"PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. "

— Our Mission, PFLAG National (http://community.pflag.org/)

The saying goes "When you no longer need PFLAG, that's when PFLAG needs you."  If you have struggled through the support phase of PFLAG and feel like you can't get anything more out of PFLAG, please think again! PFLAG Cleveland is also active in community outreach, education, and advocacy. If you're interested in reaching beyond PFLAG Support Group meetings, want to become involved in outreach endeavors, or just want to find some way of giving back to the community, we invite you to attend one of our advisory board meetings on the first Wednesday of each month. Some of our projects include:

• Offering educational programs to community groups, including schools, churches, and synagogues requesting our help.
• Sponsoring LGBT Friendly films at local theatres.
• Assisting in PFLAG Cleveland membership drive and fundraising efforts.
• Serving as a liaison to community groups GLSEN Cleveland, TransFamily, and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center
• Organizing special events, such as Pride Day Brunch, Pride Parade Events

PFLAG Cleveland Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is the driving force behind PFLAG Cleveland's efforts at not only support, but also education and advocacy in the greater Cleveland community. The board consists of both elected (executive board) and non-elected board members. Please learn more about our board members below.

Sharon Groh-Wargo, PFLAG Cleveland President

Sharon Groh-Wargo has been an active member of PFLAG Cleveland for many years and president since 2005. Sharon sought out PFLAG to meet other parents of gay children when her daughter came out at the end of her freshman year in college. What she found was a warm and welcoming group of dedicated volunteers living the PFLAG mission of support, education and advocacy. Her energy is sustained by witnessing the remarkable personal growth of the many individuals and families she is privileged to meet through PFLAG. Sharon is the neonatal nutritionist for MetroHealth Medical Center and Associate Professor of Nutrition and Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She is a founding member of MetroHealth’s Gay Straight Alliance. Sharon is a member of Equality Ohio and participates in their state leadership meetings and annual lobby days in Columbus. Sharon and her husband Frank have been married for 35 years and have two adult children. Lauren and her partner Mae reside in Cincinnati and Danny, a recent college graduate, lives in Washington DC. Sharon and Frank are Federal Club members of the Human Rights Campaign.

Jes Sellers, PFLAG Cleveland Vice-President

Jes Sellers, Ph.D., is currently the vice-president and co-facilitator of the PFLAG-Cleveland Monthly support group. Dr. Jes Sellers is a licensed psychologist, director of the Case Western Reserve University Counseling Services and co-chair of the University Provost's LGBT Faculty & Staff Committee. He has degrees from Penn State University and the University of Florida. When Rob Daroff asked his mother, Jane Daroff to start a Cleveland chapter of PFLAG in 1985, Jane turned to Jes to join her in the effort and from that moment on, PFLAG became a compelling cause to which he and Jane have dedicated considerable time and energies. Jes is also a longtime Human Rights Campaign Federal Club member. Jes is married to Art and together they have three adult children, Neal & his wife Darcey of Washington, DC, Robin of New York City and Jesse of Allentown, PA. His email address is sellers.jes@gmail.com

Marianne Buccini, PFLAG Cleveland Secretary

Marianne M. Buccini, MSW, LISW-S, counselor/assistant professor at Cuyahoga Community College. I earned both my BSW and MSW at Marywood College, Scranton, Pa. My husband Jim and I have been married for 28 years and we have two children, Jim ( 26 ) and Michela (23 ). We moved to Brecksville in 2006, after living in North Olmsted for 19 years. I am actively involved in Safe Zone Ally Training at Tri C, a program that educates students, faculty, staff and administrators about LGBTQ people and prepares them to provide a safe haven for LGBTQ students and employees. As an advisory board member for PFLAG Cleveland, I have worked on updating the PFLAG Cleveland brochure and website. I have represented PFLAG at the AIDS Walk, Cleveland Pride Parade and Festival and several panels at local churches and educational institutions. I served as the registrar for the 2009 State PFLAG Meeting which was hosted by the Cleveland chapter on April 25th. Through my volunteer service for PFLAG Cleveland, I have met wonderful people all working for equality for LGBTQ people. I look forward to continued service.

Art Thomson, PFLAG Cleveland Treasurer

Art Thomson is Treasurer for PFLAG-Cleveland. Art is an administrator at Cleveland Clinic.  He received his undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MA from Ohio State University.  Art originally turned to PFLAG-Cleveland in 1995 at a time when he was coming out and separating from a marriage.  Art is also a longtime Human Rights Campaign Federal Club member. Art's partner is Jes and together they have three wonderful adult children. His email address is thomson.art@gmail.com

Margot & Alan Cohen, Board Members At Large

We belong to Kendal at Home which is a program that allows seniors to remain in their homes with services as needed to facilitate safe, comfortable living. It works. The burden is off one's family, and one is assured that needs are covered at no additional cost. This is the reward for Margot's 38 years of teaching French and gazillion years of doing theatre (acting and directing); and Alan's 38 years of editing, selling and theatre (box office and house managing). It also covers a relationship that began in jr. hi and now boasts 4 adult offspring. It recalls many foreign trips including a first year of marriage spent in paris. #1 daughter started us at PFLAG about 15 years ago and we have been happily active members ever since, and look forward to many more years of volunteering.

Craig Hoffman, Board Member At Large

Craig grew up in a blue collar family in rural Pennsylvania, the 4th of 5 children. He received a Bachelors of Science degree in biology from Juniata College and a Masters of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School. After his home congregation in Pennsylvania withdrew their support of his ordination process when he came out as a gay man while in seminary, Craig joined an Open and Affirming congregation in Boston, Church of the Covenant, which eagerly sponsored him for ordination. In 1993 he was ordained to a ministry of pastoral care with persons living with HIV/AIDS at a drug rehab facility in the South Bronx, HELP Project Samaritan, and subsequently a similar ministry continued at the Bailey-Holt House in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. After several years providing pastoral care, he moved into administrative ministry, serving as a church business administrator at a church on the upper west side of Manhattan. While working at the church, he entered into a Non-profit Management degree program at New York University. Shortly after receiving this master’s degree in 2000, he and his partner, Rev. Allen Harris, moved to Cleveland where Craig currently serves as Associate for Data Management on the Financial Development Ministry team at the National offices of the United Church of Christ. He and Allen reside in an 1890’s home they rehabbed on the Near West side of Cleveland using green materials and building techniques and concepts. They celebrated their relationship in a Holy Union ceremony at Church of the Covenant in Boston, MA in June 1990 and have registered as Domestic Partners in three cities; New York City in 1990, Cleveland Heights in 2003 and recently in Cleveland. Craig is an avid environmentalist and social justice advocate. He is an active member of Archwood United Church of Christ where he serves as treasurer. In addition, he serves on the advisory board of the Cleveland chapter of PFLAG (Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). His interests include architecture and historic preservation, genealogy, the study of systems and politics – both church and secular.

Quentin Jamieson, Webmaster / Technical Consultant

I've been coming to PFLAG since October 2008 and recently joined its Advisory Board as an at-large member. I bring technical expertise to the advisory board and my primary goal is to increase PFLAG's membership through the richness of its digital, web, and print media. An Ohio native, my career path has taken me on a journey to New Mexico Tech where I earned my B.S. in Physics with highest honors all the way back home to Case Western Reserve University where I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biophysics at the CWRU School of Medicine having advanced to candidacy in late 2007. I hope to graduate in 2-3 years (or at least before I turn 30, hah). I also play an active role in student governnment, serving in the elected position of Information Officer in the Graduate Student Senate. In this position, I am responsible for maintaining the senate's website and acting as the chief correspondent between the senate and the entire graduate student body at Case. However, I also sit on a few committees, namely the GSS Executive Committee and two university committees related to Information Technology. Outside of the university, I am also an avid outdoorsman and photographer and have taken a recent interest in LGBT activism, attending Equality Ohio's Lobby Day in Columbus this past May, marching in Cleveland Pride 2009, and founding an LGBTA organization at Case Western Reserve University for graduate and professional students. PFLAG has been much more than just a support organization for my parents and me to whom I came out (unwillingly) as a gay man 8 years ago while a freshman in college. I have made countless friends at PFLAG who are committed to LGBT equality and whose enthusiasm for advocacy and capacity for kindness have been motivating factors in my life both within and outside of PFLAG.

Thomas R. Roese, Legislative Coordinator

Tom Roese began coming regularly to PFLAG meetings in 2008. The initial reason for attending meetings was to seek a way to work with some family who were having issues with his and his partner’s sexual orientation. What we found was a group of dedicated, caring, and supportive members who have helped us tremendously to gain strength and acceptance of our sexuality and how it fits with our family. In addition, it’s helped Tom find his politically active voice. Tom is a professional artist, who does graphite urban landscapes; Dolan/Maxwell Gallery in Philadelphia represents his work. Tom taught art in a public high school for 29 years, and drawing at the Cleveland Institute of Art for 32 years. Tom is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art (BFA) and the University of Northern Colorado (MA). Tom and his partner have been together since 1996. His website is: http://www.thomasrroese.com and his email address is: info@thomasrroese.com.

Diana DeForest, Board Member At Large

Diana DeForest is the assistant manager of an office of the federal government corporation that administers the pension plans of companies that have gone through a bankruptcy or have shutdown. She and her husband, Mark, met while she was studying finance in graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. They have been married for 25 years and have two daughters, Alicia (22) and Kelsey (19). Alicia lives in Houston with her husband, Jessie. Kelsey is a student at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, VA. Kelsey was the recipient of the Palmer B. Carson Memorial Scholarship awarded by the National PFLAG organization in 2009. Diana and her husband Mark came to a PFLAG meeting shortly after Kelsey came out in 9th grade. They had raised their girls to be accepting and open, and they have a very diverse extended family. After the meeting they agreed that they did not need the support offered by PFLAG, but recognized the importance of the organization’s mission for so many people. Diana volunteered to work with the PFLAG Cleveland Advisory Board in anticipation of the free time an empty nest was supposed to bring. She is enjoying working with the wonderful people who serve on the board, and she looks forward to assisting the organization in whatever way she can.

PFLAG Cleveland Outreach

PFLAG Cleveland has joined the LGBT Center in support of the Domestic Partner Registry at the City of Cleveland:

We, the undersigned, enthusiastically endorse and support Cleveland Families Count, the campaign to protect the Domestic Partner Registry at the City of Cleveland. A domestic partnership registry creates a legal record of committed relationships. Cleveland’s Domestic Partner registry makes it easier for public, private and legal institutions to treat unmarried, committed couples (gay or straight) as what they are - families. We look forward to working together as a community to protect this very important step towards equality for all Clevelander’s.