Anita Matson - President

Tim Greusel - Ex-officio President

Kai Miller - Vice President

Nicole Vega

Lori Lobb

Michelle Koals

Shawn Hendricks

Jennifer Dinatally

Dana Hoffman

Brett Diamond

Brian Lahmann

Jacquelyn Flanagan

Karra Mayo

Sebastian Haas

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Board member profiles

Michelle Dech, Executive Director.  Michelle has a background in business management and recently retired from her career of 28 years with Kitchen Collection.  She served as a Regional Manager for the last 10 years overseeing 37 stores and 240 employees in 12 states.  She chaired the Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce, improving the integration of diversity into the workforce.  She worked to create a recruiting process that encompassed the company’s diversity aspirations through training on topics that included: LGBTQ+, Racism, Discrimination, Institutional Racism and Cultural Competency.

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While serving as Executive Director of the LGBT Center of Greater Reading, Michelle has inspired growth, productivity and deepened the integration of the organization within the community.  Our programs and services coupled with advocacy and events have touched thousands in Berks County and beyond.  Michelle lives and breathes her passion and purpose serving the LGBT Community and its allies.  Her vision is continued growth, and evolution to consistently meet the needs of the community. She enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and spending time with her wife Deb, their family, and friends.

 

Lynette (Anita) Matson is President of the Board of Directors for the LGBT Center of Greater Reading. She was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She relocated with her wife Laure, to Cumru Township, Berks Co. in 2005. Lynette is a Business Systems Lead for Johnson and Johnson. She supports global business software systems for the DePuySynthes division. Her side job at Johnson & Johnson is Co-Leading the Open and Out (LGBTQ+) Employee Resource Group at her site. Lynette enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching good movies, and cooking.

 

Kai Fawn Miller is Vice President. She is a proud ally of the LGBT community. Kai has over 20 years of leadership, communication, and outreach experience spanning the public and private sector. She founded Bright Ideas by Graystone Farm, a non-profit organization dedicated to innovative, integrative learning in areas like writing and STEM, and serves on the board of trustees of the Schuylkill Valley Community Library. She is a Girls on the Run coach, a certified USA Soccer coach, and a youth group teacher at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Berks County. Kai lives on a 270-year-old farm in Ontelaunee Township and spends her free time with her two amazing daughters renovating the house, fixing up the property, and taking care of a herd of rescue animals including three donkeys, four goats, a miniature horse, a flock of chickens, a goose, a turtle, three dogs, and five cats. 

 

Sarah Morin, Secretary. She is a veteran educator, currently teaching social studies for the Muhlenberg School District. Sarah is a member of the world’s largest transgender sorority, the Vanity Club. At the center, she facilitates both the VOICES youth group and the Gender Expansive Possibilities group. In her free time, Sarah enjoys being outdoors, spending time with her two children and her cats, Papi, Oliver, Goldie, and Mia, and writing, especially poetry and her LGBT-themed blog on Medium.

 

Nicole Vega is a licensed social worker who has worked in Berks County since earning her bachelor’s degree from Juniata Collage.  She currently holds a Master of Social Work degree from Kutztown University.  Nicole works for Tower Health, Reading Hospital as an outpatient social worker, serving the needs of the community and collaborating with individuals with complex chronic medical conditions and psychosocial needs.  She also has a background in mental health and experience writing grants. Nicole is enthusiastic about advocacy and helping others to identify their strengths and excel. Nicole is the mother of two wonderful girls and enjoys spending time with them.  She is most happy to give back to the community as a board member and wants to meet the needs of the LGBTQ Spanish community. Todos somos iquales!

 

Michelle Koals is currently a contracted psychologist in schools and local agencies. In previous years she was a small business owner, house painter and plasterer, private tutor, and Bringer of Good Cheer to Kate Millett’s Farm for Women Artists and Writers. She takes great joy in volunteering and “being of use” and has volunteered with multiple organizations since the 8th grade. A graduate of Germantown Academy, Albright College, and Eastern University. Michelle is currently a Contracted Psychologist working in Berks and nearby school districts. She is a lifelong learner who enjoys travel, meeting new people, and delving into the history and folklore of travel destinations. In their spare time, Michelle and her partner Donna repair their ailing 140-year-old butler’s house, create gardens, fight off ravenous garden-devouring mammals, and kayak. Michelle feels fortunate to have become involved with the LGBT Center of Greater Reading after being an activist for LGBT rights since adolescence.

 

Joaquin Calles Guzman was born in Cuba and migrated with his family to the U.S. in 2007. Since beginning to learn English as a second language, and experiencing the struggles of other immigrants like him, he became interested in Latino issues as well as similar struggles pertaining to other minority groups. Joaquin completed a master’s degree in Applied Clinical Psychology and currently serves as director of the Helping Hands Program for Bethany Children’s Home in Womelsdorf, PA. Joaquin lives in York, PA, with his partner and his dog, Max.

 

 

Lori Lobb is a graduate of Elizabethtown College and an employee of FirstEnergy. Lori was born and raised in Kutztown PA where she is a celebrated athlete. She was inducted into the Kutztown Hall of Fame recently and enjoys traveling, gardening, learning new things and working with her hands. She currently resides in Muhlenberg Township with her cats.

 

Dana Hoffman Dana is a Berks County native. She has been at Bethany Children’s Home since 2019, first working as a Marketing and Events Specialist in Development, and now serving as Executive Administrative Assistant to the Executive Leadership Team. She previously worked for 22 years in Marketing for Reading Eagle company. Dana has three children, ages 23, 20 and 18. She is also mom to five cats who provide endless love and entertainment. She enjoys volunteering, reading, cooking and being outdoors.

 

Shawn Hendricks Compliance Director – Head of Oversight Programs, Office of General Counsel, Vanguard.

As a transplant from the Midwest, I would like to engage with my new local community in meaningful ways to foster personal, professional, and philanthropic connections. I enjoy traveling anywhere I can with my wife, laughing with friends, and connecting with others (usually over food).

 

Jennifer Dinatally Owner/Realtor, United Real Estate Strive 212 and United Real Estate Strive 212 Lehigh Valley As a Realtor in Berks County for over 22 years, I have been fortunate enough to develop a large sphere of people in my network that I am able to lean on for personal, professional, and philanthropic necessities. I enjoy exercising, cooking, and traveling anywhere I can with my wife.

 

Jacquelyn (Jackie) Flanagan is a retired Reading Police Department Criminal Investigations Sergeant.

Throughout her career, she remained passionate about positive policing and promoting equity and justice for all. She is most proud of her collaboration with Safe Berks and other agencies in combatting domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. She is dedicated to advocating for the well-being and safety of all—but especially for the most vulnerable. Jackie grew up in Philadelphia but chose to make Reading her home. She attended Alvernia University where she received a B.A. in Criminal Justice. She has been nationally recognized for her years playing volleyball in addition to being inducted into Alvernia’s Hall of Fame in 2019. When same sex marriage became legal in PA in 2014, Jackie married her partner in a ceremony at the Pagoda. In her spare time, Jackie enjoys spending time with her family & friends, volunteering and travelling. Jackie enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to contribute to the LGBT Center of Greater Reading and our community at large. Additionally, Jackie continues to diligently serve as the Secretary of the Reading Police Beneficial Association. A role that she has held for over a decade.

 

It is an honor and privilege to be a board member for the LGBT Center of Greater Reading. He lives with my wife, daughter, and 2 dogs in Exeter Township, and has lived most of his life there. He worked as a financial advisor for 6 years and has an Edward Jones branch office in the Reiffton neighborhood of Exeter Township. Brett values being involved in our community and working to make a difference in people's lives. Before returning to his original career in finance, he was an elementary school teacher. He also currently serves on the board of the Exeter Community Education Foundation (ECEF) and executive committee of the Exeter HS Alumni Association.

 

Charles Corbit is an outspoken and staunch ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Charles has over 25 years of experience in senior management positions with global responsibilities. He is currently a partner at ERM, a global sustainability consultancy, where he provides strategic and advisory support for Fortune 100 companies on their environmental, social, and governance journeys. Over 15 years ago, a personal turning point occurred for Charles when he became aware that some of his family and friends did not have the same rights as he did due to who they loved. Since then, he spends a significant amount of his time working for equality and economic justice.

Charles lives with his wife, Bernice Hines Corbit, in Exeter Township, who shares the same passion for social and political activism. Oh, and they have four really cool cats.

 

 

Dr. Brian Lahmann is the Chair of the Emergency Department and Reading Hospital/Tower Health, Reading, PA. Dr. Lahmann received his medical degree from Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Throughout his tenure, Dr. Lahmann has served on various leadership teams and committees working to continually improve clinical services, quality, and teaching programs.

He is board certified in emergency Medicine and is a member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Emergency Physicians, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, among others. He was recently appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine for Drexel University College of Medicine.

Dr. Lahmann lives in Birdsboro with his family.

 

Karra Mayo is a Berks County native who loves her community. She is a United Way of Berks County’s Blueprint For Leadership graduate and Vice President of Class of 2022. She now serves on the Blueprint for Leadership Committee. Karra works for Penske as a Paralegal handing contracts and litigation. Prior to joining the Penske Family, Karra worked for the County of Berks for 6 ½ years first as a Judicial Coordinator for the Honorable Mary Ann Ullman (retired) then as the Grants Coordinator for the County of Berks. In her off time, Karra loves spending time with her fiancée, Shane, and their three beautiful kids: Taryn, MacKenzie, and Sebastian. She loves to volunteer, paint, dance, camp, and hula hoop.