Board & Staff

The Statewide Board of NHFTM Coalition formed in the fall of 2001 and began meeting on a monthly basis.

Meetings occur on the 4th Tuesday of the month in Concord. E-mail the Statewide Board for location and time.

Board of Directors

Brian Rater, Treasurer

David Weber, Vice Chair

Patricia McGrath, Secretary

Dawn Touzin, Chair

Claire Ebel

Judy Nute

Lillie Scheffey

Biographies

Brian Rater has been involved in GLBT activism in New Hampshire for over 10 years, beginning with his involvement in the Citizen's Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Rights (CAGLR) and the Coalition to End Discrimination (CED). These two organizations successfully lobbied for the creation of New Hampshire's anti-discrimination law, which makes it illegal to discriminate in employment, housing and public accommodations based on a person's sexual orientation. Brian was also a founder and co-chair of Out and Equal New Hampshire (ONE-NH) which successfully lobbied for the repeal of two laws from the 1980s which made it illegal for gays and lesbians to adopt children or provide foster care. He is also a founder of NHFTM and currently serves as treasurer.  Brian lives in Brookline with his husband Brendan Denehy and their cat Stewart.

David Weber has been senior faculty adviser to the Gay-Straight Alliance of Phillips Exeter Academy for more than a decade and has recently completed a two-year term as chair of the Welcoming Congregation Committee at the First Unitarian Society of Exeter.  He has testified in Concord on behalf of GLBT civil rights several times. In his day job, David teaches English at Phillips Exeter Academy. He and Ilona Weber have been married for forty years. Their daughter, Anya, is a middle-school textbook editor at Houghton Mifflin.

Claire Ebel has spent over 20 years as the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.  After completing undergraduate and graduate studies in Economics, Philosophy and Government, she worked as an economist in local government in Indiana, state government in New Hampshire and the federal government in Washington, D.C.  Born and raised in Melrose, Mass., Claire currently lives in Concord with her adopted greyhound and two cats. 

Patricia McGrath is an attorney who lives in Bedford with her partner, Penny, and practices in Manchester.  She joined the board in 2005, and offers her legal background in exempt organizations, probate and benefits, as well as a strong belief that while it's always important to take our work seriously, it's best not to take oneself too seriously. 

Judy Nute is currently the NH Grassroots/Community Organizer for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. She has worked at a variety of national, statewide and local organizations for over 25 years.  Judy has directed many successful public education, legislative, political and labor campaigns.  Judy enjoys working with young organizations and helping them grow.  She currently lives in Hampstead with her husband, Gary, and her three trouble-making cats.

Lillie Scheffey is originally from the Ukraine, where she attempted to continue on the family tradition of being an alpaca rancher. However, a freak form of Ukrainian locust ate all of the crops she used to feed her alpacas. Since alpacas are finicky eaters and refuse to eat anything but that one kind of crop, they all died. She gave up on the family farm, sold it for a plane ticket to the US of A, and somehow found her way to Hopkinton, N.H., where she currently resides. She daydreams constantly of fulfilling her dream to move to Mongolia, where she will continue her research on her life-long goal: training reindeer to fly.      

Lillie has been gay her entire life. She is involved in the GSA at her high school, and she is currently restarting Concord OUTright, a group for LGBT youth in Concord. She used to play a lot of sports, but recently shattered a really big bone in her leg, which happens to be the biggest bone in the body. It really hurt. She doesn't play sports anymore.