The Calamus Foundation

I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of America, and along the shores of the great lakes, and all over the prairies,

I will make inseparable cities with their arms about each other's necks, By the love of comrades, By the manly love of comrades.

For You O Democracy, Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman

Mathew Hart is the Executive Director of the Global Philanthropy Project which works to expand philanthropic resources for LGBTI movements and people in the Global South and East. Formerly the Director of the Lafayette Practice, ‘Matty’ has  deep roots in the LGBT community of Philadelphia, but now calls Paris, France his home. He has been instrumental in  developing strategies for the Calamus Foundation, having  served on the Board for almost 15 years.

Loring McAlpin divides his time between documentary film projects and work with the Calamus Foundation. His involvement with AIDS activism through ACT UP and the collective Gran Fury provided the lens through which much of the Calamus Foundation’s giving has been focused.

Milap Patel works at the intersections of climate policy, global human rights, and economic justice and is based in Brooklyn, NY. He received a Master in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Development Studies from the University of Sussex, UK. He sits on the board of several national and international LBTQ+ organizations and is originally from Nairobi, Kenya.

Sue Simon has a background in public health, human rights, and social justice. For 40 years, she has worked internationally (Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia) and domestically for a variety of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and government agencies. She has developed and implemented programs around HIV prevention and care issues; harm reduction and safer drug use; sexual health and rights; criminal justice reform; and arts/culture. She has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and graduated from Tufts University.