The Campus Pride Board of Directors are comprised of individuals who wholeheartedly believe in the mission and purpose of the organization and it’s support of LGBTQ youth. Campus Pride takes great care in selecting individuals for the Board of Directors who can help with building relationships, strategic planning, fundraising and managing fiscal affairs. Anyone may submit their information to be considered for the Board of Directors by completing this online interest form.
Tom Elliott, Chair
Tom Elliott, He/Him/His, is an alumnus of Campus Pride from 2007 and is the first alumnus to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors for Campus Pride. While Tom was a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, he organized a campus-wide campaign to increase LGBTQ representation in the student government body. Since then, he has been worked on several progressive political campaigns and issues in Texas and Illinois, where he currently lives. He was previously the Director of Public Relations for Center on Halsted, the largest, most comprehensive LGBTQ community center in the Midwest. Tom founded his own company, Acacia Consulting Group, a strategic public relations and communications consulting firm serving a diverse portfolio of clients including politicians, arts & entertainment organizations, small businesses, and non-profits.
Tom currently resides in the Roger’s Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois with his partner Kevin and their dog, Lucas.
Donald Wilson, Vice Chair
Don Wilson, He/Him/His, identifies as cis-gen, pan male. He is Vice President of People & Culture within Wells Fargo’s Customer Remediation Center of Excellence (COE). He is responsible for leading team member development, recognition, and inclusion programs that enhance the COE team member experience. Don joined Wells Fargo in 2013 where he held a variety of leadership positions with Default Mortgage Servicing.
Don is Southeast Region Co-Chair within the Global PRIDE Business Resource Group (BRG). Before joining the Global leadership team, he held a variety of leadership positions within the Charlotte PRIDE chapter. Don is also an active LGBTQ+ advocate in the Charlotte community where he serves as the board President of Queen City Connects along with serving and volunteering regularly with different Charlotte LGBTQ+ organizations.
Don and his partner Matt live in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kevin “Scooter” Ward, Finance/Treasurer
Kevin “Scooter” Ward, He/Him/His, is a nationally recognized Education and Human Services Technology expert. Scooter has been working in technology since 1999 and continues to strive for technology excellence in areas where digital equity and technology have been ignored for decades. Scooter, his husband, two children, and three dogs live in Hyattsville, MD where he serves on the city council and is active in the community.
Scooter is an alum of Texas A&M University, Columbia, and MIT. Scooter decided to join the Campus Pride board because of his experience as a gay black man at a fairly conservative undergraduate campus.
Michael Pattarozzi, Secretary
Michael Pattarozzi, He/Him/His, is an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney, Chicago, Illinois, the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation. Michael has been a prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for over 16 years and is currently assigned to the Felony Trial Division as the First Chair in a felony court room advocating for victims of violent crimes in the southern Chicago suburbs. Michael is actively involved in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group., which is part of the larger Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, and is an member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC).
Lina Mamut
Lina Mamut, They/Them, is a nonbinary femme digital product management professional, with over ten years of experience guiding companies to digital success. They graduated Wesleyan University in 2013 with a degree in Neuroscience and Philosophy. They are extremely passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and lead the DE&I committee at their current employer, Peapod Digital Labs, as well as being the chair of the Women in Technology+ BRG. In their spare time, they spend time hiking and camping with their partner and their two dogs, Goober and Potato.
Dr. Mecca Marsh
Dr. Mecca Marsh currently serves as the Director of Housing Operations for Capstone on Campus Management at Norfolk State University in Norfolk Virginia. She has over 20 years working in higher education.
Dr. Marsh received her Bachelor of Arts degree from LeMoyne College, M.Ed. degree in College Student Personnel Administration from James Madison University and her Ed.D in Educational Administration and Supervision from Virginia State University.
Currently, she is member of the LeMoyne College Racial Justice Committee and Alumni Association Board. Mecca is the Co-Chair, Diversity Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce at Capstone on Campus Management.
Dr. Marsh is the CEO and Founder of two companies MMarsh Consulting, LLC; a Career Coaching Training and Development Company along with Shanara Productions, LLC a Event Curation and Photography Company.
She serves as a motivational speaker, group facilitator and workshop presenter throughout the United States.
Mecca is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is committed to public service and social action that transforms communities.
In her spare time, she enjoys photography, traveling, reading and spending time with family. She has two college aged daughters and lives with her partner of 10 years in the Virginia Area.
Michael D. Sgro
Michael D. Sgro, He/Him/His, is a business owner, a certified professional coach, an advocate, a performance expert and empathic leader. Michael’s vision for himself is to help people achieve their human potential through relationship building, developing emotional intelligence and community building.
Sgro, a Syracuse native, ascended the ranks in higher education at several institutions in New York state, earning a stellar reputation for his work with constituent engagement, program management, professional networking and digital marketing. He spent 20- years on college campuses in New York City and the Central New York area before coming home to Syracuse to start his own coaching practice.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Le Moyne College, a certificate in business coaching from the Professional Business Coaches Alliance of North America, a certificate in project management from the American Management Association, is a certified facilitator of Extended DISC and an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church.
Michael lives, works and participates actively in the historic downtown Syracuse community with his maltipoo, Jonah.
David Hatkoff
David is the Executive Director of NewFest, New York’s leading LGBTQ film and media organization. He has spent his career amplifying and elevating the mission and programming efforts of non-profit arts organizations, serving for 11 years in a senior leadership role at NYC’s Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre. He was an integral part of Signature’s transition to its permanent home, the 75,000 square foot, Frank Gehry-designed Pershing Square Signature Center, and the growth of the company, which more than tripled its budget, staff and programming during his time with the organization. David studied in the MA program at New York University’s Gallatin School, with a focus in LGTBQ Studies. He has a deep passion for queer culture and a strong desire to create spaces for queer storytelling.
Ex-Officio — Shane L. Windmeyer, Executive Director & Founder, Campus Pride
Shane L. Windmeyer, M.S., Ed., He/They, is a leading author on LGBTQ campus issues, national leader in civil rights and a champion for LGBTQ issues on college campuses. He is cofounder and executive director of Campus Pride, the only national organization for student leaders and campus organizations working to create a safer college environment for LGBT students. Released Fall 2006 by Alyson Books, Windmeyer is the author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, the first-ever college guide profiling the “100 Best LGBT-Friendly Campuses.” He is also the editor of Brotherhood: Gay Life in College Fraternities and co-editor of the books Inspiration for LGBT Students & Allies, Out on Fraternity Row: Personal Accounts of Being Gay in a College Fraternity and Secret Sisters: Stories of Being Lesbian & Bisexual in a College Sorority.
Ex-Officio — John Witherington, Chair’s Circle President
John Witherington, He/Him/His, is a Director in the fixed income sales and trading division of Wells Fargo Securities, where he has been employed since 2003. Based in Charlotte, NC, John trades residential mortgage-backed securities. A native of Memphis, TN, John is a 2003 graduate from Duke University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. degree in Economics. John serves as one of three Diversity Champions for Wells Fargo Securities as a founding member of the Development and Engagement Council. In addition to LGBT initiatives at work, John’s leadership includes campus recruiting, employee engagement, and mentorship.
John was previously the national board chair of Campus Pride, which is the nation’s leading non-profit focused on creating safe and LGBTQ inclusive university campuses. A strong supporter of the arts, John has served on the executive committee of the Charlotte Arts and Science Council’s Young Donor Society, and he was chairman and founding board member of the NODA School of Arts, a Charlotte-based non-profit that provides arts education to underserved youth. John has also served as the president of Charlotte Succession, a highly-selective organization committed to community outreach and leadership development for its 65 members.