirts printed with slogan “I Am Not Homophobic,” worn to the homecoming game. This year, McMillan will begin graduate studies to pursue his dream of becoming an English professor. —TNB

Binh Nguyen

Born in Vietnam, Binh has been busy the 11 years he has lived in the United States. He is currently engaged in a long list of activities, including graduate studies at the University of Houston Clear Lake; hosting and producing Saigon Houston Radio, a program on 900 AM KREH for youth in the Vietnamese community; and disseminating news via the Vietnamese Voices Overseas website, www.VVOS.net. Last month, Binh began producing a weekly Vietnamese television show that airs on the public-access channel. In 2003, he plans to expand the use of media to reach the 200,000 people from his homeland who live in the Houston area. —TNB

Domingo Ovalle

Sitting in Domingo Ovalle’s kitchen is a wonderful experience. A former restaurateur in San Antonio, Ovalle now operates a catering business from his home in Houston. He is also president of GLOBO, Gay and Lesbians Organized by Orgullo. This new group will work throughout the year to host Baile Internacional, the gala benefit dance held during Pride week, which was revived to great acclaim in 2002. Orgullo, which translates as pride, is something the Ovalle demonstrates in all he does—from his volunteer work at Memorial Hermann Hospital to his catering firm to his support of his community. —TNB

Lisa Shore

“I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a little girl,” Lisa Shore says. Poor eyesight thwarted that early ambition. Now Shore is even more integral to the space program. She trains astronauts on the use of their suits and the airlocks in the space station, “so they can go out and space walk,” she says. Shore is prepping for the next mission, which will launch in October. Of NASA and the Johnson Space Center, the Philadelphia native reports, “It’s not a real open environment, but it’s not something that would ever come up in your daily work. You either know what you’re talking about or you don’t.” —TB

Madalyn Sklar

Superstar Madalyn Sklar. At OutSmart we imagine that’s what folks who know her call Madalyn. As a girl, Sklar wanted to be the next rock icon. Instead, she works to make that dream a reality for women musicians across the country. Founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, a site dedicated to independent performers, she launches a do-it-yourself online page for bands called GoGirlsGigs.com this month. Check out the web site for details about the annual GoGirlsMusicFest and the GoGirlsRock! Houston Pride show and for updates on GoGirl showcases. Believe it or not, Sklar also runs a business, Orbit Web Design. “I have quite an entrepreneurial spirit,” she says. —TNB

Dalia Stokes

“The challenge for Democrats is figuring out how to bring people back into the party while you keep the base energized,” attorney Dalia Stokes says. “In Texas, the Democrats have been in a rebuilding mode since 1994.” An activist in GLBT as well as Democratic circles, Stokes is a candidate for Harris County party chairperson. The executive committee will vote on January 13. A former judicial candidate, Stokes helped found River Oaks Area Democratic Women in 1997 and has served in Human Rights Campaign leadership positions. She was a Pride parade grand marshal in 1991, the same year she and partner Bobbie Bayless celebrated their 25th anniversary. —TB

Sixto Wagan

Fierce, fabulous, and fashion savvy, DiverseWorks performing arts director Sixto Wagan is a man keen on motivating Houstonians to become more involved in the arts in their communities. This year, he will direct an inspired season of media and performing arts at the downtown art space. He will also launch Turned Up Volume, an initiative to encourage art appreciation, activism, and leadership among youth. From 1996 to 1999, Wagan was a member of Queer Artist Collective (QuAC), a group of inspired young people who performed at DiverseWorks and across town. Now he is one of the grown ups in charge. —TNB

Nixon Wheat

The scion of a wealthy Liberty family, Nixon Wheat recently established the John Nixon Wheat Foundation, a charitable trust. In late 2002 alone, he supported a number of prominent causes in Houston and New York. These included “Partners in Caring,” the joint benefit of the Assistance Fund, Montrose Clinic, and the PWA Coalition Houston and the 20th anniversary of the Princess Grace Awards. In 2003, the organizations that Wheat will assist include DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) and the Human Rights Campaign. He will also help underwrite the GQ Man of the Year awards. —TB

Tracy Wilson

“It’s going to be an uphill fight,” says Tracy Wilson of efforts to restore the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. As president of AIDS Coalition Texas Now (ACT Now), Wilson will lead a January 16 trip to Austin for the vote by the Texas Board of Health on proposed changes to the eligibility criteria, which would eliminate thousands. “If we can mobilize enough people across the state and educate, I think we have a chance,” says the Ohio native, who chairs the Thomas Street Clinic patient advisory council. He adds that ACT Now plans a march on Austin in the spring. “This is a huge, grass-roots, ground-swell movement that’s based here in Houston.” —TB

Hillary Woest

An intense entrepreneurial spirit led Hillary Woest to establish 2 Girls Cleaning, a successful local business. In 2003, she will also continue her volunteer service as a new board member of the Greater Houston GLBT Chamber of Commerce, and she will work with other Houston GLBT Community Center board members to reinvigorate that organization. Woest will also launch Leisure & Arts Promoting Healing (LAAPH, pronounced “laugh”), a nonprofit group that will provide learning opportunities for individuals with life-threatening diseases. “If you can dream it, you can do it,” Walt Disney once said. Woest would say the same thing today. —TNB

Clarence Burton Bagby prepared the election preview for the November issue. Thomas Robert Blanton is a Houston writer and poet. Tonia Nita Bowser is a Houston writer. Tim Brookover is editor of this magazine. Andrew Christopher works for ADV Films. Eric A. T. Dieckman reported on Texas travel in the December issue.

If you have any comments about this article, please email them to letters@outsmartmagazine.com.