Denise Spivak - 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 is a graduate of Gettysburg College where she received her B.A. in Psychology.
Tanya Tassi - ActionLink's National Community Center Policy Manager. Prior to joining ActionLink's battle for equality, Tanya spent three years as the residential services coordinator at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Triangle Square - the nation's first and largest LGBTQ+ low income senior housing facility.
She began volunteering with Wisconsin AIDS Resource Center at the age of 17, and continued to give back to her community; first at Nashville AIDS Project, then at her local PFLAG chapter. A professional vocalist, she often lends her voice to LGBTQ+-related nonprofit events and causes.
Tanya completed her Gerontology certification at the University of Southern California in 2017, and her Administration of Justice and Health Services degrees at East Los Angeles College in 2019. She is currently working toward a Masters Degree in International Law. She is the founder and director of the Los Angeles LGBT Center's "Senior Mob Squad", a coalition consisting of older adults who advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.