Message From Our Executive Director:
Welcome to Salisbury PFLAG! We are so glad that you are here.
Diversity is one of our biggest community assets. We here at Salisbury PFLAG firmly believe that people thrive and are best able to live up to their full human potential when they are fully supported and unconditionally accepted. While recent years have seen considerable progress in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, there is still much work to be done. LGBTQ+ people still experience disproportionate rates of harassment, victimization, and discrimination in comparison to their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts. The disparities that LGBTQ+ people experience are even greater in rural environments, such as ours, where resources are at a minimum.
Here at Salisbury PFLAG, we are committed to working to advance LGBTQ+ equality right here, in our local community. We do this in a variety of ways: by helping LGBTQ+ people be their authentic selves, by working with families and friends to foster stronger allies, by helping organizations, such as schools, businesses, and nonprofit groups, develop best-practices and policies for serving LGBTQ+ people, and by working to advocate for local, state, and federal-level legislation that advances the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
People find their way to PFLAG for a variety of reasons: to find like-minded others, to learn how to better support their loved ones, to seek assistance with an issue they are dealing with, or to just be fully themselves in a supportive, affirming environment. Some people come to PFLAG meetings regularly, some just drop by once or twice, and some are not yet ready to attend in person. Regardless of your motives for getting involved or where you are on your journey, we are so happy to have you as part of the PFLAG family.
Welcome to Salisbury PFLAG! We are so glad that you are here.
Diversity is one of our biggest community assets. We here at Salisbury PFLAG firmly believe that people thrive and are best able to live up to their full human potential when they are fully supported and unconditionally accepted. While recent years have seen considerable progress in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, there is still much work to be done. LGBTQ+ people still experience disproportionate rates of harassment, victimization, and discrimination in comparison to their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts. The disparities that LGBTQ+ people experience are even greater in rural environments, such as ours, where resources are at a minimum.
Here at Salisbury PFLAG, we are committed to working to advance LGBTQ+ equality right here, in our local community. We do this in a variety of ways: by helping LGBTQ+ people be their authentic selves, by working with families and friends to foster stronger allies, by helping organizations, such as schools, businesses, and nonprofit groups, develop best-practices and policies for serving LGBTQ+ people, and by working to advocate for local, state, and federal-level legislation that advances the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
People find their way to PFLAG for a variety of reasons: to find like-minded others, to learn how to better support their loved ones, to seek assistance with an issue they are dealing with, or to just be fully themselves in a supportive, affirming environment. Some people come to PFLAG meetings regularly, some just drop by once or twice, and some are not yet ready to attend in person. Regardless of your motives for getting involved or where you are on your journey, we are so happy to have you as part of the PFLAG family.
Mark DeLancey EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Mark (he/him) is a retired Marine who has over 30 years’ of board, event organizing, and theatrical experience while focusing on strengthening local non-profits. His current goal is to mentor LGBTQ+ youth to become agents of change. |
Cass Dasher BOARD SECRETARY Cass Dasher (they/them) works for the Worcester County Library. A lifelong bookworm, they are passionate about fighting censorship and promoting diverse representation in literature and other media. |
Lisa Taylor BOARD President Lisa is a career educator in Worcester County Public Schools who advocates for inclusion for all learners. |
Hayleigh LaChance BOARD Treasurer Haleigh (she/her) is a Grants Administrator at Salisbury University, and a doctoral student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She studies community change, disruption, and leadership. |
Nicole Hollywood LEGISLATIVE CHAIR Dr. Hollywood (she/her), originally from New York, New York, is a Professor as well as a parent, author, journal editor, research scholar, perpetual learner, gun safety advocate, activist, cheese lover, and collector of purses and old books. |
Rosie Bean Board member Rosie Bean pronouns they / them. Is currently based in Berlin Maryland originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado they are a progressive activist heavily involved in both local and State-wide advocacy. They are a former campaign organizer for Heather Mizeur and are a graphic artist |
Christiana McBride BOARD MEMBER Christiana is a parent, a stylist, and a community advocate. She is passionate about uplifting the trans community on Delmarva and currently runs the Salisbury TransLiance meetings. |
Cassandra Whitaker BOARD MEMBER Cassandra Whitaker (she/they) is an educator and award winning non-binary trans writer. Whit's work has been published in literary journals such as The Rumpus, Michigan Quarterly Review, Conjunctions, The Mississippi Review, The Bennington Review, Plume, and internationally in The Scores |
William K. Wallace BOARD MEMBER William is a staff member with the Wicomico Public Library. He is passionate about history, equity, diversity, and inclusion. |
Jackie Ward Member at large Jackie works in public health and is passionate about increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion on Maryland's Eastern Shore |
Eric Fowlkes BOARD MEMBER Eric works in education and is an advocate for transgender, gender non conforming, and non-binary youth. |
Jonathan Franklin BOARD MEMBER Jonathan is college student studying healthcare whose activism began in high school. |