About DotOUT

Current Steering Committee Members

David Breen - (term expires 2010)

Dianne Curtin, Vice president - (term expires 2010)

Mark Haley - (term expires 2009)

Justin Holmes - (term expires 2011)

Christopher Horan, President - (term expires 2010)

Chris Mccoy - (term expires 2011)

Stephanie Moura - (term expires 2009)

Richard O'Mara, Treasurer - (term expires 2009)

Tony Gale, Clerk - (term expires 2010)

David Breen

My introduction to DotOUT came through friends who were involved and I was immediately impressed with the organization and its potential to build bridges between our gay and straight neighbors. I have been more actively involved as a Steering Committee member since the fall of 2007. I hope to remain active and to help grow the organization - with your help! As a fairly new first-time (albeit older) Dad, I am very focused on ensuring that Dorchester remains a diverse, safe and vibrant community in which to raise our son and send him to school. I live in the Ashmont-Adams Neighborhood with my partner and our son (and dog). Although technically a "native" of Dorchester (like many Bostonians I was born at St. Margaret's), my family roots are in South Boston and I was raised in Stoughton, MA. I have been active in political, lgbt, and community activities for many years. In addition to being involved in DotOUT, I currently serve on the Board of Directors for Fenway Community Health and on the Judicial Council of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee. In 2002, I was honored to receive an award from the Greater Boston Business Council for my long-time service to the lgbt community. During the day, I serve as an Associate Clinical Professor of law at Boston University, from which I graduated in 1990. I also have a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government and an AB from Georgetown University.

Dianne Curtin, Vice-president

I am happy to call Dorchester (Ashmont-Adams neighborhood) my home! Since moving to Dorchester seven years ago, my partner and I have felt lucky to be part of a such a diverse and welcoming community. I serve as a member of the DotOUT steering committee because I would like to be an active participant in building upon the strengths and diversity of Dorchester's residents to create a stronger, more welcoming and better community for all. Working in human services, I have spent many years building programs, events and resources to create stronger communities of support for all types families. Now, I love the opportunity to be part of strengthening the community in which I live! I am currently finishing a Masters in Social Work degree and have recently left the field of foster care adoption to coordinate an early literacy program in the Greater Boston area . As school ends, I look forward to havingTBD the time to become more active in Dorchester, while continuing to be part of the events committee of the Greater Boston Business Council. I am particularly interested in helping to create more opportunities to bring together diverse groups of Dorchester residents to foster stronger connections and sense of community.

Mark Haley

My introduction to DotOUT came when I helped with the Dorchester Day DotOUT parade float. Realizing the work I was doing would help build bridges with our neighbors in Dorchester, I saw DotOUT as an essential group and one I should learn more about. I first moved to St Mark’s area of Dorchester in 1993 for three years and then returned for the long term when I bought a house in Jones Hill in 2000. I joined the DotOUT steering committee in September 2008 as a commitment to both the Dorchester and gay communities – two passions of mine. Another passion is my business. I founded Above and Beyond Catering, Inc, in Boston in 1996. As president of the company, my primary focus is to keep my vision of delivering creative and good food, consistently to all my customers. I’m proud to say that my first big job was from Codman Square Health Center where I helped run their Men Cook for Women’s Health fundraising event; I have been doing this for 11 years now. Our clients range from corporate to individuals, large weddings to intimate gatherings. I am a graduate of the 2005 InnerCity Entrepreneurs program and hold a B.A. degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I am currently the Chairman of the Board of the South End Business Alliance.

Justin Holmes

Justin Holmes was born and raised in Dorchester, growing up in St. Brendan’s Parish and the Adams-Ashmont neighborhood. He’s been involved in myriad community groups, serving as an executive board member of the Cedar Grove Civic Association, a director of the Dorchester Board of Trade, and chairperson of Columbia Point Associates. Justin was campaign manager for City Councillor Maureen Feeney and State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry and has pitched in on political campaigns at the state and national level (most winning, some losing). Today he is the government relations director for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. In the past, Justin served as chief of policy and communications for Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney, director of communications for Boston College High School (his alma mater) and communications officer for Franciscans International, a human rights organization in Geneva, Swizerland. In 2006 he received the award for outstanding young PR professional of the year from the Publicity Club of New England. Justin is a 2002 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and enjoys skiing in the winter, traveling in the summer, and eating and drinking with friends year-round.

Christopher Horan, President

I moved to the Meeting House Hill area of Dorchester in 2004, having lived in other parts of Boston since 1992. Since 1995, I've worked in various capacities for the City of Boston and the Boston Public Schools, currently as the school district's Chief Communications Officer. I've also been active in Boston's LGBT community, including several years as Board Chair for SpeakOut, the nation's oldest LGBT speakers bureau. I've greatly enjoyed making Dorchester my home. The neighborhood has so much to offer and is so loved by those who live here and too often misunderstood by those who don't. I've been encouraged by the sense of community emerging among the streets that surround Ronan Park, including an informal but growing network of LGBT neighbors. DotOUT has great potential to strengthen the ties among Dorchester's many communities - meaning both its geographic areas and its diverse populations. I welcome the opportunity to help the organization grow and become more visible.

Chris McCoy

Chris McCoy is a native of the suburbs of Long Island, New York arriving in Boston in 1993 where he settled in the Fenway for 8 years working and studying for his doctorate in clinical pharmacology/pharmacy. He moved out of New York City with his partner to live in a smaller city with easy access to drug research centers and his close knit group of friends from his undergraduate days. In 2001, after 2 years of searching for the right single family house, he found the perfect fixer upper in North Dorchester, conveniently located around the corner from the 224 Boston Street restaurant and bar and close to downtown. The farm house built around 1832 is one of the homes established by the Clapp family and was formerly surrounded by orchards. Chris and his partners interest in restoration and preservation led them to the nearby Dorchester Historic Society and filled the home with a blend of local historic items and fixtures. Chris celebrates the diversity of the neighborhood, is an active participant of the McCormack civic group and aided in the physical transformation of an abandoned lot on Columbia Road to Sharon’s park. Chris currently works as a Clinical Manager in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Clinical Assistant Professor at Northeastern University and also serves on the Institutional Research Review Board of the Fenway Institute, the research body at Fenway Community Health.


Stephanie Moura

Though I have lived in Boston for nearly 25 years, I am a relative new comer to Dot - going on six years now. I live in the Peabody Square/Ashmont neighborhood with my partner of eight years (and our two cats) and am involved in the Florida Corridor Neighborhood Association. My main Dorchester community involvement has been serving on the Steering Committee of DotOUT for the past four years. Helping develop the organization and being involved with its activities has been rewarding (okay, frustrating at times!) . Community issues of particular interest or concern to me include: improving the quality of public education in our city schools; building bridges across socio-economic, racial, sexual orientation and other divides to strengthen the Dorchester community and add to quality of life; and raising environmental awareness and "greening" our businesses and neighborhoods. In my day job I am the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership Fund, a public-private partnership working to advance integrated ocean management for MA coastal oceans.

Richard O'Mara, Treasurer

I currently live in the area between Lower Mills and Cedar Grove neighborhoods. Born and raised in this neighborhood, graduate of Boston Latin '72, UMass Amherst '77 B.S. Plant & Soil Sciences. Occupation: 1980-present, President, Cedar Grove Gardens, Inc. Business Associations; Dorchester Board of Trade past V.P., Lower Mills Merchants Assoc., past President, Corporator Milton Hospital. Civic Associations: Current: Dorchester Park Assoc, Director, DotOUT, Steering Committee Member, Lower Mills Civic Assoc, Vice President. Cedar Grove Civic Assoc., Member. Member of the Dorchester Ave Task Force, Dorchester PZAC and The Dorchester Historical Society. Reasons for serving: I believe our community has a lot to gain and contribute by being visible and playing an active role in community dialog concerning all the issues in regards to quality of life in Dorchester.

Tony Gale, Clerk

I am a resident of Dorchester and have been for approximately 3 years. My background is in sales and marketing, particularly in the telecommunications/data communications market space. I have many friends in Dorchester and have done some residential real estate development here. I moved to Dorchester from the South End recognizing the great potential of this great neighborhood. I live in the Pleasant Street area and have been involved in the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association. I look forward to serving in the DotOUT steering committee to help leverage the strength and diversity of the LGBT community in Dorchester to make it a better neighborhood for LGBT and all residents.

 

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