Jerry Katlin
Chairman
Jamie Ensley
Vice-Chairman
+ View BioJamie Ensley joined the Log Cabin National Board in 2008 and currently serves as Vice Chairman. He also serves as President of the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans, Board Treasurer for Georgia Equality, and Campaign Treasurer for Georgia State Representative Mike Jacobs.
In 2010, Jamie was the second witness during the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) trial held in Federal Court in Riverside, California. Federal Court Judge Virginia Philips ruled that DADT was unconstitutional, and in the court’s final opinion, it stated that “Mr. Ensley’s testimony was both candid and credible”. This court victory was the catalyst that finally influenced Congress to repeal DADT. Also in 2010, Ensley was honored to serve as one of the Grand Marshals for Atlanta Pride’s 40th Anniversary Celebration.
Jamie is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the nation’s 3rd oldest and largest arts and music festival with an estimated 300,000 attendees annually.
Jamie is a Senior SBA/USDA Business Development Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. He is an Atlanta native, but was raised in the mountains of North Georgia. He holds a B.S. in Economics from Louisiana State University.
Sarah Longwell
Treasurer
Tommy Purdy
Secretary
+ View BioThomas Purdy, President of Log Cabin Republicans of Dallas, is an Organizational Development Consultant based out of Dallas, Texas. His career began in the financial sector as anHR analyst at Bank of America Corporation. Purdy later advanced into consulting, focusing on areas such as training, organizational development, and change management. After seven years, his final stop at Bank of America was as a Senior Consultant in the Business Continuity and Crisis Management division.
In 2011, Purdy transitioned into the transportation industry, now working for one of the nation’s largest airlines and one of the world’s most admired companies. His role involves advising on company-wide projects, mergers and acquisitions, and the development of a proprietary change management methodology.
Purdy officially joined Log Cabin Republicans of Dallas in 2009. The following year, he was appointed to the Chapter’s Board of Directors. In that role, Purdy also began to participate heavily in the activities of Log Cabin Republicans’ national organization and became a Log Cabin Trustee. In 2012, Purdy became President of a new Log Cabin Republicans Chapter in Dallas. His strategy for the young chapter is to focus on building and strengthening relationships with the Dallas County Republican Party, the local LGBT community, and the broader community of North Texas.
Purdy was raised in San Antonio, Texas and is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He is a certified practitioner of personality instruments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).
Leonard Olds
Chairman Emeritus
+ View BioLeonard Olds’ activism with Log Cabin Republicans began in 1982 when he helped start the Log Cabin Republicans of Orange County California Chapter, then in 1991 he founded the Log Cabin Republicans of Riverside County Chapter. Olds served continually as President of LCR Riverside from 1991-2005 and is still a member. He is a continuing Board member of both the Log Cabin Republicans National organization and our sister think tank Liberty Education Forum. He served as an appointee of Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger on the California Council for the Humanities from 2007-2010.
Leonard and his partner of 43 years Hugh Rouse began a Foundation at the University of Minnesota Library for the support of the GLBT archives several years ago. They now house the original and ongoing collection of Log Cabin Republicans papers and publications.
Peter Bertelsen
Jennifer Breitinger
+ View BioJennifer is president of JWB Associates, a government relations firm in Minnesota established in 1995. Jennifer’s clients include a broad range of corporations and non-profits, including Project 515, an organization dedicated to ending discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Jennifer assisted with the Minnesotans United for All Families campaign, which was instrumental in defeating the recently proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in that state. Jennifer resides in Minneapolis with her husband, John, and daughter, Eva. She has a political science degree from American University and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Mitchell Cantor
+ View BioMitchell is the managing partner at The Law Offices of Mitchell Cantor in New York, New York. He also serves as President of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Chateau de Saint-Cloud, and is a member of the Board of the American Friends of the Chateau de Compiegne.
He is also active in numerous other cultural and community organizations. Mr. Cantor holds both a B.A. and a M.A. from The University of Pennsylvania, and received his J.D. from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. He has a home in Natchez, Mississippi.
Daniel Enea
+ View BioDaniel is a former longtime Committeeman of the Herkimer County Republican Committee in New York State. For nearly six years, he held the title of Herkimer County Coroner, in addition to working with numerous community service organizations including the Boy Scouts of America (Nominating Committee), Knights of Columbus, and the Herkimer Salvation Army Board of Directors.
Daniel received his degree in Mortuary Science from SUNY Canton. He resides in Central Florida.
Steve Gale
John Herrick
+ View BioJohn Herrick joined the Board of Directors Log Cabin Republicans in 2002 after joining the Board of Directors of LCR’s sister think tank Liberty Education Forum in 1999 (where he still serves as Secretary).
Mr. Herrick spent 33 years with General Mills, Inc., retiring in 1987. He held several positions in the United States, England, and Canada. His final position was Chairman, President and CEO of General Mills Canada. Following retirement, Herrick served as COO of Borden & Elliott, a large Toronto law firm. He holds a degree in Business from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and currently serves on the board of their law school. He was named Distinguished Alumnus of St. Thomas in 1984. Mr. Herrick served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954-1957.
Mr. Herrick was a founding member of the Young Republicans in Kankakee, Illinois and was elected Township Auditor in 1960.
He resides in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Bob Kabel
+ View BioBob is a lawyer and consultant in Washington, D.C. at the global law firm of Faegre, Baker, Daniels and its consulting division, FaegreBD Consulting. Bob currently serves as the Republican National Committeeman for The District of Columbia, and previously served eight years as Chairman of the D.C. Republican Committee.
Bob is a former Chairman of Log Cabin Republicans and the Liberty Education Forum.
David Lampo
+ View BioDavid is the Publications Director at the Cato Institute and the author of dozens of op-eds, book reviews, and analysis pieces championing libertarian ideals and constitutionalism. He is the author of the book “A Fundamental Freedom: Why Republicans, Conservatives, and Libertarians Should Support Gay Rights,” which was distributed to the platform committee at the 2012 Republican National Convention.
David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Penn State University and currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia. He is cofounder of the organization Virginia Republicans Moving Forward (VRMF), which aims to promote social tolerance within the Republican Party of Virginia.
Joe Mendola
+ View BioJoe is Chief Compliance Officer and Legal Counsel for M.R. Beal & Company, and was the Republican candidate for NYC Comptroller in 2009. He currently serves on the SIFMA General Counsel’s Committee and remains active with the New York Young Republicans and the Westside Republican Club of New York. He has donated legal services to many notable LGBT causes, including United for the Freedom to Marry and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.
A single dad of two, Joe graduated Summa Cum Laude from Fordham University and received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
Marc Morgan
+ View BioMarc Morgan has worked for years in the non-profit sector, raising money and awareness for issues such as HIV/AIDS, animal welfare and the environment.
He was the Finance Director for the Maryland Republican Party where he is credited with overseeing the Party’s fundraising efforts in a year that saw the Party raise over $1 million to be used for various candidates and a successful “get-out-to-vote” effort.
In addition to his work to support and protect the environment, Morgan has also worked in the HIV/AIDS community. As their chief fundraiser, he promoted and secured funding for HIV/AIDS services that provided measurable reductions in new infection rates. His work was primarily based around communities of color, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Understanding how the myths and stigmas of HIV affect low-income communities, he worked with local and state agencies, corporations and foundations to identify resources and out-reach strategies that promoted prevention in some the most highly affected communities.
Currently, Morgan is the Vice President of the American Association of Blacks in Energy: a national association of energy professionals founded and dedicated to ensure the input of African Americans and other minorities into the discussions and developments of energy policies regulations, and environmental issues.
Morgan comes from a family rich in US History, steaming to his families connection to the Buffalo Soldiers (the first peacetime all-black regiment to the US Army); and his great grandfather, Garret A. Morgan (inventor of the stop light, gas mask and fire suit).
Currently, Morgan serves as ANC Commission (1B01), President of the LeDroit Park Civic Association, President of Adams Morgan Main Street Group, and is DC GOP Ward 1 Chairman.
Kim Taylor
+ View BioKim is a public finance expert and is recently retired from the Office of the Treasurer of the County of Hunterdon, New Jersey. She holds a wealth of public, private, and non-profit sector experience, as well as experience on both candidate and issues campaigns. She has served on Senator John McCain’s Presidential campaign, various congressional races, and dozens of local races—including her own (New Jersey State Assembly, ’09 and County Freeholder races, ’06).
Kim is a Committeeperson on the Mercer County Republican Committee, and continues to be engaged actively at the regional, state, and local levels. She is a sought after campaign adviser, and was appointed by Governor Chris Christie as a commissioner on the Trenton Housing Authority in 2011. She has numerous community and volunteer involvements, including leadership on local government statutory boards, membership in public/private sector advisory boards (including charitable foundations and local LGBTQ organizations), and service to various court/child welfare volunteer programs.
Kim holds undergraduate degrees in business administration and gender studies at New Jersey City University and has completed graduate work in criminal justice at Boston University. A lifelong resident of New Jersey, Kim is both the first New Jersey resident and the first African American female named to the Log Cabin Republicans Board of Directors.
Jo-Anne P. Sears
+ View BioJo-Anne is a defense and intelligence expert, military spouse of a combat veteran, and mother. She was assigned to the Department of State as a spokesperson during the George W. Bush Administration, where her portfolio included counter-terrorism, diplomatic security, and Central Asia.
She has worked at the grassroots level for the Republican Party for over two decades, has served as the Executive Director for the Young Republicans in Virginia, and was an alternate delegate for George W. Bush at the 2000 GOP Convention in Philadelphia, representing Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. She and her family reside in Northern Virginia.
Michael Sorrell
+ View BioMichael Sorrell is the Executive Director of the Santa Mesa Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Sorrell-Bristow Family Trust. He is also the owner/founder, and currently, Chairman Emeritus, of the Bristow-Norwich Group, International LLC, an international management consultancy that for 28 years has concentrated on critique, analysis, and trouble shooting within the hospitality industry.
Prior to that, Sorrell served for twenty-two years in the United States Armed Forces, retiring in 1989. Sorrell was born & raised in West Hollywood, California and graduated from Fairfax High School in 1963.
Robert Traynham
+ View BioRobert is a veteran communications specialist, political analyst, speaker, writer and educator. He is currently an Assistant Dean at Georgetown University, where he helps manage a $75 million budget, a 120-person staff, and a student body of 1,500.
Currently, Robert appears on television as a Political Analyst for MSNBC and as a radio host on XM Satellite Radio on the POTUS channel. Additionally, he writes a weekly column for the Philadelphia Tribune and contributes to The Grio, a website of current events, news and information for African Americans. Robert is also an appointed member of the Council of Trustees at Cheyney University, where he serves the board of directors of the oldest of the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Previously, Traynham was a staff member in Congress for the leadership offices of the Senate Republican Conference, serving as its Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director. At the time, he was the most-senior African American Republican in Congress among its members or staff. Robert also served as a senior aide and press secretary for Senator Rick Santorum. During his tenure in the Senate, Robert was often ranked among the most influential staff members on the Hill and was elected President of the United States Senate Press Secretaries Association. He has served as a senior advisor to several presidential campaigns and has also worked closely with the Republican National Committee and its nominating conventions.
Tom Wahl
Rich Weissman
+ View BioRich is resident and CEO of an international technology company, and holds many academic degrees focusing on statistics and research.
In addition to his involvement in Log Cabin Republicans, Rich is also a member of the leadership of the Republican Jewish Coalition. He resides in Portland, Oregon and is the proud father of two children and married to his partner of two years.
About the Board of Directors
The National Board of Directors is the chief governing body of the national Log Cabin Republicans, representing the interests of the organization’s members and constituents. The Board of Directors has the responsibility to ensure the success of the organization through the approval of an annual budget, setting policy, and providing support, input, guidance, oversight and expertise, including voting on endorsements of federal candidates for House, Senate, and President.
Board members serve three-year terms and are expected sit on various Board committees, dependent upon their expertise, skill-sets, and interest levels. These committees will develop policies, review goals, and administer strategic objectives that directly impact the Log Cabin Republicans mission. It is expected that Directors are active and participatory, not just in meetings, but also as representatives of the Log Cabin Republicans in their local communities.
Prospective board members should expect to attend four meetings throughout the course of the year, and to contribute significantly to the financial well-being of the organization. There are also interim discussions and meetings held via email and conference call that occur on an as-needed basis, no less than once a quarter between in-person meetings.