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Staff Meet the Team! The Gay Games is managed by a group of committed, highly qualified staff, Board members, consultants, vendors, partners and volunteers.
Managing Director
Christee Snell
 Christee Snell is an experienced project manager and executive with background in the corporate, small business and nonprofit sector. Well-respected and known in the Chicagoland business community for her role as an advocate for LGBT-owned and supportive companies, she brings a wealth of skills and experience to the Gay Games as its Managing Director.
Christee has over 20 years of professional engineering experience including telecommunications, mechanical and architectural design. After graduating from Chicago’s DePaul University in 1984, Christee served from 1984 to 1988 as an AT&T-Network System Design Engineer. From 1988 to 1995 she was a Engineering and Sales Manager, controlling the technical, product & project management team for the Microwave Radio and Mature Transmission Products business, total $86M annually, at Lucent Technology’s North Andover, MA facility.
In 1995 Christee returned to Chicago to purchase SCI, where she manages all aspects of the company’s activities. Products sold at SCI include Lucent and Alcatel voice/data products with the related engineering, installation, training and maintenance required. Services sold are contract or project-based, specializing in IT design/support, disaster recovery planning/business continuity (including HIPAA) and all aspects of telecom (design through deployment and support.)
Since 2005, Christee has been the Executive Director of the Chicago-Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, having served as its Board President since 2002. During her tenure with the Chamber of Commerce she has grown the organization and it services. She has worked to reinvent the Chamber so that today it has membership growth, community partners, programs to service its members and a sound financial position. The Chamber has been a partner in the Gay Games VII planning process since Chicago was awarded the Games in 2004 and Christee was a member of the Gay Games Board of Directors from 2005 until April of 2006.
Project Management Office
Cathy Seabaugh
 Project Management Office & Senior Sports and Events Marketing Manager
Cathy brings to the Gay Games a varied special events background that includes participant recruitment, volunteer management and ceremonies production. She previously worked on Tanqueray's American AIDS Rides, the Avon Breast Cancer Walks and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walks, which all had tremendous support from the LGBT community across the country. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Ticketing Office
Stacy Jacobs
Ticketing Manager
 A native of the Chicago suburbs, Stacy comes to the Gay Games with a diverse background in Product Management, Marketing and Public Relations for several companies including Ticketmaster and eToys.com in both Los Angeles and London. She has volunteered her time to many community organizations including: Outfest, Ladyfest-LA, V-Day Los Angeles and Queer Lounge at the Sundance Film Festival. Stacy plays softball, volleyball and completed the 2004 Honolulu Marathon exactly one year after donating a kidney to her father. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Broadcast Communications Director
Brenda Schumacher
 Broadcast Communications Director
Brenda is a marketing and public relation specialist with extensive experience in LGBT and non-profit organizations, including serving as Executive Director of San Diego Lesbian and Gay Pride and Managing Consultant to the San Diego Foundation for Change. An avid advocate of cultural arts, Brenda produced more than 100 events with Fresh Dish Productions, an organization she co-founded. Her favorite sports include rugby, surfing and softball. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Culture Department
CC Carter
Culture Director
 C.C. Carter brings a host of award-winning experience in production and coordination of cultural events. As a spoken word artist she has performed nationally on the women's music festival circuit, as well as on college and university campuses. She produced Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" and VDAY Chicago SouthWest events for the last two years, coordinated special cultural event series for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and organized the largest LGBT spoken word festival in the USA.
Development Department
Larry Kuhn
Development Director
 Larry Kuhn has held executive level positions in the hospitality, recruiting and distribution fields for the past 15 years. Larry served on the Board of Directors for Gerber/Hart Library while participating nationally in gay sports in Connecticut, Tennessee and Chicago. Larry’s sports include softball, football, basketball and volleyball. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Larry attended Miami University in Ohio and did post graduate work at Northwestern’s Kellogg Management Institute. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
John Adams
Development Coordinator
 John has worked in management of non-profit theatre for eighteen years and has served on the board of several arts organizations. He participated in the Minneapolis to Chicago AIDS rides II through VI, is an avid backpacker and downhill skier. From these adventures John maintains certification in Wilderness First Aid. John teaches Sunday school at Unity Church on Thome in Chicago. As he continues to pursue his ambition to be a writer, John enthusiastically takes on the work of helping bring the Gay Games to life in 2006. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Kathleen Conlon
Development Manager
 Kathleen comes to Chicago and the Gay Games from Philadelphia. She brings a diverse blend of fundraising, event planning and marketing experience through her work with the Breast Cancer 3-Day, Rowan University and MetLife. Kathleen is passionate about her volunteer work which has included the Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance, AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Planned Parenthood of Philadelphia and Chicago. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Diane Mareci
Development Sales
Bio coming soon.
Jon Niehus
 Development Administrative Assistant
Jon comes to the staff with four years of fundraising experience with various social service agencies and other non-profit organizations. Previously he worked as an actuary for 30 years. Jon’s Board experience includes Team Chicago, Proud to Run, CPNA and Playing Out Productions (Lakeside Pride Band). Jon is currently active with Chi-Town Squares, Windy City Performing Arts and Frontrunners. Jon attended the Sydney Gay Games. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Erik R. Sosa
Development Manager
 Erik R. Sosa is quickly making a name for himself in the Chicago art world as one of the most original and innovative new artists to be painting the Midwest. Having started his painting career in 2002, Sosa has already mounted several self exhibitions, been featured in collective shows, received national recognition and has proven to be a stalwart of the non-profit community for his generosity. A proud sponsor of the Gay Games, Erik comes to us with a background in development, marketing and special events. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Finance & Operations Department
Nino Tillman
Senior Finance and Operations Director
A native Chicagoan, Nino Tillman brings nearly 20 years of professional operations and strategic event planning experience to Gay Games VII. He was a Project Manager for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and has been an Executive Director of non-profit organizations in Atlanta and Miami. He has received several awards for his efforts, including: the award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Development and the Community Service and Leadership Awards from the City of Atlanta and Miami respectively. He lives in Chicago with his wife and their two children. In December, 2005, earned his MBA from The Kellogg Graduate School of Business
Elizabeth Valenti
Finance and Operations Director
 Elizabeth Valenti combines an Organizational Behavior degree from Northwestern with more than twenty years of operations/accounting management and an equivalent number of years organizing and participating in LGBT athletic events. A past President of WSA and a former co-chair of Team Chicago, Elizabeth has participated in all but one of the past Gay Games. Working to ensure the success of and participating in GGVII is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to merge her professional and personal passions within her home town of Chicago.Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Fara Taylor
Finance Consultant
 Bio coming soon.
Government Relations; Scholarships
Aimee Pine
Manager of Government Relations/Scholarship and Grants Coordinator
 A 1999 graduate of Loyola University, Aimee A. Pine has worked for elected officials and on political campaigns throughout Chicago, including State Sen. Carol Ronen, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, and openly gay Alderman Tom Tunney. Most recently as Director of Operations she helped Equality Illinois pass the Human Rights Bill, making illegal to discriminate in Illinois based on sexual orientation. Ms. Pine is an avid community activist as well and has a special place in her heart for Broadway musicals. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Marketing Department
 Phyllis Jones
Marketing Director
Phyllis, an honest to goodness Iowa native, comes to CGI from the world of radio and records with experience in marketing, sales and various duties, as assigned. A graduate of the University of Iowa & Northwestern University, Phyllis also works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois and the Fairygodmother Foundation. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Debra Minghi
Sports and Events Marketing Manager
 Debra enjoys the versatility of wearing many hats professionally in the advertising, television, events, fitness, film, education, and public relations industries. Her hats include working internationally as a creative director, commercial casting director, entertainment director, video producer, and event director for MTV, ESPN, Leo Burnett Advertising, MPI Home Video, Intercoastal Entertainment, House of Blues, and Crobar. You may recognize Debra from her featured appearances as an alternative fitness professional on "The View" with Barbara Walters, Fox Fit TV, and the Generation Xercise Gospel Moves and Cardio Club Dee Jay videos. She is excited to be listed in the top ten fitness classes in SHAPE magazine and featured as one of the most intriguing people in Chicago magazine. Debra is a high honors graduate of Columbia College where she received a BA with an emphasis in Interdisciplinary Arts Management and Commercial Advertising.
Ryan Reynolds
Direct Marketing – Internet Manager
 Ryan comes to the Chicago Gay Games staff with years of experience in marketing management, business development, public relations, and web design. A veteran of the music industry, Ryan worked in retail and promotions for over 17 years, and was voted one of the "Most Influential People" in the Chicago music scene. For 13 years, he has played in CMSA, both Softball and Flag Football, including a Super Bowl V championship. Ryan is also the proud father of Frida, an energetic 20-month-old leap year baby. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Ellen Bird
Marketing Associate
 Ellen joined the Gay Games VII staff after serving as our all-around marketing intern whiz in the summer of 2005. Originally from Connecticut, Ellen is a recent graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. As an undergrad Ellen served as president of Rainbow Alliance, NU’s LGBT undergraduate student group, for two years. During that time she helped organize NU’s first ever Coalition Building Conference, an all day event for student leaders and activists focused on how groups could overcome prejudice to build and maintain coalitions and worked for the opening of NU’s LGBT Resource Center. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Sports Department
Nancy Harris
Sports Director
 Nancy has a passion for helping others discover their true potential. A cyclist, Nancy volunteered with the American AIDSRide series helping novice cyclists discover the athlete within, training riders who hadn’t been on their bikes since they were kids to ride 100 miles, up and down hills, for several days in a row. Participating in and training others to complete the 500+ mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles was literally life-changing. Always preferring to work behind the scenes Nancy left her volunteering behind, changed direction and has worked for the past six-years on the logistical aspects of multi-day, long distance walks and rides, helping create the events she once trained others to participate in. Nancy has continued to volunteer with various breast cancer and AIDS fundraisers.
A New Yorker by birth and a Bostonian at heart, Nancy moved to Chicago two years ago and never wants to leave. She earned a Bachelors degree in Journalism from Boston University and has worked as the Production Manager for a group of weekly newspapers. Nancy has been involved in theater, building sets and producing shows – even getting a real car onto the stage of a local theater every night for a week. Nancy hopes to complete a triathlon in 2006. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Teresa Adams
 Sports Manager
Teresa comes to the Gay Games with a degree in Sports Management. She was a Key Volunteer for the Bulls Organization with the 3 on 3 tournament for 13 years. Teresa also has experience organizing celebrity basketball tournaments for charities in the Chicagoland area. Teresa was the Assistant Director for the Stan Edwards Biddy Basketball program for 10 years and worked with inner-city youth. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Frank Kisner
Sports Manager
 Frank comes to us with years of experience as both an active participant and organizer of gay sports in both the Los Angeles and Chicago area since 1986. He has played in over 100 tournaments national and internationally in Basketball, Softball and Volleyball and was recently inducted in the Gay Basketball Hall of Fame. As a participant, he has played in 11 Softball World Series, producing numerous top five finishes in the B-division with the Chicago Spin Devils. As an organizer, he has been instrumental in helping run the Windy City Basketball League; he has also been a board member for the Coady Roundball Classic for the last five years. As a three-time Gay Games participant, Frank also walked away with one Gold and two Silver medals while playing for the Long Beach Rebels from California. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Nancy Mackenzie
Sports Manager
 Nancy is in her sixth year as the Commissioner of the Chicago MSA’s Women’s Softball League, with 39 women’s teams in four divisions. Nancy has extensive experience organizing and running large softball and volleyball tournaments. Nancy is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Psychology. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Rob Smitherman
Sports Manager
Bio coming soon.
Technology & Registration Department
Anthony Miller
Technology Manager
 Anthony comes to the Chicago Games, Inc. staff with over fifteen years of experience in computer networking, having worked with several Chicago area banks and other businesses. As a participant in the last four Gay Games in basketball, Anthony knows firsthand the excitement and empowerment that is experienced by all who take part in the Games. This combination of technological expertise and enthusiasm for the Gay Games makes Anthony a great addition to the CGI staff. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Kenneth Brodbeck
Registration Association
Bio coming soon.
Bill Pitula
Registration Association
Bio coming soon.
Volunteer Department
Ann Simonson
Volunteer Director
 Ann Simonson comes to Gay Games VII with a background in Arts Education Administration, Volunteer and Event Planning. Ann spent her childhood outdoors in Colorado and came to live in Chicago in 1989. Working as a teacher, performer and admirer of women in sports, Ann became involved with many Chicago events by way of The Goodman Theatre, Sherwood Conservatory of Music, and working with not for profit organizations that promoted sporting events for women and children. Ann has an 11 yr old son named TJ, and assists with his full schedule of sports and after school programs. A life long promoter of arts, music and sporting events, Ann will utilize her experiences with these venues to coordinate 6000 Volunteers for Gay Games VII, July 2006. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
Kathleen Kelley
Volunteer Coordinator
 A native of Washington State, Kathleen has over ten years of administrative and customer service experience. She relocated to Chicago nine years ago from Oklahoma City. Before joining CGI, she was the Office Manager for a medical clinic in downtown Chicago. She and her son live in historic Logan Square. Photo by Jeremy Lawson
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