LEONARD LITZ FOUNDATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Co - Owner and Chief Marketing Officer for Mitchell Stores
Andrew is the Co-owner and Chief Marketing Officer for Mitchell Stores. He is devoted to a number of charitable organizations mostly focused on LGBTQ equality and Breast Cancer. His current board service includes the National Board of Directors for Lambda Legal, World Health Clinicians, which runs the Circle Care Center, the Breast Cancer Alliance, and Pink Aid, which he Co-Founded in 2010.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- President & CEO of Circle Care Center
Anthony Howard Crisci is the President & CEO of Circle Care Center (CCC) based in Norwalk, CT. CCC is a healthcare organization with a mission of providing affordable, accessible, and inclusive LGBTQ+ affirming and sex-positive primary care and sexual health services.
Anthony came to CCC after working for Triangle Community Center (TCC), Fairfield County's LGBTQ+ community center, where he became the organization's first-ever Executive Director in 2013. Crisci grew the organization to 6 full-time staff and expanded its programs and services to offer case management, financial assistance, and housing navigation for the LGBTQ+ community during his five-year tenure in that position.
Crisci grew up in Norwalk, CT, and is passionate about his time working at both TCC and CCC, creating new programs and services to make Norwalk and greater Fairfield County a better place to live for LGBTQ+ people of all ages. In his free time, Crisci enjoys spending time with his spouse, Will, tending to their garden and caring for their three dogs at their home in Norwalk.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Trustee
- Writer
Colin Hosten is a writer and teacher, who has also served on the City Council and Board of Education in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut. A former children's book editor, Colin has written or co-authored seven children's books of his own, and currently teaches in the undergraduate writing program at Fairfield University. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Colin now lives in Connecticut with his husband, Joe, and their dog, Bugsy. He enjoys musical theater, brunch, and fighting for full equality for the LGBTQ+ community everywhere.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator
- Grants Coordinator
Corey Frate is the Grants Coordinator for the Leonard-Litz Foundation, helping the trustees process incoming applications and schedule meeting with the dozens of organizations, new and familiar, who apply for grants or who work regularly with the LLF.
Corey was born and raised in Darien, CT where he currently works in municipal government. He is passionate about voting rights and politics, and strives to be an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community in the work he does with various local political groups.
Corey is grateful to be part of the of the process in helping connect community centers with resources to continue the life-saving work these organizations do for their communities. In his spare time you can find him walking all over Fairfield county with an iced coffee in hand and a smile on his face.
Elliot Leonard was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. By the time Elliot reached his 20th birthday, he had already lost both of his parents to cancer. Independent at a relatively early age, Elliot relied on courage and grit to succeed. He focused on his education, first graduating from Brooklyn College, and then earning a Juris Doctor degree (J.D.) from UCLA.
Elliot's early law practice focused on corporate and real estate law. Because of his successful client advocacy, Elliot was invited to serve on many boards in the recreational vehicle and healthcare industries. Elliot also became involved in residential and commercial property development in California, which led to the most recent expansion of his professional portfolio: a principal founding member of the largest roofing and solar subcontractor company in the state.
His professional successes have enriched Elliot in many ways, and now, Elliot finds himself "astonished and thrilled to be able to fund the Leonard-Litz Foundation." The Leonard-Litz Foundation is not Elliot's first foray into philanthropy. While living in California, he was an active supporter of the GLSEN organization that is dedicated to enhancing the K-12 educational experience of LBGTQ youth. Elliot also served on the board of the Orange County LGBTQ Center. His financial support of LGBTQ- focused nonprofit organizations extends beyond California's borders, with additional donations to many organizations including Lambda Legal and the ACLU in support of their LGBTQ initiatives.
After moving back to Connecticut, Elliot wanted to reengage with the local LGBTQ nonprofit sector, and he soon became a donor to and eventual board member of the Triangle Community Center, which empowers and advocates for LGBTQ people in Connecticut through programming focused on health, community and learning. This experience deepened his awareness of the profound needs within the LGBTQ community for programs and services to ensure that every member has the help they need to live their best lives. Witnessing firsthand the fundraising burden placed on the staff at TCC helped clarify Elliot's next venture-The Leonard-Litz Foundation-focused on philanthropic giving to nonprofit organizations doing important and necessary work to help the northeast region's LGBTQ community. Elliot will work actively with his Foundation's trustees to review grant requests, select grantees, and measure the positive outcomes achieved as a result of the Leonard-Litz Foundation's grants.
Over the last fifty years, throughout Elliot's various professional adventures and multiple cross-country moves, he has been accompanied by Roger Litz, his beloved partner. Together they have built several modernist homes, nurtured many pets, established countless beautiful gardens, and immersed themselves in the cultural riches of opera and contemporary art. Living openly as a couple, they have been courageous pioneers in the LGBTQ community, facing challenges, overcoming prejudices and enduring to this day as role models for living life with integrity, beauty, love, grace and resilience.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Legal Director at PepsiCo
Jeff Arnold is a legal director at PepsiCo, where he provides counsel on employee benefit and compensation matters. Prior to joining PepsiCo, he served as legal counsel at General Electric, and clerked for the United States Senate Finance Committee. While living in Chicago, Jeff served on the board of directors of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago. Now a resident of Connecticut, he is currently a board member of the Triangle Community Center, Fairfield County's leading provider of programming and resources for the LGBTQ+ community. In his free time, Jeff is a ballroom dancer and an avid rock climber.
Mary Schiffer is a multi-disciplinary artist who has spent more than 30 years working in the arts, creating meaningful design solutions and experiences for audiences of all kinds. From owning an art gallery to providing marketing illustration and graphic design services to social enterprises, orchestrating memorable community events, and bringing art into the lives of people with disabilities, Mary's career has always been guided by her belief that art and design can serve as a problem-solving tool that can bring people together.
Mary lives with her partner in New Haven and treasures her extended family. A talented photo archivist, Mary lovingly memorializes generations past, present and future.
Robyn Schlesinger (she/her) is an attorney who has worked extensively with the LGBTQIA+ community, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education. Robyn has also consulted with businesses, schools, and organizations to create inclusive workplaces and environments. She is currently the associate director of development for Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS), the parent organization of Center Lane for LGBTQ+ youth.
Robyn's career in nonprofit/higher education development and law has included senior management roles with the University of California, Berkeley, the Zoological Society of San Diego, Singapore Management University, Westchester Community College, and Western Connecticut State University. She is a director with The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center in White Plains, serves on Westchester County's LGBTQ Advisory Board, the Westchester County Police Reform Task Force and the 9 th Judicial District Access to Justice LGBTQ+ Subcommittee.
Robyn was graduated from Harvard College with an AB cum laude, received her JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and her EdD from Manhattanville College.
Roger Litz is no stranger to hardship. Born and raised in Chicago, he was placed in an orphanage along with his brother after his mother was abandoned by her husband and left without the financial resources to care for them. He stayed there for many years, until his mother remarried and was able to retrieve Roger and his brother.
The trauma of this abandonment, coupled with the systematic bullying Roger endured, instilled in Roger a fundamental belief that self-reliance was the only way he would overcome the challenges he faced. And he learned to rely on his brains, rather than his brawn, to succeed. To this day, he fondly remembers his time in a Catholic grammar school, where the nuns (whom he describes as "excellent teachers"), helped him apply himself to his studies. Throughout his education, Roger's mantra was "through knowledge I will flourish."
From the time he was young, Roger always worked odd jobs and saved money. One job was predictive of a future profession; he worked at a horse stable, where he quickly became a skilled equestrian, and was trusted by the stable owner to take new horses to Lincoln Park in Chicago to acclimate them to their urban environment. His savings enabled him to attend the University of Illinois, where he earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees, and ultimately graduated as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM).
Soon after earning his DVM, Roger was drafted into the Air Force and spent time in Greenland. When his military service concluded, Roger went to southern California and began working as a veterinarian.
Being a lifetime learner, he soon heard the siren call of school beckoning him again. This time, Roger wanted to learn more about art, which had been a refuge for him in his teenage years, when he often escaped the harshness of his life's circumstances in the galleries of the Chicago Art Institute. There, surrounded by art, Roger felt safe; for him, the galleries served as a "church without the dogma."
After two years of art school, Roger's life took on a new rhythm. He worked part-time with veterinarian offices as staff augmentation, which gave him flexibility for frequent travel to Europe, where he immersed himself in European culture and continued his studies in both art and architecture.
When Roger met Elliot Leonard, he found someone with whom he could be both fiercely self-reliant and relied upon in return as a true partner in life and love. Their lives took Roger and Elliot back and forth from the West Coast to the East Coast over a span of decades. During their time together, Roger, a true Renaissance man and raconteur, wrote several plays that were staged. Later in New York, he opened a contemporary art gallery in SOHO, and after the gallery closed, Roger continued to work as a private art dealer.
Roger is a man of many passions; art, music, nature, animals and, of course, Elliot. He is also someone who achieved success on his own terms, with his own actions. It should be no surprise, then, that for Roger the most important mission of the Leonard-Litz Foundation is to help LBGTQ people find the tools to be self-sufficient.
Stephen Lucin is an American-born writer, traveler, and publicist who comes from an immigrant family of Croatian heritage. For nearly two decades, he has worked professionally as a public relations specialist, having signed some of the most prominent figures in the fields of fashion couture, finance, men's fashion, LGBTQ+ businesses & non-profits, entertainment, healthcare, and film & TV. Throughout his career, Stephen has enjoyed achieving milestones for clients. From landing the front page of the Los Angeles Times to arranging a meeting between a client and a former U.S. president within 48 hours, and from designing fashion lookbooks for the only living American couturier to earning top-tier media placements for countless clients, each year has brought new successes. Ever since he was a young boy, Stephen has loved writing. From poetry to prose, and from daily journal entries to philosophical insights, he has always been inspired to write about life and his observations. Stephen is also a world traveler for both pleasure and business. He has visited five continents, countless countries, and nearly 40 U.S. states. He also worked with a non-profit that brought him to sub-Saharan Africa more than a dozen times to complete humanitarian efforts, such as bringing free and rapid HIV testing to local communities, including access to HIV treatment and prevention.