PAC Board of Directors

Barbra (Babs) Casbar Siperstein is a Co-Chair of National Stonewall Democrats Political Action Committee. She is an at large member of the DNC; her 2009 appointment by Governor Tim Kaine made her the first transgender member of the DNC. She is President of NJ Stonewall Democrats and a member of the NJ Civil Unions Review Commission. Babs has served as Vice-Chair of Garden State Equality, Political Director of the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of NJ, and as a member of the Executive Board of National Stonewall Democrats. In 2004 she was a recipient of NJ Personal Liberty Fund’s Honors Award, and following Victory 2005, she served on Governor-Elect Corzine’s Labor and Workforce Development Transition Advisory Board.In 2004 and 2998, Babs was a voting delegate to the 2004 and 2008 Democratic National Convention and was New Jersey’s first transgender delegate.

Babs has served on the Board of Congregation Beth Mordecai in Perth Amboy for over 25 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers and an MBA from Pace University. Widowed in 2001, she takes one day at a time, enjoys spoiling her grandchildren and wishes they can enjoy a life where people learn to communicate, take responsibility for their actions or inactions, and have respect for each other!

Stephen Handwerk is a Co-Chair of National Stonewall Democrats Political Action Committee. He represents the 7th Congressional District on the executive committee of the Louisiana State Democratic Party and is the first openly gay man to serve as an officer of the party. He has a weekly television show, writes a weekly column for The Daily Advertiser, and is a Democratic Commentator on KPEL 105.1. Stephen served on the Board of Directors of National Stonewall Democrats for four years, and was an active member of the DNC Relations Committee and Chairman of the Personnel Committee. He also served as a Delegate to the 2008 Democratic Presidential Convention and Co-Chair of the LGBT Steering Committee for John Edwards for America presidential campaign.

Stephen owns his own consulting firm with dual specialization. AffordableConsulting.com offers graphic design, video production and website creation services, and TurnLouisianaBlue.com specializes in political campaign consulting working for progressive Louisiana Democrats. He lives with Danny, his partner of 8 years, and their 6 year old Chocolate Lab Mocha.

Rich Bailey is Secretary of National Stonewall Democrats Political Action Committee. Rich first became involved in LGBT issues in 1984, and joined the Steering Committee of the Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus in 1987, where he still serves. He represented Austin on the board of the Lesbian/Gay Democrats of Texas, the precursor to the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus. Rich is a military veteran, and in 1993 he co-founded and served as the first president of the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of Central Texas. In 2004, he was elected to the first of two terms on the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee representing Senate District 14. He has been on the board of Stonewall Democrats of Austin since 2003 and currently serves as its President. In his day job, Rich is the Chief of Staff to Austin Mayor Will Wynn.

Paul Durham is a semi-retired attorney who has held many roles in the political arena. He served as the Deputy Voter Protection Coordinator for the Airzona Democratic Coordinated Campaign during the 2004 elections. He managed the Trasoff City Council Campaign in 2005 and subsequently as Chief Aide to Ward 6 City Councilman Trasoff. Paul served two terms as Secretary of Southern Arizona Stonewall Democrats and is currently chair of both that organization and the Arizona Democratic Party LGBT Caucus.

Paul is an immersion language student, having studied in Mexico and Guatemala, and currently lives in Tucson with his partner Philippe Waterinckx, who he met on a business trip in Brussels in 1995.

Herb Zeman is the Treasurer of the Tennessee Stonewall Democratic Caucus. He served for two years on the board of the National Stonewall Democrats, and for one year on the board of the Stanford University Pride organization. He presently serves on the steering committee of the Oberlin Lambda Alumni. He has served in the past as president and a member of the board of the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center. He was a co-founder of the Palo Alto Coalition for Equal Rights, which campaigned for a gay rights ordinance in the election of 1981.

Herb presently serves as president of Conenhill Consultants, supplying consulting for the medical imaging industry. He was an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN from 1990 to 2005. He invented the medical device called the VeinViewer in 1995 and founded the startup medical device company, Luminetx, in order to commercialize his invention. He worked for Luminetx from 2005 to 2008. Herb has a PhD in Physics from Stanford University and has been working in the medical imaging research field since 1978.

Herb lives in Memphis, TN, with his boyfriend, Jeff Harwood. They live downtown in a lovely new condo overlooking the Mississippi river.

Connie Ress has been a lifelong Democrat with a love for politics, following in the footsteps of, and taught by, her father—and FDR Democrat. Connie’s passion for civil rights led her to work on the issue of marriage equality for twelve years, first as a journalist, then as an activist. Connie led Marriage Equality New York from 1999-2001, co-founded Marriage Equality California in 2000 and co-founded and was the first Executive Director of Marriage Equality USA from 2001 through 2005.

Currently, Connie serves as a Media Director for the City of New York, She also served as the press person and LGBT Liaison for New York State Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried, author of the “Right to Marry” bill. Connie worked during the 2004 campaign as a Communications Consultant with the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, assisting state groups in Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma on statewide anti-marriage amendments.

Connie was recently appointed to the LGBT Advisory Committee to the NYC Police Commissioner. She is a former Vice President of Stonewall Democrats in New York City and former member of Manhattan's Community Board 5. In 2004, Connie received the LGBT Award for her work and commitment to marriage equality from the New York City Council. As a journalist, Connie has been published several times including in the Milwaukee Journal (now known as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel), the largest daily in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Terry Fleming is the Vice President of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida (HRCNCF) and has served on the organization's Board of Directors for 8 years. Terry has served as a board member and volunteer for the Gainesville Area AIDS Project, including preparing meals for people with AIDS. Currently, Terry serves as the State Committeeman for the ACDP, the Congressional District Three Chair for the Florida Democratic Party (FDP), a member of the FDP GLBT Caucus, and on the FDP Rules and Bylaws Committee and the FDP Select Committee on Rules Reform.

For the last nine years, Terry’s day in and day out service has been as the volunteer manager of the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida. He has raised the profile of the center and dramatically increased the services and resources it offers.