Denise - CenterLink's CEO. Denise joined CenterLink after working in the private sector for over twenty years. She has extensive experience in team management, talent acquisition and program development. Prior to joining CenterLink, Denise was a corporate executive recruiter. Her background also includes on-air and production roles in the broadcast industry and senior retail management positions with Fortune 500 companies.
Denise was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. Starting in the early ‘90s she was part of the Sophie’s Parlor Radio Collective, the longest-running women’s music radio show in the country. She also served as a stage manager, producer and sound crew member for numerous Pride events and Women’s Music festivals, and was a production assistant for “A Simple Matter of Justice”, the video of the 1993 March on Washington. She currently serves on a number of local non-profit boards and committees focused in the LGBTQ+ arena. Denise received her B.A. in Psychology.
Castelle - ActionLink's Policy and Advocacy Organizer. Castelle joined the ActionLink team in June of 2021 as an intern. She specifically focuses on delivering information to the LGBTQ+ community centers and supporting them in their policy and activism initiatives.
Castelle recently graduated with BA's in both Theatre and Public Health. Her future plans include attending law school and continuing to grow her voice to support the communities that she feels passionate about.
She feels very honored to be working with CenterLink, and is excited to continue to learn and grow.
Tanya - ActionLink's Director of Policy and Advocacy. Tanya has been part of the CenterLink team for over 6 years. Prior to working for CenterLink, she spent three years as a residential services coordinator at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Triangle Square - the nation's first and largest LGBT low income senior housing facility. During that time, Tanya founded and directed the Los Angeles LGBT Center's "Senior Mob Squad"; a group consisting of adults aged 55+ who advocate for local and federal policy changes on issues that impact older adults.
She began volunteering with the Wisconsin AIDS Resource Center at the age of 17, and continues to volunteer at her local LGBT community center. A professional vocalist, she often lends her voice to LGBT-related nonprofit events and causes. Tanya spent six years as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles County Commission on Aging representing the LGBT community and works as a volunteer aging educator for the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.
Tanya received her Gerontology certification in 2017, and her Administration of Justice and Health Services degrees in 2019.