LGBT Center of Raleigh

Board Application and FAQs

Randy Lewis, Chair
Randy Lewis is a proud, passionate, liberal thinker, social-justice advocate, entrepreneur, and songwriter whose mission is to be the change that he wants to see in the world. Randy is also a community minister, a father, and the husband to his spouse D’mitri. He holds an undergraduate degree in Organizational Leadership, a Master of Business Administration degree, and a Master of Divinity degree. He serves as the Managing Director of Clergy 211, an organization of inclusive and progressive clergy that provides non-judgmental rite-of-passage ceremonies for people of all walks of life. “I am working hard to make the LGBT Center of Raleigh better because I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all individuals. The Center, through its services, activities, and educational opportunities, supports these values while also providing safe and rewarding spaces and a measure of wholeness, assurance, and hope to those in our community.”

Powell Marshall, Vice Chair
Powell is a native North Carolinian who grew up in Winston Salem, studied in Greensboro, and currently lives Raleigh with his sweet precious four-legged spoiled rotten sweetheart, Maybelle. As an Interior Planner and Designer for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he takes pride in improving working, educational, and healing environments of faculty, staff, and students. Given the core design values to engage the mind, body, and soul, he hopes to build upon the same nurturing relationship in the Center. Growing up in a conservative Southern Baptist community in the South, he understood what it felt like to be on the outside. We’ve come a long way since then, but we can still face the same struggle of acceptance. The need to belong, to feel safe and welcomed is still part of what makes us human. Understanding we all come out in different ways and at different points in our life, he whole-heartedly appreciates the implicit need for the Center and wants to build the bridges to a supportive and engaging group who’s here to help, listen, and build up. Powell has been a volunteer with the center for three years and is currently the Co-Chair of the Center’s Development Committee.

Willis Ward, Secretary
Willis Ward, while Californian by birth, grew up primarily in the South due to being an Air Force Brat. After graduating from Texas A&M with a B.B.A. in Business Analysis & Research, he moved to Dallas and started working for IBM. He has called Raleigh home for over 20 years now and just recently celebrated his 25th anniversary with IBM. Between 2007 and 2015, Willis was a member of the Human Rights Campaign North Carolina – Triangle Steering Committee. He served a 4-year term on the National HRC Board of Governors. Additionally he was the Triangle Steering Committee Chair and the Membership Outreach Chair, growing the Pride program membership continuously for 4 years. Willis is looking forward to continuing his LGBT advocacy at a local level with the LGBT Center of Raleigh.

Terry West, Treasurer
Terry West retired as President/CEO of VyStar Credit Union in 2017 after 26 years in the role. Born in North Carolina, Terry returned to Raleigh after retiring. He worked in the credit union industry for 36 years and taught in Wake County Public Schools as well as Wake Community College for five years. Terry has chaired annual fundraising events for North Florida for United Way, March of Dimes, American Heart Association, and the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. During his career he has been recognized for his leadership and commitment to the credit union industry and for community engagement. He has been with his husband Peter for over 40 years. Terry currently volunteers for SAGE Central North Carolina, the LGBT Center of Raleigh, the YMCA, and his home-owners association.

Jerry Algozer
Jerry Algozer, MA, CFRE, has over 25 years’ experience as a chief executive and development/marketing administrator for several non-profits serving the HIV/AIDS community in New York, New England, and Florida. He was one of the first professionals hired by the AIDS Institute of NY and created the first HIV service agency for the New England seacoast. He has served as President of the Board for The Pride Center, Ft. Lauderdale’s LGBT Center, leading them to the purchase of their 5-acre Equality Park. He has been a member of the Raleigh SAGE Housing Initiative from the inception and presently serves on the SAGE Planning Team.

Andrea Fowler
Andrea Fowler is a New Jersey native turned full blooded North Carolina Tarheel since 2002. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2006 with a B.A. in Political Science. She received her Juris Doctorate from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2009 and has worked as an attorney for Hyland & Padilla, PLLC in their Raleigh office practicing civil litigation. She lived in Chapel Hill for over 10 years and moved to Durham in 2013. She recently married her partner of three years in May of 2018. Andrea looks forward to supporting the queer community through devoting her time and energy at the center. In her free time, you can find her working in the garden or the yard, hiking with her wife and dogs, or playing softball on Sundays.

Anna Lineback
Anna claims both Tennessee and both Carolinas as home states. She enjoys her work with students with special needs. She previously served on the Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors and is excited to focus energy more locally on the Center's growth. When not working or volunteering, Anna enjoys hiking and kayaking, or (on rainy days) reading and doing crossword puzzles. Pronouns: She/her or they/them

Matt Stevens
Matt is a Senior Digital Designer at RTI International with more than 10 years of experience working on marketing and communications teams for non-profit higher education, banking, airport, and global research organizations. At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, he played a key role on the branding team, developed creative campaigns viewed by over 11 million annual travelers, served on the crisis communication team, and managed the website. Matt grew up in the rural Eastern North Carolina town of Mount Olive and has lived in Raleigh for over 5 years. He’s passionate about making Raleigh — and the state — a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ communities. Pronouns: He/Him

Gavin Vincent
Gavin Vincent has a Master of Arts in Sociology and originally hails from northeast Pennsylvania. He’s called the Triangle home for the past several years and currently resides in Durham. When not working in academics, he enjoys video games and the occasional book (time permitting).

Committees of the Board

Development and Marketing Committee

• To raise overall awareness of the Center and its many programs.
• To identify audience and individual profiles of those likely to invest in the Center’s success.
• To connect these audiences at the right place, at the right time, and with the right message to match them with a giving opportunity.
• To establish continuous streams of donation cash flow to grow and advance Center programming.
• To develop and execute marketing and communication plans to more deeply engage with our various audiences and stakeholder groups.
• To vigorously support and ensure the success of major Center events (e.g. OUT! Raleigh and the Awards Gala) while also developing and testing new and innovative ideas to engage new audiences.
• To identify opportunities for the Executive Director, staff, Board members, and volunteers to engage with the local community to raise the Center’s profile.
• To ultimately enable the Center to meet its goals by driving increased engagement and participation in our fundraising efforts.

Board Meeting Minutes

Walk back in time to the summer of 2009 and see how the LGBT Center of Raleigh came to be what we are today! View all of the Board's approved meeting minutes on Google Drive....

View Minutes