Curtis Thornhill
Curtis is a senior marketing manager overseeing consulting programs focused on small business strategy. He has managed a $3 million budget in multi-channel marketing; including vendor management of telesales centers, copywriters, and creative design teams. Specializing in eCommerce strategy and call center operations, Curtis has consulted on marketing program development and localization in ten countries.

Curtis enjoys varied athletic endurance events including marathon, triathlon, and distance cycling. He is currently active with multiple NPOs focused on environmental concerns, youth counseling, and the GLBT community.

Curtis is currently the President of the Board.

James Gibbs
Born and raised in Los Altos, CA, James comes from a very supportive and loving family. He attended CSU Chico, and upon receiving his BA in Psychology, he moved to Sacramento where he worked in Social Services. Coming out to his family at 20 years old was a challenge for James. Being raised in an ultra-conservative area, and having his family name be easily recognized in the community, he was embarrassed to bring shame to them. He came out and his family was more accepting of it that he was. They were “happy he could trust them enough to tell them.”

After graduating. he became a Case Manager with the Sacramento AIDS Foundation and the Case Manager Coordinator for Sacramento County, James began his community activism early. Utilizing his experience, he moved into Human Resources where he focused on employee relations and recruitment.

Pulling together his talents and support of his family and community, non-profits, and working in Corporate America, he is excited to contribute all resources to building the DeFrank Center and improving services to the community at large.

James is currently the Vice President of the Board and the Board Development Committee Chair.

Rev. Michael Ellard
Mike has been involved in LGBT rights activism for twenty years, including working with such organizations as the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, the STOP AIDS Project, the Pacific Center for Human Growth, and the Lesbian/Gay Bands of America.

In Mike’s first career as a management and technology consultant, he did projects for a variety of large corporate clients, including Apple Computer, Southern California Gas, Southern California Edison, and Pacific Gas and Electric.

Mike currently serves as the pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Jose.  He is also the Vice President of the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County and the co-chair of the council’s gay ministry committee.  Before becoming an ordained minister, Mike served as the treasurer of the Northwest District Committee of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, proving support and oversight to Metropolitan Community Churches in Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.

He has a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, a Master of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion, and a M.A in Biblical Languages from the Graduate Theological Union.  He has also done graduate work at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

Rev. Michael is currently the Treasurer of the Board.

Carol Kohn
Carol was born and raised in Texas. After graduating from Texas Women's University with a BS in Computer Science three years ago, she moved to California to pursue a job opportunity as a software engineer with IBM. Since that time, she has assumed the position as chair of the IBM LGBT group and looks forward to increasing the center's visibility to the corporate community.

She has been volunteering for non-profit organizations since the age of 18 and currently enjoys volunteering and contributing to the success of the Defrank Center. In her spare time, she loves to play volley ball, golf, travel, and read.

Carol is currently the Secretary Chair.

Lon Ong
Lon has been living in San Jose for the past 6 years. He has a degree in Computer Engineering, likes working in IT startups and is currently an Operations Manager servicing the Internet Radio Broadcast industry. He enjoys adventure sports and travel and has a soft spot for animals. He believes the DeFrank Center is a valuable community resource and volunteers are important assets and would like to see more people get involved.

Lon currently serves as Board Development Committee Chair.


Anne Hansen
Biography coming soon.

Anne currently serves as Membership Committee Chair.

Howard Jaffe
Howard Jaffe grew up in South Florida and worked his way through a Bachelor's degree in computer science by launching the Jaffe Advertising Company. After graduation, he provided technical services for 5 years on the Space Coast of Florida for Harris Corporation's Energy Management division, which was purchased by General Electric. In 1998, he moved to the Bay Area where he completed his M.B.A. while automating key components of engineering, marketing and manufacturing for Verity, Inc., an Intranet search company.

In 2004, Howard joined Yahoo!, Inc. to help establish and manage an operations team responsible for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance of systems that piped in $1.5 billion in annual revenue. At Yahoo, he is currently taking on a new role strategically sourcing software globally for the Internet giant.

In his spare time, he invests in real estate, skis, rafts, camps, and enjoys making a difference within the community.