In The Life Media's Board of Directors is comprised of community leaders, activists, philanthropists, and others who are committed to the production of independent media that produces change for the LGBT communities. The Board convenes for in-person meetings bimonthly in addition to participating in regular committee meetings. The Board provides crucial guidance and oversight for our organization and its programs, performs important fundraising duties, and supports the staff in their ongoing work.

If you are interested in joining In The Life Media's Board of Directors, please contact our Executive Director. You will be asked to fill out a short application and participate in an interview with one of our Board co-chairs.

Henry van Ameringen (Co-chair, Board of Directors) graduated from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in the middle of the last century. He worked at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), ending up as European Vice-President in charge of Fragrance marketing. In addition to his service with In The Life Media, Henry is on the board of Fountain House, a clubhouse of people with mental illnesses where they can find a job, a home and friends.

Henry is President of the van Ameringen Foundation, a family foundation that deals with mental health and mental illness in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan area. He is also President of the H. van Ameringen Foundation, a personal foundation that concentrates on HIV/AIDS, and the problems of the Gay and Lesbian Community, mostly in New York City.

His partner is Eric Galloway.

Jayne Baron Sherman (Co-chair, Board of Directors) is an independent producer of film and theatre (most notably, "A Raisin in the Sun" on Broadway).  Prior to producing she was president and founder of Sagacious, Ltd., a marketing and communications consulting firm.  This grew from her experience in the corporate world where she was an officer of Marsh and McLennan Companies and worked for firms such as ATT and Morgan Guaranty.

A former co-chair of Lambda Legal, Jayne is active in the LGBT community with numerous organizations and has served on the boards of Stonewall Foundation and the American Cancer Society as well as others. She lives with her partner of 18 years, Deby Zum, and their two 17 1/2 year old poodles, Georgia and Mona.

Nan P. Bailey (Treasurer), who has offered in-depth financial planning services for over 20 years, has recently expanded her practice, NPB Wealth Management, by adopting a disciplined and consultative wealth management process specifically designed to meet the needs of same-sex couples and families. As the national debate on same-sex marriages continues, Nan believes that the financial and legal challenges - and opportunities - before these couples and families require additional attention and highly specialized expertise.

To maintain the highest possible standards, Nan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ professional and a member of the Financial Planning Association, and has earned the prestigious AIF® (ACCREDITED INVESTMENT FIDUCIARY™) designation. She received her BA from New York University and an MBA from Baruch College. Since giving back to the community is a high priority for Nan, she has served as treasurer of Lambda Legal Defense Education Fund and is currently treasurer of In The Life Media, Inc.

On the home front, Nan and her partner Maria reside in Larchmont, NY. Nan is the proud mother of an 18-year-old son in college and a 13-year-old daughter in middle school. In addition to delighting in her children's creative performances and sporting events, Nan enjoys sailing, kayaking, and hiking.

Michelle V. Francis (Secretary) is a Principal at The Francis Company, an intellectual property advisory firm which provides a comprehensive set of domestic and global, industry leading, IP management and business strategy services to a wide variety of enterprises, including US, foreign and multi-national, companies, start-ups and entrepreneurs, as well as law firm IP practices.

Prior to founding The Francis Company in 2009, Michelle spent 12 of her 19 years as a lawyer working as the lead in-house IP counsel at the Fortune 100 global media company, News Corporation. Beginning in 1997, her first 4 years with the News Corp family were spent at Fox Entertainment Group in Los Angeles handling worldwide film and television intellectual property enforcement matters. In 2001, Michelle moved to New York to join News Corp's General Counsel's Office. As Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Michelle headed up the global intellectual property practice charged with the worldwide management and protection of the intellectual property and Internet assets of News Corporation and many of its operating and joint venture companies, such as HarperCollins, STAR TV in Asia, the New York Post, and various satellite platforms such as Sky in Italy and Tata Sky in India. Prior to her in-house experience, Michelle was a litigator in private practice in Los Angeles, focusing on general litigation and entertainment and intellectual property law at Knapp, Petersen and Clarke (1990-1994), and subsequently at Kulik, Gottesman and Mouton (1994-1997).

Born in San Francisco, Michelle grew up in southern California, Singapore, Japan and Greece. She received a BA in English from UCLA in 1986 and a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1990. Michelle is an avid tennis player and student of yoga and loves riding horses and surfing. She has studied genres of non-fiction expression and oral history at The New School and Columbia University, respectively, and is a recipient of the 2006 YWCA Academy of Women Leaders Award.

David Beitzel (Chair, Major Gifts Committee) is a private art dealer specializing in international contemporary art, with a focus on new emerging talent.  Working closely with a range of clients, including private, corporate, and public institutions, David consults and advises them in several key areas: building and managing their collections, informing them of important new talent, valuation of existing collections, and the sale of collections and individual pieces.  
 
Prior to establishing himself as a private art dealer in 2001, David owned the David Beitzel Gallery in New York City for 12 years.  During that time, he was a member of The Hetrick-Martin Institute's board of directors, serving as chair of its development committee. He has served as a trustee for Bennington College, a member of its development committee and as chair (1994-2000) of the New York Associates, the school's high-level donor group.  David was a founding member of the 21st Century committee of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and, currently, is on the Board of Advisors of the Fleming Museum. He holds a BA from the University of Vermont and an MFA from Bennington College.

Michael Sennott (Chair, Catalyst Committee) is an Illinois native, and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Indiana, where he received a BA in History. After relocating to New York City in 1965, he joined the Interpublic Group of Companies as a trainee; retiring in 2002 as Vice-Chairman. During his 37 years at IPG, Michael held a variety of posts principally at McCann-Erickson, including Director of the New York office, and Regional Director Europe/Middle East/Africa for 8 years. He returned to New York in 1998 as Vice Chairman of McCann World Group, and in 1999, he was called upon to engineer the merger of Lintas Worldwide into The Lowe Group. After successfully completing that merger, he became Vice Chairman of The Interpublic Group of Companies.
 
Michael now devotes his time to volunteering and fundraising. He is Chairman of the Board of God's Love We Deliver, and is also a director of The Grand Street Settlement.  Formerly, he was a director at IES, a consortium of American Colleges and Universities providing overseas education with 24 campuses around the world.  A grandfather and avid traveler, Michael enjoys reading and boosting the virtues of Martha's Vineyard.