Our Board of Directors
ARLINE ISAACSON Founding board member and Chairwoman
Arline Isaacson serves as the Founding and Board Chair of the Boston LGBTQ+ Museum of Art, History, and Culture. A lobbyist, political strategist, and public relations consultant, she is also the volunteer Co-Chair of the Massachusetts GLBTQ Political Caucus. Isaacson led the legislative fight for marriage equality in Massachusetts, making it the first state in the nation to defeat a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. For more than three decades, she has been at the forefront of every major LGBTQ legislative battle in Massachusetts, advancing civil rights, anti-discrimination protections, parentage and anti-parenting measures, hate crimes and anti-bullying laws, transgender equality, HIV/AIDS policy, conversion therapy bans, book banning protections, and data privacy safeguards. As President of Isaacson Political Consulting, she has represented clients across sectors including, alternative energy, racial and environmental justice, digital privacy, labor, education, and civil liberties. Her leadership has been recognized with numerous awards, among them Campaign and Elections Magazine’s “Top Influencers,” Boston Magazine’s “50 Most Powerful,” Lawyers Weekly’s “Women of Justice Award,” and the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus “Abigail Adams Award,”. Isaacson has served as a trusted spokesperson to local and national media.
JAMES MONROE
Founding board member and Vice Chair
James Monroe, Creative Director at the Museum of Science, Boston develops and designs new partnerships and products across the institution, including programming, exhibits, immersive experiences, digital content and more. Throughout his career, Mr. Monroe has forged hundreds of partnerships with artists and science communicators, establishing the museum as an internationally renowned platform for delivering informal, public science engagement through an artistic and equitable lens. Over the past decade, James has led programming at the Museum of Science that has turned its dome planetarium and Omni theaters into globally sought-after spaces for immersive entertainment experiences- curating theater, live music, drag, gaming, and more. James has curated several limited runs of VR pieces within the Museum’s Exhibit Halls and continues to develop original work for the Museum’s Immersive Room, including a storytelling experience exploring Black Hair Culture. James is currently leading all creative planning and curation for the Public Science Common- a 10,000 sq. ft convening space with extensive immersive technology, opening in 2026 at the Museum.
BALKYS ANDERSON Treasurer
Balkys Anderson was born in Brooklyn and raised in Haiti, later living in Montreal before settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she began working at fifteen while pursuing her education at night and on weekends. Raised by her extended family, she grew up in a household of accountants, educators, engineers, and public servants who shaped her values and ambition. She now resides in Roxbury with her husband and two teenage sons and prioritizes being number one at home while excelling in her career.
With more than two decades of leadership experience across higher education, nonprofits, municipal government, and the private sector, Balkys oversees finance and human resources at the New England Council, one of the nation’s oldest regional business associations. She was named CFO of the Year by the Boston Business Journal in 2025 for her excellence and innovation in financial management. She remains committed to service, contributing her expertise to professional communities dedicated to leadership, equity, and organizational growth.
JAKE HUMMER
Secretary
As a board member of the Boston LGBTQ+ Museum, Jake Hummer is eager to help the Museum grow and flourish by bringing his legal expertise and experience working with LGBTQ students. Jake is native to Reno, Nevada, and found home in Boston after attending college and law school at Harvard University. Jake is currently an attorney at Latham & Watkins LLP where he works on borrower-side debt finance transactions as well as a wide range of pro bono matters including work for non-profit entities, citizenship applications, and criminal/eviction record sealing. Jake also serves on his law firm’s Pro Bono Committee and was the inaugural LGBTQ+ Affinity Group local leader in his law firm's Boston office.
Prior to working as an attorney, Jake served as the BGLTQ Specialty Proctor for Harvard University while attending law school, which involved living in the dorms with college students as an RA and supporting students struggling with issues relating to their LGBTQ identity. Jake also volunteered for the PEACE Flag Movement, which has distributed over 50,000 PEACE flags throughout the world.
Jake lives with his partner and dog in Boston and loves cross-country skiing, apple picking, hiking, and board games.
LYNDA D. JEREMIE Founding Board member
Lynda Jeremie serves on the Board of the Boston LGBTQ+ Museum of Art, History, and Culture. A seasoned banker with more than nineteen years of experience in retail and commercial banking, she began her career at the National Credit Bank of Haiti and now works with TD Bank. Throughout her career, she has specialized in building trusted client relationships, advancing financial literacy, and helping individuals and businesses achieve long-term financial stability. In addition to her professional work, Jeremie is deeply engaged in her community. She previously served on the committee of the Foxborough Charter School and is also a published short story author. Her combined expertise in finance, education, and the arts reflects her commitment to empowering communities through knowledge, creativity, and opportunity.
JOSH MILLER-MYERS
Board member
Josh Miller-Myers is a social impact professional with a special focus on advancing sustainable strategies for healthy, connected communities. Josh currently serves as Corporate Citizenship Manager at TD Bank, where he supports the community and charitable giving efforts at TD Bank, managing a portfolio of strategic philanthropic investments in healthcare and the arts. Prior to his role at TD Bank, he served for twelve years in the nonprofit sector, supporting sustainable funding and operations in healthcare and financial inclusion. Josh focused his career on social impact and how to create and sustain initiatives to improve the well-being of his community. He lived that through his volunteerism as well, serving as a grant reviewer for federal, county, and local government, and through board service with the Boston LGBTQ+ Museum of Art, History, & Culture and the Joseph J. Peters Institute. Josh earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Villanova University, where he was a proud member of Delta Tau Delta. Originally from Southern New Jersey, Josh now calls Philadelphia home, where he lives with his husband and enjoys running, art, meditation, and cooking.
LORI GROSS Board member
Lori E. Gross has been Associate Provost for Arts and Culture at Harvard University since July 2008 focusing on the university-wide arts agenda. In this role, she works with the Harvard Art Museums, the American Repertory Theater, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, the Harvard University Press, Villa I Tatti, and the Arnold Arboretum, on issues ranging from day-to-day operational matters to strategic planning. She works with the Office for the Arts, the Mahindra Humanities Center, the Harvard University Native American Program, the Graduate School of Design, the Harvard Divinity School, and the Division of Arts and Humanities in the Faculty of Arts Sciences on cross-university issues and initiatives involving the arts and humanities. Gross is a member of the Harvard University Committee on the Arts, the Board of Trustees of the American Repertory Theater, the Film Study Center Advisory Committee, and the Executive Board of the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture. Gross previously served as Director of Arts Initiatives and Advisor to the Associate Provost for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where her principal responsibilities included strategic planning, communications policy and implementation, resource development, and facilities planning. Prior to her career in academia, Gross held a variety of posts in museums at a number of institutions internationally, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Canadian Center for Architecture and worked with numerous cultural institutions in Spain.
HARRIS ZHAO
Board member
Harris Zhao serves as board member of the Boston LGBTQ+ Museum and works as an R&D Engineer turned Social Impact Executive working on several non-profits while serving as the Chief of Strategy for Get Konnected! – a Multicultural Connection Accelerator and the President of the National Association of Asian American Professionals. Harris is also the queer son of Chinese immigrants and is the founder of PrideTalks, a podcast for AAPI Queer Professionals, and the Future Pride Leader Scholarship, which is given to rising undergraduate students identifying as LGBTQ+. Harris is an expert speaker on AAPI experience, cultural awareness, and DEI. He is an active trainer and leadership coach for rising multicultural community leaders in Boston including Asian-affinity Employee Resource Groups, youth groups such as CARE and Minds Matter, and has trained over 50 direct reports. Harris was named one of NAAAP’s Outstanding Leaders in the nation and one of Boston’s Most Influential People of Color for the work he does in raising the bar for multicultural communities. He is also a PMP-certified Project Manager having led the Project Management Office at Takeda’s Preclinical Sciences organization and is a trained Chemical Engineer with a B.S. from UMass Amherst.
JEAN-PHILLIP BRIGNOL Board member
Jean-Phillip Brignol is a board member of the Boston LGBTQ+ Museum of Art, History & Culture and works as Counsel at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (Boston Fed), where he focuses his practice on labor and employment issues. The son of Haitian immigrants, Jean-Phillip is originally from the south suburbs of Chicago. Jean-Phillip earned his B.A. in Political Science at Yale University, his Ed.M. at Boston University School of Education, and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers (retired) at the Connecticut Supreme Court. Prior to joining the Boston Fed, he was a Litigation Associate at the law firm Holland & Knight LLP. He focused his practice on general litigation, including environmental litigation and white collar criminal defense. He also had an active pro bono practice, which included representing an LGBTQ asylum applicant through deportation proceedings in Boston Immigration Court and parents of English Language Learners in federal court. He was designated a Holland & Knight Pro Bono All Star each year at the firm from 2017-2019. Jean-Phillip was selected to join the Top 40 Under 40 Massachusetts list of the National Black Lawyers in 2019.