We are proud to announce LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s 2026 class of David Bohnett Leaders Fellows. These inspiring LGBTQ+ political leaders were selected to attend a three-week Executive Education program at the Harvard Kennedy School thanks to a scholarship provided by the David Bohnett Foundation.
This opportunity will provide these leaders with the tools necessary to take their activism and passion to the next level. Alumni of this program go on to serve in all levels of government across the country. Alumni include California State Commissioner of Insurance Ricardo Lara, Venezuela National Assemblywoman Tamara Adrián and Wisconsin Democratic Assembly Leader Greta Neubauer.
Below are the 2026 fellows. You can read more about the David Bohnett Leaders Fellowship here.
Timmy Knudsen, Chicago City Council
Timmy Knudsen serves as Alderperson of Chicago’s 43rd Ward, representing nearly 60,000 residents across the Lincoln Park, Old Town, and Gold Coast neighborhoods. Ald. Knudsen was the youngest member of the Chicago City Council when he assumed office in 2022, and he is the first openly LGBTQ+ alderperson to serve the 43rd Ward. Currently, Ald. Knudsen serves as Vice Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection.
Prior to public office, Ald. Knudsen was an attorney representing venture capital funds and innovative, high-growth companies. In his practice, he built a pro bono practice that supported more than 40 LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in Chicago and on the ground in Tijuana, working closely with a shelter serving individuals preparing to cross the U.S. border. Additionally, Ald. Knudsen chaired Chicago’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
In public office, Ald. Knudsen uses his legal background to push for modernization in local government. He overhauled the constituent services system in his office through government technology, reducing average response times from four days to less than one, a model that since has been adopted by eight other wards. Additionally, Ald. Knudsen has advanced housing development in his ward, supporting the creation of over 400 new housing units while requiring that 20% be built on-site as affordable housing.
Ald. Knudsen has passed several pieces of impactful legislation, including Chicago’s “Stop Hate Littering Ordinance,” which created a new law enforcement mechanism to address a trend of targeted hate incidents involving the ‘flyering’ of vehicles. Since the ordinance’s passage, these incidents have decreased, and Ald. Knudsen has worked with other municipalities to pass parallel efforts.
Beyond his government role, Ald. Knudsen has built a strong political organization focused on electing more young people to public office. In recent times, this organization has worked to support immigrant residents in response to federal law enforcement presence in Chicago. Knudsen also served as a Democratic Delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Ald. Knudsen is a proud “guncle,” dog co-parent to a yellow Labrador named “Howie”, and a fan of home projects—even appearing on an episode of HGTV’s “House Hunters.”
Sam Montaño, Massachusetts House of Representatives
Sam Montaño is a queer latine community organizer originally from Los Angeles, CA. Sam attended UCLA and after graduation made their way to Boston, MA where they have lived for the last 12 years. Through organizing in their community and getting involved in, and eventually chairing, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, Sam decided to run for State Representative in Massachusetts. In September 2022, Sam won a State Representative seat in Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood of Boston and is currently in their first term. With professional experience ranging from affordable housing development to environmental justice they are deeply committed to the power of community and equity. In their free time Sam likes biking, exploring different parts of the city, and crossword puzzles
Kareem Murphy, Deputy Hennepin County Administrator
Kareem was appointed Deputy County Administrator by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners in August 2025. The County is a $3 billion government enterprise including the largest public safety net hospital between Chicago and the Bay Area. In this role, he leads three lines of business including Health, Human Services, and Disparity Elimination. The work requires collaboration across all the county’s lines of business and with other government partners, community groups, and private sector interests. He previously served as the Assistant County Administrator for Disparity Elimination and in the Intergovernmental Relations Department, including as its Director. Kareem brought a wealth of relationships with other counties, several state associations, community groups, advocates, and a host of other interest groups. Prior to his government service, he was a partner with The Ferguson Group, the largest Washington, DC-based lobbying firm specializing in representing local governments.
An experienced coalition builder, works with a range of lobbyists, advocates, and community organizers on issues of common interest in the social safety net, infrastructure, and essential services to all residents and businesses. Kareem is a member of the Government and Policy Team of the Global Justice Institute, a faith-based New York non-governmental organization that advocates for LGBT justice around the world. He is also the immediate past president of the National Association of County Intergovernmental Relations Officials, a national association of county government relations professionals. Kareem has served on or advised boards of several local, regional, and national organizations including the National Association of Counties.
Kareem holds an M.A. degree in U.S. History from the University of Maryland, College Park and a B.A. in History and Spanish from Howard University. Born and raised in Connecticut, he spent 23 years in Washington, DC before moving to Minnesota in 2013. He makes his home in the Willard-Hay neighborhood of North Minneapolis with his husband of 34 years, Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis, and their canine child Eubie.
Luanne Peterpaul, New Jersey General Assembly
Born in Newark and a resident of Monmouth County for many years, Luanne Peterpaul, Esq., was elected to the New Jersey Assembly in 2023. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and member of the Financial Institutions and Insurance Aging and Human Services committees. Peterpaul is the managing partner of Peterpaul Law in Asbury Park, focusing primarily on labor and employment law, general litigation, and training and education. Peterpaul previously served as an assistant Essex County prosecutor, where she successfully prosecuted cases against criminals ranging from theft to homicide, before being appointed as a Municipal Judge for the Cities of Long Branch and Asbury Park from 2018-2022.
Peterpaul fundamentally believes in equal rights for all individuals and has dedicated her life’s work to advocating for marginalized individuals so people of all walks of life are able to call New Jersey their home. As the former Chair of the Garden State Equality Action Fund, Peterpaul, the first out gay woman to assume a position in the State Assembly, played a critical role in creating and promoting anti-bullying legislation in the state legislature. Standing up to bullies and promoting safety are core values for Peterpaul, who sat on the New Jersey Commission on Bullying as well as the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Task Force. Additionally, Peterpaul was instrumental in bringing marriage equality to New Jersey through her role on the Board of Directors of Garden State Equality.
Peterpaul has continuously used education as a tool for promoting equality. She has lectured for the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Conference, the American Conference on Diversity, the American Bar Association, the New Jersey Judicial College, Rutgers University, Kean University, and the Education Law Center, and presented numerous seminars to clients and interested parties in the area of employment and education law and litigation. Peterpaul is an active member of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the Monmouth County Bar Association, as well as a former member of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey. Peterpaul has received numerous accolades for her work as a lawyer, as she is a top-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, has been selected as a NJ Super Lawyer, and was named to the New Jersey Law Journal List as one of the Diverse Attorneys of the Year in 2015. She has also served as a legal analyst on various news outlets.
Peterpaul received her J.D. from Seton Hall School of Law and her bachelor’s from Duquesne University. Peterpaul is committed to supporting the families of children with illness, serving on the Advisory Committee of the Unterberg Children’s Hospital of RWJ/Barnabas Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center and on the board of the Thomas Peterpaul Foundation. She currently resides in Long Branch with her wife Robin.
Gabriela Santiago-Romero, Detroit City Council
Gabriela Santiago-Romero, MSW (she/her) is the Detroit City Council Member for District 6. In her first term, she served on the Budget, Finance & Audit Standing Committee, and made history as the first Latina to ever chair a standing committee, Public Health & Safety. For her second term, she has been appointed to the Planning & Economic Development Standing Committee and reappointed to serve as chair of the Public Health & Safety Standing Committee.
Santiago-Romero is an immigrant from Mexico and a Southwest Detroit native. She’s the former Policy and Research Director at We The People Michigan based in Detroit. She earned her Master of Social Work studying Social Policy and Evaluation with a focus on Community and Social Systems from the University of Michigan. She has made history by becoming the first out female LGBTQ Detroit councilmember. She’s a community activist and organizer who has extensive experience working for Detroit nonprofits and local government. Love and food fuel her work.
Mary-Katherine Stone, Vermont House of Representatives
Rep. Mary-Katherine Abdel-Ghany Stone is a Democratic member of the Vermont House of Representatives, representing the Chittenden-14 District since 2023
Currently serving as the Assistant Majority Leader for the Vermont House Democratic Caucus, she is a dedicated legislator who co-chairs both the Vermont Future Caucus and the National Guard and Military Affairs Caucus.
Born in rural Alabama to an Egyptian immigrant father and an Alabamian mother, Stone brings a diverse background to her public service. She earned a BA in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Alabama and an MS in occupational therapy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A dedicated healthcare professional, she has worked as an occupational therapist for over a decade. She has served as an elected Justice of the Peace in Burlington since 2020.
Openly part of the LGBTQ+ community, Stone is a strong advocate for social equity and serves on committees related to education and government operations. She resides in Burlington, Vermont, with her partner, Ryan, an active-duty veteran, and their son. Her policy focus includes education, housing, veteran support, and strengthening the healthcare system.
David Vela, Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees
Mr. David Vela serves as a Trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), representing more than 300,000 students across nine colleges. He is a strong advocate for college affordability, workforce development, student housing, LGBTQ+ rights, and student success initiatives, including degree and certificate completion and transfer pathways.
As Chair of the District’s Public Affairs and Legislative Committee, Mr. Vela secured over ten million dollars from the State Legislature to open pride centers at each of the district’s nine colleges and at every community college in the state. He has advanced state policies addressing college affordability, faculty ratios, and expanded financial aid, including Cal Grant eligibility.
As Chair of the District’s Facilities Committee Mr. Vela played a key role in ensuring responsible stewardship of bond funds and the delivery of modern, state-of-the-art campus facilities, while expanding contracting opportunities for small, minority-owned, women-owned, veteran, local, and LGBTQ-certified businesses.
Mr. Vela brings more than 20 years of public-sector experience. He previously served as Senior Legislative Assistant to Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg and as Senior Advisor at the California Employment Development Department. He later spent a decade as Senior Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, where he oversaw more than $2 billion in capital infrastructure projects in unincorporated East Los Angeles, including the East Los Angeles Civic Center, the Eastside Gold Line, and the Whittier Boulevard Streetscape.
From 2007 to 2015, Mr. Vela served on the Montebello Unified School District Board of Education, where he helped improve attendance, graduation rates, and academic performance. During his tenure, he implemented college-preparatory and dual-enrollment programs, expanded career pathways through linked-learning initiatives, and led efforts to pass the district’s first Project Labor Agreement in support of a $600 million school bond program.
Mr. Vela has also served as Chief of Staff to the Chair of the California Assembly Committee on Labor and held senior leadership roles at the Lee Andrews Group, where he led government relations, public outreach, and communications for major infrastructure and development projects. He later served as Communications Manager for the Los Angeles Community College District’s Build-LACCD program.
Mr. Vela holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, with concentrations in Economics and International Relations. He operates a public affairs consulting firm, Velada Public Affairs, and resides in Montebello, California, with his partner, Victor.
Aime Wichtendahl, Iowa House of Representatives
Aime J. Wichtendahl is the first openly transwoman elected to government and the Legislature in the State of Iowa. First elected to the Hiawatha City Council in 2015. She ran on a platform of economic development, cutting property taxes, and green energy. She was reelected without opposition to the Council in 2019 and 2023. As the legislative attacks against LGBTQ people escalated Ms. Wichtendahl testified against those bills and spoke at numerous rallies in support of queer rights. She launched her bid for the Iowa House in 2024 and was successful despite a difficult year for Democrats in Iowa and the nation.
She is the ranking member of the House Economic Growth and Technology Committee and serves on the Ways & Means, Judiciary, Local Government, and Veterans Committee.
Brandon Woodard, Minority Leader, Kansas House of Representatives
Brandon Woodard is a passionate community organizer, dedicated advocate, and proud lifelong Kansan who represents the 108th District in the Kansas House of Representatives, covering parts of Lenexa, Olathe, and Overland Park. With deep roots in his community and a fierce commitment to public service, Brandon has become a leading voice for human rights, economic justice, and a more equitable Kansas for all.
As House Democratic Leader, elected by his colleagues in 2024, Brandon is critical in shaping the legislative agenda, advancing progressive policies, and strategizing on key issues impacting Kansans. Before this leadership role, he served as the House Democratic Agenda Chair, guiding daily caucus strategy and leading efforts to push forward important legislative priorities. His experience also includes serving as the Ranking Minority Member on both the Higher Education Budget and Elections Committees, where he championed initiatives to make higher education more affordable, strengthen democratic institutions, and ensure a fairer, more just state government.
Brandon’s commitment to service extends beyond the Statehouse. As a fundraiser for the AIDS Service Foundation of Greater Kansas City, he is dedicated to raising funds, awareness, and hope for the nearly 6,000 individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the region. His work is driven by a deep belief in dignity, compassion, and the power of community action.
A proud product of Kansas public education, Brandon attended Topeka Public Schools and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in business from the University of Kansas. At KU, he was an active leader, serving as Student Body Vice President and working on various civic and social justice causes that shaped his path toward public service.
Brandon’s leadership is rooted in his values of integrity, transparency, and accountability. He ran for office to hold Kansas leadership accountable, restore responsible budgeting practices in Topeka, and invest in education and infrastructure to ensure future generations thrive. A coalition builder at heart, Brandon’s vision is a Kansas where every voice is heard and every citizen has the opportunity to succeed.
