Erik Ochsner ’93, President
Lee Merkle-Raymond ’86, Vice President
Peter Williams ’76, Secretary
Kamil Walji ’03, Treasurer
Dr. Diana Berger ’90
Jake Hanssen ’22
Dr. Brian Jacobs ’02
Jiachen Jiang ’20
Hannah Marr ’20
Lyra McKee ’15
Kelii Opulauoho ’96
Amanda Rosenblum ’07
Val Werner ’21
Dr. Diana Berger ’90 / Norwich, VT (she/her)
Diana attended Dartmouth College as a Psychology major and then completed medical school at the Geisel (Dr. Suess) School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She did her residency in Public Health and Preventive Medicine and a Masters in Community Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in NYC. She then did a fellowship in diabetes research at the Joslin Center of Diabetes in Boston.
To complement her journey as a physician, she loves spending time in rivers, lakes, oceans, and mountains with her twin girls Hannah and Rebecca and her partner Lisa. Lisa and Diana were married in Northampton, MA in 2004. They live in Norwich, VT. Their family has twin cats, Mango and Dimsum and a 7-year-old golden retriever Zinnia. Her twin daughters go to UVM and she is excited and proud to be on the Board of DAGALA. She plans to support the Dartmouth students and alumnae LGBQTIA community.
Jake Hanssen ’22 / New York, NY (he/him)
Jake graduated from Dartmouth in 2022 after majoring in Government modified with Economics and minoring in Environmental Studies and Chinese. While at Dartmouth, Jake was a member of the Dodecaphonics a capella group, The Tabard, and the Palaeopitus Senior Society. During his time in Hanover, Jake also helped develop programming for Dartmouth’s annual LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. Jake has attended and helped plan many of DGALA and other alumni groups’ events, including the DGALA 40th anniversary reunion, and is looking forward to taking a leadership role in the planning and execution of future events. Jake currently lives in New York City on the beautiful Upper West Side.
Dr. Brian Jacobs ’02 / Lawrence, NJ (he/him)
Brian Jacobs ’02 majored in Music and French at Dartmouth, where he was deeply involved in LGBTQ+ life on campus and co-founded the second iteration of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). He also sang with the Chamber Singers and the Dodecaphonics, serving as the group’s director during his senior year.
After graduation, Brian spent two years teaching English in Lyon, France, before returning to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in French literature from Princeton. He now teaches French at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ, where he also chairs the Language Department and advises several student organizations, including the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA). A dual French and American citizen, Brian enjoys cooking, playing piano, and traveling with his husband, Hervé, and their 14-year-old twins, Emma and Noah.
Hannah Marr ’20 / Somerville, MA (she/her)
Hannah graduated from Dartmouth in 2020 with degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies. In her time at Dartmouth, Hannah was a member and captain of the Ultimate Frisbee team, two-time national champions. She was also involved with the Dartmouth Outing Club, particularly the Mountaineering Club, and the Movement Against Violence sexual assault prevention education program. Hannah worked in healthcare consulting and biotech for 4 years before returning to school at Tufts University, where she is pursuing her Masters degree in Data Analytics. In her free time, Hannah enjoys exploring the mountains, rivers, and forests of New England via hiking, whitewater kayaking, and gravel biking. She continues to be involved in the club ultimate frisbee scene, and is fulfilling her dream of learning to play the banjo. Hannah is excited to join the DGALA Board and engage more recent Dartmouth graduates in the important work that DGALA undertakes.
Lyra McKee ’15 / Toronto, ON (she/her)
Lyra A. McKee is an M.A. student at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies in 2015 and from the University of British Columbia with an M.A. in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice in 2018. Lyra is an active social justice advocate and community organizer as well as a member of the Queer & Trans Negativity Working Group at the Jackman Humanities Institute, Dartmouth Alumni for Palestine, the Performance Philosophy Network, and the Board of Directors of Fight Like a Grrrl Club.
Lee Merkle-Raymond ’86 / Palo Alto, CA (she/her)
Lee Merkle-Raymond ’86 re-joined the DGALA Board in 2017 and is happy how much times have changed since her first years on the Board in the early ‘90s. Lee was the writer/editor of the Green Light newsletter and President of DGALA, as well as a board member of the Stonewall Foundation, the LGBT alumni donation vehicle prior to Dartmouth’s recognition of DGALA as an alumni organization. Lee served on the Alumni Council for 3 years as an at-large rep, unofficially the first representative of DGALA. Through the work of many alums, today the College welcomes LGBT alumni with full recognition of DGALA, as well as administrative support from both Blunt and the Dean’s office. Lee is eager to build bonds with students to ensure DGALA remains in touch with the needs of new and young alums.
Lee is Managing Director of Hercules Capital, lender to venture-backed technology and biotech firms. She and her partner of 28 years have two college-age daughters and live near San Francisco. Lee is training for the SF to LA AIDS/LifeCycle in June 2018.
Kelii Opulauoho ’96 / Honolulu, HI (he/they)
Kelii Opulauoho is deeply committed to queer equality and rights, re-joining the DGALA board with extensive leadership and community engagement experience. At Dartmouth in the 1990s, Kelii served as communications chair for the Dartmouth Area Gay and Lesbian Organization (DAGLO), and later the Dartmouth Rainbow Alliance (DRA), amplifying LGBTQ+ voices on campus. They have volunteered with various Dartmouth alumni groups since graduating, including the Class of 1996 Leadership, Native American Alumni Association, Alumni Council, the Dartmouth Club of Hawaii, and now again with DGALA. Professionally, they manage the Organizational Development & Learning function at Hawaiian Electric Company based in Honolulu, Hawaii where they serve as an executive member of Pride Power, Hawaiian Electric’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group. In the community, Kelii also serves as a Board Member for the Hawaii LGBTQ+ Legacy Foundation, which hosts the Honolulu Pride Parade & Festival, the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, and Rainbow Townhalls among others, advocating for inclusivity and fostering connections within the LGBTQ+ community in Hawaii.
Erik Ochsner ’93 / New York, NY (he/him)
Erik was a music major at Dartmouth and is now a professional orchestra conductor living in New York City. While at Dartmouth, Erik volunteered as a teacher for “Responsible AIDS Information at Dartmouth” and participated in the “Men’s Discussion Group” which was a friendly group where men could openly talk about concerns regarding their sexuality. At Dartmouth, he started his own orchestra, Dartmouth Pro Musica, and in New York City, he founded the not-for-profit SONOS Chamber Orchestra. Erik was the 1998 AIDS Walk New York Volunteer of the Year and used to be a member of Frontrunners New York. He was once the Finnish diction coach for the New York City Gay Men’s chorus. As times have changed so has membership in affinity groups, and Erik hopes to try to reach out and involve more alumni in a wide variety of events.
Erik is a dual citizen with Finland, and lives with his Japanese partner of 30 years. They love to travel, cook, socialize, dine out and are wine fanatics!
Amanda Rosenblum ’07 / New York, NY (she/her)
Amanda graduated from Dartmouth in 2007 with a B.A. in English Literature and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. She was very active in campus life during her Dartmouth career, from editing Stonefence Review to coordinating the Prison Project, from working with first-years as a three-year Undergraduate Advisor to orienting new members at Epsilon Kappa Theta. She headed up Phoenix Senior Society and was trained as a Mentor Against Violence. She was a member of GSX and Rainbow Alliance and served on the organizing committee that brought gender-neutral housing to Dartmouth.
Amanda currently lives in the River Towns in Westchester, New York. She has spent her career in education nonprofits. She currently serves as the Chief Program Officer at the JCC Mid-Westchester, overseeing education and enrichment programming for infants through older adults.
Kamil Walji ’03 / Sugar Land, TX (he/him)
Kamil graduated with a degree in French, while also studying music and theater production at the HOP. At Dartmouth, he reactivated the dormant Harlequins musical theater group, sang with the Glee Club and was an active leader with The Tabard. As an alum, Kamil has been engaged with the College as part of the 2003 Class Executive Committee, the DGALA Board, and as an organizer for the 2003 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th as well as the DGALA 25th, 40th and Tabard 50th Reunions. He has produced events, communications and partnerships with organizations including the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, Miami City Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, Aga Khan Foundation USA, UC Berkeley and Teachers College, Columbia University.
Val Werner ’21 / White River Junction, VT (he/him)
Val Werner ’21 graduated from Dartmouth with a computer science major, and is currently living in Hartford, VT and working at Rauner Library as the Historical Accountability Student Research Program Coordinator. He first became interested in the past, present, and future of Dartmouth LGBTQ+ communities while doing research for the Historical Accountability Program during his junior year and helping to form the LGBTQ+ student organization Within.
.
.
Peter Williams ’76 / Stockbridge, MA (he/him)
Pete was a Government major at Dartmouth, and after earning a law degree from Washington and Lee University, he lived and worked as a litigation attorney and high school teacher in New York City for 22 years. Pete then returned to his home town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts – to help his health-challenged parents (Dad ’49 and Mom were married before Dad’s senior year and lived on campus together) – and now serves as Dartmouth’s District Enrollment Director for Berkshire County Massachusetts. He has been a director of DGALA since 1994, and his law firm arranged for the non-profit incorporation and tax-exempt application for DGALA in 1996. Pete has edited Green Light, DGALA’s newsletter, since 1999.
You must be logged in to post a comment.