John Anderies is the Director of the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—one of the country’s largest LGBT archives. He is also the manager of the Philadelphia AIDS Oral History Project. He has also worked as an archivist at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania, and as Head of Special Collections at Haverford College. John has received and served as Principal Investigator on numerous grants from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Council on Library and Information Resources, Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Park Services, Pennsylvania Abolition Society, Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, Pennsylvania Library Services and Technology Act, and The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. He is a board member of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL), and is a founding organizer of the Pennsylvania LGBT History Network. John holds degrees from Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music (BM), Case Western Reserve University (MA), and Indiana University (MLS). Born and raised in Western Colorado and educated in the Midwest, John is proud to have called Philadelphia home for over 20 years.

Chris Bartlett is an American gay activist, feminist, educator, and researcher who lives in Philadelphia, PA, and is the Executive Director of the William Way Community Center. He was director of the SafeGuards Gay Men’s Health Project in Philadelphia from 1991–2001, where he developed innovative programs addressing the broader health needs of gay and bisexual men beyond HIV and AIDS. In 2003, Bartlett joined forces with gay activist Eric Rofes to create the Gay Men’s Health Leadership Academy, a national center for excellence for leadership development of gay and bisexual men and their allies based at the White Crane Institute. In 2005, he directed the LGBT Community Assessment, an assessment of the broad health related needs of LGBT populations in the Philadelphia region. The City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Foundation subsequently funded an LGBT Youth Assessment, which he also directed. He has created an on-line Wiki to document the deaths of gay men from AIDS between 1981 and the present. The site acts as an on-line AIDS quilt, on which community members and families can document the lives of their friends and loved ones. His work has shown a continuing interest in participatory democracy, starting with his early participation in ACT UP Philadelphia. During his tenure at the William Way LGBT Community Center, he has focused on community building through arts and culture, empowerment, and community connections.

Ain Gordon is a three-time Obie Award-winning writer/director/actor, a two-time NYFA recipient a Guggenheim Fellow in Playwriting, and a 2023 Creative Capital Awardee. Gordon’s work often focuses on marginalized/forgotten histories and/or the obscured figures inhabiting that space. Other current/recent projects include Relics And Their Humans: framing a real-life Ohio couple navigating an ALS diagnosis, presented at the Krannert Center (IL), the Wexner Center (OH), Arizona Arts Live, and La MaMa (NY); Radicals In Miniature: a series of requiems to personal icons, presented at Baryshnikov Arts Center (NY), Vermont Performance Lab (VT), International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Quick Center, Connecticut College (all CT), ’62 Center Theatre and Dance, and The Yard (both MA); 217 Boxes Of Dr. Henry Anonymous: culminating a 2-year residency at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania focused on Dr. John Fryer who, in 1972, disguised as Dr. Anonymous opposed the American Psychiatric Association’s classification of homosexuality as a disease, presented at the Painted Bride (PA), Baryshnikov Arts Center (NY), Transylvania University (KY) and the Center For The Art of Performance UCLA; and Not What Happened: a contrapuntal duet for a historical re-enactor and the woman she portrays – premiering at the BAM Next Wave Festival (NY), plus the Krannert Center (IL), Vermont Performance Lab & the Flynn Center (both VT), etc. Gordon’s work has also been seen at New York Theater Workshop, the Mark Taper Forum (CA), HERE Arts Center (NY), DiverseWorks (TX), Performance Space 122/PSNY, Dance Theater Workshop/NYLA, George St Playhouse (NJ), and MASS MoCA, among many others. Gordon has been Director of the Pick Up Performance Co(s) since 1992.

Jeffery A. Haskins is a graduate of Howard and Columbia University. He has held many positions in government, non-profits, and business. He currently works as the Deputy Director of Project TEACH at Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers. Reverend Haskins is the Pastor of Unity Fellowship of Christ Church Philadelphia. He was a Recovery Counselor for COMHAR (Community Mental Health, Addiction and Rehabilitation). Jeffery is also the Producing Director of PAPA (Producing Association of the Performing Arts) where he has written and starred in his one man show entitled the 26 Project (when I got to 26 I stopped counting) to deal with the loss of his friends and partner on the 26th day of the month. He is a founding member of the New York State, Black GayMen’s and Health and Human Service Networks. He currently serves on the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disabilities Faith Advisory Board, Philadelphia FIGHT Spiritual Leaders Network, and Sacred Justice a Faith Coalition of Interfaith Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersexed, Asexual Clergy. Jeffery is currently working on his manuscript entitled 22, which is his own personal journey in life.

Waheedah Shabazz-El is an African American Muslim woman and retired postal worker who was diagnosed with AIDS in 2003. She is a founding member of Positive Women’s Network –USA. She is currently the Director of Community Engagement for The National Reunion Project, and Goodwill Ambassador for Philadelphia FIGHT Health Centers. She is a board member for the HIV Law Project. Waheedah has also served as a member of the Philadelphia Faith and Spiritual Affairs Advisory Board. In the area of HIV Cure Research Waheedah is the chairperson Emeritus for the Delaney Collaboratory BEAT HIV Cure CAB at the Wistar Institute. Waheedah’s work and areas of expertise include HIV criminalization, HIV prevention justice, community organizing, strategic planning, human rights, and re-entry programs for returning citizens. Waheedah is currently leading a movement of Long-term Survivors of HIV addressing quality of life matters.

Alex Stadler is a multidisciplinary artist, author, illustrator, textile designer and curator. At stadler-Kahn, his hybrid gallery/design laboratory in Philadelphia, he produced numerous exhibits over a six-year period, featuring mid-career and emerging local artists and designers. Elsewhere in Philadelphia, he has curated shows at The Art Alliance, The Clay Studio and The Independence Seaport Museum, as well as a pop-up shop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, featuring work from 40 Philadelphia-based artists and designers. Stadler has written and illustrated a dozen books for children and adults, always dealing with themes of emotional intelligence and problem-solving. Stadler has created public artwork for Reading Terminal Market and Comcast Towers, and for Saks 5th Avenue’s flagship store in New York City. As a textile designer, he created his own stadler-Kahn line of scarves and blankets. He has collaborated with Todd Oldham, Whoopi Goldberg, GapKids and Comme des Garçons. Stadler holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. A longtime Philadelphia resident, he moved to Maine in late 2020.

Max Wagh is a writer, editor, and researcher with a background organizing with LGBTQ+, Jewish, artist, activist, and veteran communities and an emphasis in memory and trauma studies. Max served as Program Coordinator for LGBTQ & Gender Resources at Vassar College and was Program Coordinator for The Posse Foundation Veterans Project in New York City. They have conducted memorial studies research at Kol Israel Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, the Special Collections Administrative Coordinator at Syracuse University Libraries, Max holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Vassar College.