Board of Directors

The QVA Board of Directors is composed of LGBTQ+ and allied thought leaders who work to align the interests of the University of Virginia and its LGBTQ alumni, students, faculty, and staff to create a vibrant University of Virginia community.


Current Board Members

Lance Guthrie – Chair

He/Him/His \ Arlington, VA | lance@queervirginia.org

McIntire School of Commerce, 2014

Lance is a life-long Virginian. He does strategy consulting for Capital One, working to improve people’s experience with their finances. He’s also an active tutor and traveler. While at UVA, Lance studied Civil Engineering and Business, was President of the Transfer Student Peer Advisors, and helped start the Social Entrepreneurship program at McIntire. Lance currently lives in McLean, Virginia with his husband, Daniel.

Ankit Agrawal –  Treasurer

He/Him/His \ San Francisco, CA | ankit@queervirginia.org

McIntire School of Commerce, 2022

Ankit Agrawal graduated from the Class of 2022 with a B.A. in Computer Science and a B.S. in Commerce, concentrating in both Information Technology and Finance with a track in Quantitative Finance. At UVA, Ankit was a Resident Advisor during his third and fourth years, and served for two years on the Managing Board of The Cavalier Daily—UVA’s independent student newspaper—as the Operations Manager. Outside of these activities, Ankit was also the Vice President of Finance for the Queer Student Union during his second year, a Diversity and Inclusion Committee Co-Chair for Second Year Class Council, an LGBTQ Center Volunteer, and an active member of Pride at McIntire (the LGBTQ+ affinity group at McIntire) in his fourth year. Since graduating, Ankit has been working as a software engineer at Slack in San Francisco, California.

 

Justin Paxton – Secretary

He/Him/His \ Los Angeles, CA | justin@queervirginia.org

Justin graduated from the University of Virginia in 2010 with a degree in Theatre and Dance. Moving to Los Angeles in 2011, he started as a receptionist at one of LA’s top law firms and eventually worked his way up to being an assistant to the likes of Gretchen Rush and Nina Shaw representing A-list writers, directors, and actors in the film and television industry. In 2021, Justin founded Rogers Hollow Consulting which provides administration, operations, and travel concierge services to individuals, small business, startups and more.

For a decade, Justin served as President of the UVA Entertainment Club of Los Angeles which cultivates a strong community of professionals who are UVA alumni living in Los Angeles and working in the entertainment business. In 2016, Justin joined Young Alumni Council where he generated initiatives and activities in conjunction with UVA’s Alumni Association Board of Managers. There are two projects of which he is most proud: creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force to connect student leaders and alumni leaders to formulate a response to the events of August 2017 and working to program a Pride Night within UVA Athletics. He now serves as the Secretary for QVA, UVA’s Queer Alumni Network.

When he’s not working or volunteering, he spends his time watching the Golden Girls, running his book club, playing Mario Kart, or spending time with his partner and two dogs.

Felix Nguyen-Dalton – Scholarship Committee Co-Chair

Xe/They/He \ Richmond, VA | felix@queervirginia.org

CLAS, 2013 Photographer: Winston O’Neal at Casey Chapman Ross Photography

Since 2011, Felix has dedicated their personal and professional time to LGBTQ+ causes, focusing on nondiscrimination protections at the state and federal levels. As a non-binary, first-generation, disabled individual, xe consistently seeks to bring intersectional identities and perspectives into the movement.

In addition to the work he does with QVA, Felix particularly cherishes his opportunities to establish the first LGBTQ+ Speakers’ Bureau in southwest Virginia, serve as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for foster children, and build inclusive online communities for over 500,000 teens and young adults.  

Tim Sensenig – Scholarship Committee Co-Chair

He/Him/His \ Washington D.C | tim@queervirginia.org

Law, 2021

Tim Sensenig is a 2020 graduate of the School of Law.  He grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and studied English and German Education at Messiah University outside of Harrisburg. Before moving to Charlottesville for law school, Tim served as as a secondary English teacher both in the US and in Hamburg, Germany through a Fulbright Scholarship. He currently works as an associate at a law firm, where he advises clients on issues related to national security and cross-border transactions, and lives in Washington, DC.

Brendan Maupin Wynn – Events Committee Chair

He/They \ Charlottesville, VA | brendan@queervirginia.org

Brendan Wynn
CLAS,  2014

Brendan is a graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences and currently works with scientific nonprofits. He previously worked for UVA’s Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and for S&P Global Market Intelligence. As an undergraduate, Brendan interned in the LGBTQ Center, during which time he planned and executed several major events and developed new initiatives in the Center’s programming like LGBTQ Brunch on the Lawn. During his time as a graduate student, Brendan was also the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society’s chairperson for the 53rd Annual Restoration Ball — a yearly black-tie event benefiting Rotunda repair and the Jeffersonian Grounds Initiative. Brendan also led statewide initiatives for higher education funding and student-centered policymaking, and led an effort for same-sex partner benefits in Virginia before marriage equality with the help of UVA president Teresa Sullivan and a broad coalition of supporters.

Brendan served as Chair of QVA’s Board of Directors from 2015-2023, overseeing substantial increases to scholarships and grants, the creation of an Advisory Council, and the organization’s name change from the Serpentine Society to QVA – the University of Virginia’s Queer Alumni Network. He remains an active board member as chair of the Events committee.

Julie Weed – Membership Chair

She/Her/Hers \ Charlottesville, VA | julie@queervirginia.org

julie
Curry School of Education, 2000

Julie was born and raised on a farm in Central Virginia and attended high school in Charlottesville. She attended college in New England and came out there, only to return to the closet when she attended UVA as a graduate student. She did not have any idea that there were resources for LGBTQ folks at UVA, though she did find some of her tribe in club sports. Since coming out of the closet for good, Julie been involved with many LGBTQ community projects in Charlottesville. She led the organization of the successful Q-munity Fairs in 2006 and 2007, showcasing over 40 services and businesses that support the LGBTQ community. In 2012, Julie helped to organize the Cville Pride Festival, which grew into the non-profit organization Cville Pride Community Network. Julie was active on this organization’s board until 2018.

Julie is a middle-school teacher who provides support at school to her queer and questioning students by being open and proud, and by being involved in anti-bullying initiatives. She is a certified Olweus trainer and Safe Space trainer and has been a leader in the anti-bullying education within her school. In 2010, Julie became a volunteer facilitator for ROSMY Blue Ridge, which is a support group in Charlottesville for LGBTQ youth and was 2011-12’s volunteer of the year. Julie lives near Charlottesville on a little farm with her wife and daughter. She raises chickens, ducks, and is a beekeeper as well. 

Blair Smith – Student Affairs Committee Chair

He/Him/His \ Danville, VA | blair@queervirginia.org

CLAS, 2021
Blair graduated from the University in Virginia in 2021 with a B.A. in Spanish and Political & Social Thought. He interned with UVA’s LGBTQ Center and was the President of the Queer Student Union. After graduating, Blair served as a college adviser at a rural high school through the Virginia College Advising Corps, a partnership between the University of Virginia and AmeriCorps with a mission to support first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students as they plan for life after high school. You can usually find him listening to NPR, running, singing, or doing all of these at the same time.

Karl Frisch

He/Him/His \ Tysons, VA

Karl Frisch is Providence District Representative and Chair of the Fairfax County School Board, which oversees Virginia’s largest and America’s tenth-largest school system — $3.5 billion budget, 200 schools, 180,000 students, and more than 40,000 employees. 

An accomplished non-profit executive and award-winning public policy specialist, he has earned a national reputation for his work on issues ranging from consumer financial protection and land conservation to student lending and government ethics. In 2019, Karl was elected to the School Board, garnering more votes than any candidate for that office in the district’s history. In 2023, he was re-elected by an even wider margin. He is the first openly LGBTQIA+ person elected to local office in Virginia’s largest county.

On the School Board, Karl has championed efforts to address learning loss, increase teacher pay, eliminate literacy gaps, prevent gun violence, support LGBTQIA+ students, teach accurate history, oppose book bans, and ensure all students have safe and inclusive schools.

Raised in a working-class home — his father was a union cop, and his mother was a waitress — Karl received a bachelor’s degree with highest distinction from the University of Virginia. He lives in Tysons, Virginia with his partner, a long-time public school teacher.

Megan Moakler

She/Her/Hers \ Alexandria, VA | megan@queervirginia.org

Nursing, 2001

Megan is a 2001 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Nursing.  She was a four year Army ROTC scholarship recipient at UVA and upon graduation, commissioned as an officer in the United States Army in the Rotunda Dome Room.  She has spent the last 22 years serving on active duty in the Army throughout the United States in Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Colorado, Pennsylvania, California, Kentucky, and Virginia as well as two 12 month deployments to Iraq.  During the first half of her military career, she served under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act.  She is currently a Colonel assigned as a United States Army War College Fellow at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  She has been with her wife Kirsten Stoddard (College ’06) for 17 years and married for 9.  Together they reside with their two children in Alexandria, Virginia.  She enjoys coaching youth soccer, being a Cub Scout den leader, hiking, running, swimming,  and cheering on UVA sports with her family.

Matt Paco

He/Him/His \ New York, NY | matt@queervirginia.org

CLAS, 1995

As one of the co-founders of QVA, Matt Paco has been a very active UVa alumnus. He was on the Board of Managers of the University of Virginia Alumni Association from 2013-2019, and he was the co-chair of the Harriman Cup, which hosts the annual UVA vs. Yale alumni polo match that benefits the undergraduate polo programs at Yale and Virginia. He is a former president of the UVA Club of New York and was a member of the Young Alumni Council. In 2012, he co-produced the Julian Bond Gala in NYC, which raised over $1.5M for the Julian Bond Professorship in Civil Rights.

Outside of UVA, Matt is very involved in his local Nashville community.  He is currently the co-chair of Chukkers For Charity, which raises money for Saddle Up and the Rochelle Center, two non-profits in Middle Tennessee that help children and adults with disabilities.  Professionally, Matt is a video producer for Lonely Planet and the owner of D’Andrews Bakery & Cafe in downtown Nashville with his husband David.  He was previously the Executive Producer of WSMV’s “News 4 Today” morning show that won the 2018 Regional Emmy for Best Morning Broadcast.  When he lived in New York City, he worked for MSNBC, NBC, MTV, VH1, LOGO, and Nickelodeon.  Matt used to oversee MTV’s You Hear It First, which gave American TV audiences a first look at then up-and-coming artists such as Kanye West, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Paramore, and others. Matt was awarded a Beacon Award for MTV News: At War In Iraq, and his “In the Life: Changing the Game” documentary about LGBTQ collegiate athletes was featured in the Pride of the Ocean, Cine Slam, and Mumbai LGBT film festivals. During the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Matt was a State Delegate for New York.

Shegufta Razzaque

They/Them \  shegufta@queervirginia.org

CLAS, 2014

Dr. Shegufta Razzaque (UVA Class of 2014) was passionate about fostering a supportive and caring community during their time as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia. Much of this effort went into fostering a sense of found family as a part of Sigma Omicron Rho, UVA’s first gender inclusive queer fraternity. After spending some time doing research at Mount Sinai Medical Center, they went on to go to medical school in Ireland at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. In 2020, they graduated just in time to start working in Dublin during the beginning of the Covid Pandemic. After 15 months of working in the hospital, coupled with the inability to see many friends and loved ones, they felt a great need to come back to the US to reconnect with family, friends, and community. Now, they’ve recently joined us at QVA with the hope of continuing to make a difference by supporting the University community in a different capacity.

Ryan Whitney

He/Him/His \ San Francisco, CA | ryan@queervirginia.org

McIntire School of Commerce, 2014

Before graduating from the University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and a dual concentration in Information Technology and Management, Ryan had the distinct pleasure of serving as President of the McIntire Commerce Council. As an active member of the McIntire community, he also served as a Transfer Student Mentor, McIntire Ambassador, and a member of the student run long/short equity fund, the McIntire Investment Institute. After graduation, Ryan moved to San Francisco where he worked for JP Morgan Private Bank as an analyst on their Venture Capital Principals team. Currently, Ryan is a Co-Chair of the Impact Committee on the McIntire Young Alumni Council, which leads initiatives to connect alumni to current students and keep them engaged in the University Community.