PFLAG Queens Chapter
Parents, Families and Friends
of Lesbians and Gays
20th Annual Morty Manford Awardees
While not a native New Yorker, Chris Calvert has called the City home
since 1997. He was raised in Rochester, Illinois and his parents still reside
in his childhood home. Chris moved to Chicago in 1991, attended DePaul
University and got his Master’s degree in City Planning at Georgia Institute
of Technology in Atlanta.
Chris is a Vice-President at AKRF, Inc., a prominent environmental planning
firm on Manhattan. He serves as a project manager on large-scale federal
and state transportation and land use project, including the World Trade
Center Memorial and Redevelopment Plan, the Whitney Museum’s new
Gansevoort campus and numerous other major projects.
Chris became involved with Queens Pride in 2008. He served as a parade
volunteer for two years and became Parade Chair in 2010, He was then
elected Co-Chair of the Committee. While keeping true to the Committee’s
traditional offerings, he has been working to develop new events and
collaborations. He is excited by the opportunity to advance the causes and
concerns of the LGBTQ community.
Chris met Andrew Ronan through mutual friends in 2007 and they married in 2009.
Both appreciate the support of family and friends in their wedding. Chris has a
very large family and is proud that his many relatives travelled from Illinois
to attend. The couple now live in Jackson Heights with their three cats and
Chris is blessed by the love and support of his parents and Andrew’s mother
and other family members.
To Chris , PFLAG plays an incredibly important role in the LGBTQ
community. He truly appreciates the support that pioneering mothers and
fathers and friends have offered to those who have struggled for acceptance.
Chris’s family continues to offer their support, love, defense and advocacy
for the LGBT community.
16th Annual Carmel Tavadia Memorial Awardees
Henry, (Hank to his friends), commitment and dedication to
the LGBT community is legendary. He became involved with
Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee over 20 years ago.
In the early years, the group received little or no attention from
the Queens and NYC press. They thought the group too small or
insignificant to merit any press exposure. Hank became the Media
Chairman and things began to happen. Through his efforts, all of
the Queens papers and mass media now cover events and activities
of the Pride Committee.
Hank has been Co-Chairman of the Pride Committee for the past
10 years. He has been a key factor in the ongoing and growing
success of the Annual Winter Pride affair and the Pride Day
Parade each June. The parade is now the second largest pride
celebration in NYC .
He has always been most appreciative of the fact that his family,
Including his late parents, have always been very supportive
and proud of his work with the LGBT community.
After 35 years , he is retiring from the US Postal Service where he
worked as a Business Mail Entry Technician. He is a scholar in the
benefits and mechanics of direct mail marketing and gladly shares
his expertise with Queens Pride and other not-for-profit groups.
He is also an active member of the Lesbian and Gay Democratic
Club and has been a key supporter and volunteer in many of the
community efforts of Councilmember Daniel Dromm.
Hank received the Morty Manford Award in 1997 and now, in
recognition of his continuing outstanding work in support of true
family values, he is our Carmel Tavadia Memorial Award recipient.
8th Annual Brenda Howard Memorial Awardee
Donna M.D. Redd: This dynamic African/Latina Sista serves at the helm as Executive Director of Sistahs
in Search of Truth, Alliance, and Harmony (S.i.S.T.A.H.) With an educational background in Forensic Psychology,
Social Work, and Behavioral Therapy, Ms. Redd is also an Substance Abuse/ Addiction Counselor, Motivational Speaker
as well as a Life Coach.
Ms. Redd has affliations with following groups/organizations: The Lesbian Cancer Initiative, Circle of Voices, Inc,
The Audre Lorde Project, The New York Area Bisexual Network, Bisexual Women of All Colors, OUT-FM Radio, Gay Men of
African Descent (GMAD) and many others.
S.i.S.T.A.H. is a 21 year old organization that addresses the needs of bisexual, lesbian, transgender and same-sex
loving women of color with a special focus on health, wellness, social and educational issues. SiSTAH’s nurturing space
affirms, rejoices and sanctions womyn of color in all of our diverse communities.
For more information please call: 212-479-7886 or e-mail us at thewaysofasistah97@yahoo.com
Other Information
We also have an ad journal and YOUR AD DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
For more information regarding our celebration ad journal, see our ad journal webpage at
http://www.pflag-queens.org/journal.html
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Last updated 1/22/13 by LDN