I am honored to be one of five returning members to the International Court Council from her Majesty, Queen Mother of the Americas, Nicole the Great’s original appointment. I have been an active member of the ICC leading one of the few Town Hall Meetings, working to help re-establish the Court of Everett and worked for three years to assist The Court of Tacoma with some internal struggles. In 2009, I was awarded with the honor of The Imperial Order of the Double Eagle, by Nicole the Great. In addition, I have been a member of the Executive Council holding the position of either Corresponding Secretary or Recording Secretary for the entire appointment.
I joined the International Court System in the Court of Seattle in 1985. I won my first title, Queen of the Seas 11, in 1986. I was elected as Imperial Princess 13 in 1988. In 1994, I won Miss Gay Washington. In 2001, I was elected as Olympia 31. I am currently the Reigning Empress of Seattle, stepping down at our 40th Celebration on February, 19, 2011.
In my 25 year history with The Court of Seattle, I have held the position of Secretary, Vice-President and President of the Board. I was one of the founding members of our Imperial Prince and Princess Council and have held the position of Chancellor 4 times. In addition to producing our major events, I was nominated and appointed representative to the ICS convention held in Palm Springs in 2005. I have also been The Court’s representative to our local Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Business, the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) where I networked with our local business owners.
In my professional life, I worked for over 10 years in Government for the City of Seattle. While working there, I was instrumental in forcing the Departments to require AIDS awareness education just after the American with Disabilities Act was signed. I received special recognition from the Mayor for my proactive push to educate our employees. I also volunteered with our City Department of Human Rights specifically dealing with discrimination faced by those diagnosed with AIDS.
Currently, my partner and I own and operate the only gay nightclub in Everett, Washington. Together, we manage the employees and are responsible for the day to day operations. We are active in both our gay community and local business associations.
In other areas I have been active, I volunteered with The Northwest AIDS Foundation on their Speaker’s Bureau for over 7 years where I educated business and schools on HIV and AIDS. I also volunteered for over 4 years at The Seattle AIDS Support Group where I lead a support group for those affected by AIDS.
In addition, I am very active in local politics. I helped write our state democratic platform to ensure inclusion of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender rights. I have helped raise money for Equal Rights of Washington which is leading the fight for our State's Gay Marriage. I was also very active with Hands Off Washington a few years back that successfully stopped an anti-gay initiative from being passed.
In 2004, I married my partner, Victor in San Francisco and we live in a suburb just north of Seattle. We are fortunate to be very close to both of our families. We have many brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. In our cul-de-sac, we are just another “typical American family”.
