Sean Carlson

In addition to being a Rainbow Families Board Member, Sean Carlson is the founder of Apollo Collaborative.  Sean has over a decade of experience in strategic communications and online organizing and works at the intersection of digital media, culture, and organizing.

Formerly Chief Strategy Officer at Revolution Messaging and Senior Digital Director at FitzGibbon Media, Sean is an experienced strategist and consultant. He has worked with clients such as Resource Generation, Media Matters for America, Melissa & Doug Toys, the National Democratic Training Committee, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, Alliance for Justice, Care2, Amal Clooney, National Wildlife Federation, Communications Workers of America, Independent Driver’s Guild, National Center for Transgender Equality, Restaurant Opportunity Centers United, Casa Ruby, the American Federation of Teachers, Good Jobs Nation, People for the American Way, and many more. He has campaigned against corporate abuses, designed national public education campaigns, marketed award-winning documentary films, and created content that received national media coverage.

Sean has helped launch a nationwide campaign to close youth prisons, was the chair of communications for the United for Marriage coalition during the landmark marriage equality cases in 2013, and has served as a teaching and training fellow at the New Organizing Institute.

Sean was formerly a professional Trombonist, studying at Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon Universities, and is proud to have multiple degrees in Bass Trombone performance that he’s totally using (sorry Mom!). He lives in Hyattsville, MD with his husband Jamie McGonnigal, their son Malcolm and their dogs Lily and Rose.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Eduardo Labanca

Eduardo is the Sr. Director of Account Management at Generali Global Assistance, with more than two decades of experience leading high performance operations centers, including customer facing departments as well as procurement and provider relationship areas. During his tenure, Eduardo also led the implementation and managed successfully global accounts of large scale clients in several different business lines. Eduardo currently volunteers at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in the neighborhood of Petworth in Washington DC and has had experience with nonprofit organizations supporting the elderly and children populations in his home country.

Native from Brazil, Eduardo lives in the District with his husband Nick, their two cats Liz and Valentino and their dog Xena.

Eduardo is thrilled to be part of Rainbow Families, to support LGBTQ+ families and their needs.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Beth Wheeler

Beth joined the board in 2019. Prior to that, she volunteered for many Maybe Baby groups about the realities of transracial adoption for queer families who are contemplating adopting across race. Beth has been actively involved in Rainbow Families for many years and has also worked at The Lambda Center and Whitman Walker Clinic.

Beth has a private practice as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma, gender, gender-Identity, sexuality, adoption, race and the intersectionality of identities. She consults with adoptive families raising children of color and works with white people to better understand white racial identity, white privilege and how to become better anti-racist advocates. Beth also works with organizations who want to address and have courageous conversations around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Beth has also appeared on radio shows and podcasts.

She lives in Silver Spring with her two domestically adopted African American boys. She parents her children with her ex-wife and is thrilled to be on the board of Rainbow Families.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Fran Toler

Fran Toler joined the Rainbow Families Board in 2017 after several years of supporting the organization as a sponsor at the annual Conference. She lives in Riverdale MD, in close proximity to her two adult children whom she raised with her now ex-partner. She is bisexual, and has a long history of supporting LGBTQ, racial justice, environmental and health care issues.

She began her after-college work with the Women’s Community Bakery where she learned accounting and business management in a collective environment. Then she spent 15 years in health care as a midwife in private practice and at the Washington Free Clinic (with a short stint at Whitman-Walker). In 2001 she changed careers to become a financial advisor, and today runs her own firm in Silver Spring MD that focuses on holistic financial planning and sustainable investing.

Her current volunteer work centers around her small organization Friends of Dueling Creek, as well as several other local organizations involved in racial justice and environmental issues. She loves outdoor activities like camping, hiking and bird-watching.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Eddie Suarez

Eddie joined the Rainbow Families Board in 2018 after attending several events and conferences. Eddie and his husband Mehl attended the 2012 Rainbow Families Conference which helped them launch their official search to extend their family, resulting in two adoptions in Washington, D.C.

Eddie was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in South America. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese and is a graduate of the International Business School of University of Lima, Peru. Eddie brings to Rainbow Families a vast background in customer service and business; he was a corporate sales executive for Compaq Computers, Hewlett-Packard, and Software AG representing the Latin America region. Eddie is currently a realtor with Compass Realtors in Washington DC.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Signey Olson

Signey Olson joined the Board of Rainbow Families in summer 2017. Originally from Wisconsin, she has lived in the DC area for seven years and currently resides in Takoma Park with her partner Katie and their dog Linus.

Signey earned her BA in Community Development and her BS in Nursing from the College of St. Scholastica in Minnesota, followed by her graduate schooling through Frontier University and clinical training at George Washington University which culminated in a Master’s degree in Midwifery and Post-Master’s certification in Women’s Health.

She practices as a Nurse Practitioner and Nurse-Midwife at Columbia Fertility Associates, specializing in providing inclusive GYN and fertility care for the LGBTQ+ community.

In particular, much of her clinical work focuses on transgender and gender non-conforming individuals as well as providing trauma-informed care.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Patrick McGettigan

Patrick and his husband Elliott first joined the Rainbow Families community as members of the Spring 2019 “Maybe Baby” cohort. The experience was highly beneficial for their family, and inspired Patrick to become more involved with the organization and to help other LGBTQ+ people explore a path to parenthood. He joined the Rainbow Families board in Summer 2020.

After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in History and African American & African Studies, Patrick began a career as an educator and non-profit fundraiser. He spent four years living and teaching at boarding schools in New York’s Hudson River Valley, where he developed a passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion education among students and colleagues. He currently works as the Director of Development Operations, Strategy, and Research at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, MD.

Patrick and Elliott live in Washington DC, and proudly welcomed their newborn son, Kit, into the family through adoption in April 2020.

Pronouns: He/him/his

Christine Lane

Christine joined the board in 2018, and in 2019 was elected as President of the Board. She lives in Columbia, Maryland with her daughter and son, ages two and five. Christine has been active in the LGBTQ+ community for many years.

Professionally, she is a Partner at the law firm of Hogan Lovells US LLP where she advises clients on a wide range of corporate transactional tax matters. Christine devotes a significant portion of her time to pro bono and citizenship efforts.

Christine is excited to serve as President of the Board, and help make a difference in the lives of LGBTQ+ families.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Rosemary Kim

Rosemary joined the Board of Rainbow Families in 2018. Rosemary and her wife live in Washington DC with their cat, August.

Rosemary graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University with a BS in Accounting and Marketing. She is currently an assurance professional at Raffa, a regional public accounting firm and works with many nationally known non-profit organizations.

Previously, she worked at Ernst and Young, focusing for-profit audits and consulting. She is an official auditor for Miss DC USA pageant and a part-time beauty pageant judge.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Ali Don

Ali Don joined the board of Rainbow Families in 2020. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, she now lives in Capitol Hill in DC with her wife, daughter, and cat.

Ali has a BA in Modern Asian Studies, an MA in Applied Linguistics, and an MA in Education, and is currently working as an English as a Second Language teacher, English language examiner, and curriculum writer. She works with international students seeking scholarship in the US, or new Americans transitioning to the US workforce. She has also lived and taught English in Australia, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

While living in Sydney, Ali was a seasoned worker the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras as parade route volunteer. She enjoys spending time hiking, camping, and tending to the family vegetable garden.

Liz Dean

Liz joined the Board of Rainbow Families in 2019. Prior to that, she served on the Boards of the Jim Toy Community Center in Ann Arbor, MI and the DC Center for the LGBT Community. She has volunteered with Capital Pride, Point Foundation, and Women in Their Twenties & Thirties.

Liz has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Master’s degree in Human-Centered Computing. She has served in several UX/IT management roles in non-profit, for-profit, higher education, and consulting spaces. Liz is currently a Senior Content Strategist for a technology provider in the DMV area.

Liz lives in Washington, DC, with her wife. She is excited to be part of the Rainbow Families community, happy to be making a difference in the lives of LGBTQ+ families, and looking forward to taking on the role as Vice President of the Board in 2020-2021.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Jamaal Charlton

Jamaal Charlton, PMP, ICPC, joined the Board of Rainbow Families in 2019. Jamaal – originally from the Bahamas – and his family have lived in the DC metro area for over 15 years. He’s a husband and the father of two beautiful children.

Jamaal earned his BS degree in Computer Information Systems from GA Tech University, and then went on to obtain his Master’s in Psychology from Georgetown University. Jamaal currently works as a Project Management Professional for one of the leading contractors in the Washington, DC metro area.

Jamaal feels that Rainbow Families represents & reflects what his family is all about, and he enjoys helping the organization grow to reach as many lives in the LGBTQI+ community as possible.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Julie Bindeman

Dr. Julie Bindeman graduated from the George Washington University and is the co-owner of the practice Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington, a private psychotherapy practice located in Rockville, Maryland. As a result of her own reproductive story, she pursued post-graduate training in the field of Reproductive Psychology, where she actively writes, lectures, and presents on the topic. She has been on several committees for the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine including serving as Chair of the Continuing Education Committee and is the current chair for the Social Media committee; she served as a Board Member of the Maryland Psychological Association for over 10 years and is currently the Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee. Additionally, Dr. Bindeman was the inaugural Early Career Psychologist Committee Chair for MPA.

She has been on other boards including NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, Uprooted and JCADA. Dr. Bindeman is a member of a variety of organizations that are focused on Maternal Mental Health. She was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to serve on the Maternal Mental Health Task Force representing psychologists in the state. In 2014, Dr. Bindeman was honored to receive both the Woman Who Dared Award conferred to her by the National Council of Jewish Women and the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Maryland Psychological Association. She authored a chapter in the book, “Prenatal and Preimplantation Diagnosis: The Burden of Choice” (Springer, 2015) as well as a recent chapter for the Society for Psychotherapy Integration’s special issue: Therapist Transformations. In June of 2020, Dr. Bindeman was appointed to the Rainbow Families Board of Directors.