Staff Directory
Andrew Barnett is the Executive Director of SMYAL, the only community-based organization solely dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the metro Washington, DC area. Mr. Barnett joined the SMYAL staff in 2005 and was named Executive Director in February 2009. Native to the Washington, DC metro area, Barnett began his involvement in LGBT youth advocacy by co-founding a Gay-Straight Alliance as a senior in high school, and continued his involvement in LGBT student organizing while obtaining his B.A. at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. In 2010, Barnett received the Metro Weekly Next Generation Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of LGBT activists, artists, and leaders under 30.
Cathy is a transplant to DC, via Silver Spring, Boston, and New Jersey. Prior to working at SMYAL, Cathy served as a Youth Organizer at Gandhi Brigade Youth Media through AmeriCorps, coordinating youth-led media campaigns around immigrant rights and teaching graphic design, photography, and video production as a tool for social change. Cathy graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in Women's and Gender Studies and a minor in Sociology, and got her start in advocacy working for greater LGBTQ resources and more hours for the college's ten-hour/week LGBTQ Advisor. She is passionate about social justice movements, anti-oppression education, and oral history, which led her to chronicle a historic Latina and API student movement through a one-month exhibition, I am WAAM/SLAM, which opened in April 2011. Cathy is thrilled to be at SMYAL, where she facilitates the Youth Advocacy Program, Women's Leadership Institute, and Youth Advisory Board. In her spare time, Cathy cooks a lot, eats almost every two hours, and dances like no one's looking.
Leandrea is a native Washingtonian and joined the SMYAL staff in January 2006. Prior to becoming a member of the SMYAL team, Leandrea worked as a Disaster Assistance Case Specialist for the Department of Homeland Security assisting disaster victims worldwide to obtain housing and financial assistance, as well as medical and other emergency needs. Leandrea has always been an active supporter of the LGBTQ community having served on the Board of Directors for Transgender Health Empowerment (THE). Leandrea is eager to apply her expertise to further serve LGBTQ youth and support the mission of SMYAL.
AJ is currently attending Prince George's Community College as a Sociology major. AJ participated in the non-profit organization, City at Peace for 3 years, an organization that promotes non-violent conflict-resolution through the performing arts. During his final year in the program, AJ was a production team leader. AJ also worked at the largest LGBTQ bookstore in Washington, DC, Lambda Rising, until its final day of business in January of 2010. In the summer of 2009, AJ was one of the lead facilitators for Adrian Fenty's DC Summer Youth Employment Program, where he taught youth the employment-related skills, and how to handle oppression and power dynamics in today's society. In 2010, AJ again was a lead facilitator for the DC Summer Youth Employment Program, as City at Peace teamed with MetroTeen AIDS to create a PSA video on HIV prevention, as well as a street theatre performance on teen pregnancy entitled, "Unprotected."
Sean Link
Operations and Communications Coordinator
| sean.link@smyal.org
(direct) 202.567.3156
(t) 202.546.5940 ext. 106 |
Sean Link joined the SMYAL team as the Development and Communications Specialist in November 2011 after a year working abroad in South Korea. His prior experience in LGBTQ advocacy includes staffing Boston University's First Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP), where he led teams in completing community service projects in the Gender Focus and HIV/AIDS issue areas. Born and raised in New England, Sean studied at Boston University, where he earned a B.A. in History of International Relations, studied abroad in Morocco, interned on Capitol Hill, and performed in and directed various Shakespeare adaptations.
