Chapter Leaders
The people who run the Cape Cod chapter of PFLAG are all volunteers who devote their time and energy to this wonderful organization. Learn more about them, the Board Members and Non-Board Volunteers, below!
Board Members
Joe Lima, President
Joe Lima started attending PFLAG Cape Cod support meetings back in the early 1990s. At the time, he’d already met John, his future husband, but had not yet come out to his parents. He learned about PFLAG and decided to attend a meeting in hopes of getting advice from others on how best to have the coming out conversation with his mother and father.
At PFLAG meetings he met a wide range of people, including parents of other kids who had come out as gay, lesbian and bisexual. They offered him rich insights and hope as to how he could best tell his parents he was gay. At the time, “I needed a support system and I got it from [a lot of] supportive parents who told me, ‘your parents will still love you,’ even after they learn the news,” he says. About a year later, Joe did come out to his parents, in a letter. Over time, he says, as his family got to know him and his partner John as a couple, “they began to realize that we live a pretty normal life, very similar to their own.” To hear Joe discuss his journey as a gay man, along with a number of other interesting topics, check out episode #27 of the locally produced podcast series ReBounce. (Please note that ReBounce is not affiliated with PFLAG Cape Cod's own podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", which can be heard on this website and other podcast platforms.)
Joe believes strongly that PFLAG Cape Cod’s mission is to offer a welcoming setting in which anyone struggling with issues of sexuality and gender identity can find safety and acceptance. “PFLAG Cape Cod’s purpose is to provide people who are coming out – as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer – a place where they can be themselves, seek the guidance of others, and learn better how to manage coming out conversations with family and friends,” he says. At the same time, “we offer support, community, and resources to the families and friends of loved ones who identify as LGBTQ. We welcome anyone and everyone who would like to be part of our community!”
President since November 2019 and a residential designer by profession, Joe and his husband John have been together since 1991 and married since 2011 and live in Osterville.
Pronouns: he/him/his
At PFLAG meetings he met a wide range of people, including parents of other kids who had come out as gay, lesbian and bisexual. They offered him rich insights and hope as to how he could best tell his parents he was gay. At the time, “I needed a support system and I got it from [a lot of] supportive parents who told me, ‘your parents will still love you,’ even after they learn the news,” he says. About a year later, Joe did come out to his parents, in a letter. Over time, he says, as his family got to know him and his partner John as a couple, “they began to realize that we live a pretty normal life, very similar to their own.” To hear Joe discuss his journey as a gay man, along with a number of other interesting topics, check out episode #27 of the locally produced podcast series ReBounce. (Please note that ReBounce is not affiliated with PFLAG Cape Cod's own podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", which can be heard on this website and other podcast platforms.)
Joe believes strongly that PFLAG Cape Cod’s mission is to offer a welcoming setting in which anyone struggling with issues of sexuality and gender identity can find safety and acceptance. “PFLAG Cape Cod’s purpose is to provide people who are coming out – as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer – a place where they can be themselves, seek the guidance of others, and learn better how to manage coming out conversations with family and friends,” he says. At the same time, “we offer support, community, and resources to the families and friends of loved ones who identify as LGBTQ. We welcome anyone and everyone who would like to be part of our community!”
President since November 2019 and a residential designer by profession, Joe and his husband John have been together since 1991 and married since 2011 and live in Osterville.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Christine LaPalme, Treasurer
Chris LaPalme first became involved with PFLAG Cape Cod in 2019 and today considers herself a strong ally and advocate for LGBTQ+ people everywhere. A former Vice President of Corporate Communications and Employee Relations for a Massachusetts-based manufacturing company, Chris and her husband, Mike, are retired and live in Brewster, MA. They recently celebrated 40 years of marriage.
Chris and Mike have two children, and have long enjoyed the weather and amenities afforded by life on the Cape, including its many beaches and coffee at the Snowy Owl on Route 6A.
Having spent many years in employee relations, Chris feels that organizations like PFLAG Cape Cod have a critical role to play as a resource to individuals (and families) that are dealing with issues involving a family member’s sexuality, orientation and/or gender identity.
“Increasingly, families everywhere are dealing with these sensitive topics and often don’t know where to turn for information, support, community, and practical guidance,” she says.
“PFLAG Cape Cod offers a safe, non-judgmental place where people can come for help, friendship, and resources to deal with these topics in positive and proactive ways. I’m so happy to be part of an organization that puts such strong focus on serving the needs of people who identify as LGBTQ+ and their families.”
Treasurer since June 2022, besides her work with PFLAG Cape Cod, Chris enjoys hiking, biking, traveling, stained glass creation, and being a foodie!
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Chris and Mike have two children, and have long enjoyed the weather and amenities afforded by life on the Cape, including its many beaches and coffee at the Snowy Owl on Route 6A.
Having spent many years in employee relations, Chris feels that organizations like PFLAG Cape Cod have a critical role to play as a resource to individuals (and families) that are dealing with issues involving a family member’s sexuality, orientation and/or gender identity.
“Increasingly, families everywhere are dealing with these sensitive topics and often don’t know where to turn for information, support, community, and practical guidance,” she says.
“PFLAG Cape Cod offers a safe, non-judgmental place where people can come for help, friendship, and resources to deal with these topics in positive and proactive ways. I’m so happy to be part of an organization that puts such strong focus on serving the needs of people who identify as LGBTQ+ and their families.”
Treasurer since June 2022, besides her work with PFLAG Cape Cod, Chris enjoys hiking, biking, traveling, stained glass creation, and being a foodie!
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Julie Allen Hamilton, Secretary
Julie Allen Hamilton first became involved with PFLAG Cape Cod in early 2022, after her bisexual daughter, Nell, was awarded a 2022 Anne Toran Scholarship for Nell’s work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community at Nauset Regional High School.
A married mother of two, Julie says that she is deeply committed to being an ally and advocate for people who identify as LGBTQ+ -- especially children and young people. “My son Ian, came out to my husband and me when he was in 7th grade,” she says, adding that their daughter, Nell, came out in 9th or 10th grade. “For us, it has never been about orientation or identity; it’s always been simply about loving our kids. Or, as I like to put it, ‘loving up’ our kids!”
Through PFLAG’s bimonthly support meetings, scholarships, and other activities Julie believes that the organization “has a critical role to play in providing resources, support, and community to people who identify as LGBTQ+ -- and to their families.” She goes on to say that, in today’s social and political environment, PFLAG Cape Cod has a particularly important role to play in “providing a safe space” for Transgender individuals and their loved ones who live on the Cape and Islands.
Secretary since October 2022, when Julie is not active with PFLAG Cape Cod matters, she works as an Associate Artist, and as Box Office and Front of House Manager for Cape Rep Theater in Brewster.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
A married mother of two, Julie says that she is deeply committed to being an ally and advocate for people who identify as LGBTQ+ -- especially children and young people. “My son Ian, came out to my husband and me when he was in 7th grade,” she says, adding that their daughter, Nell, came out in 9th or 10th grade. “For us, it has never been about orientation or identity; it’s always been simply about loving our kids. Or, as I like to put it, ‘loving up’ our kids!”
Through PFLAG’s bimonthly support meetings, scholarships, and other activities Julie believes that the organization “has a critical role to play in providing resources, support, and community to people who identify as LGBTQ+ -- and to their families.” She goes on to say that, in today’s social and political environment, PFLAG Cape Cod has a particularly important role to play in “providing a safe space” for Transgender individuals and their loved ones who live on the Cape and Islands.
Secretary since October 2022, when Julie is not active with PFLAG Cape Cod matters, she works as an Associate Artist, and as Box Office and Front of House Manager for Cape Rep Theater in Brewster.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Wendy Pechacek, GSA Outreach Coordinator
Wendy Pechacek began attending PFLAG Cape Cod support meetings in the fall of 2021 when she and her husband Brad moved full time to Chatham. She had recently retired and was seeking support and resources as her younger child had just come out as non-binary.
The virtual meetings provided a safe space to learn from the journeys of others and feel that she was not alone. She began attending in-person meetings when they resumed and has seen first hand just how impactful sharing experiences with others can be.
A longtime ally, Wendy worked as a school counselor and director of counseling services in a large public high school in Massachusetts for over 20 years. As Wendy notes, "I am grateful to have found in PFLAG Cape Cod a place where I can access support and connection as well as offer help to others along the way.”
Vice President of PFLAG Cape Cod until August 2023, Wendy now serves as PFLAG Cape Cod’s Outreach Coordinator to the GSA Clubs (Gay-Straight Alliance/Genders & Sexualities Alliance) in public schools across the Cape and Islands, a role for which she is well-suited given her background as a school counselor. In addition to her involvement with PFLAG Cape Cod, Wendy enjoys volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, hiking, making pottery, traveling, and spending time with her grand dogs, Slater and Maggie.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
The virtual meetings provided a safe space to learn from the journeys of others and feel that she was not alone. She began attending in-person meetings when they resumed and has seen first hand just how impactful sharing experiences with others can be.
A longtime ally, Wendy worked as a school counselor and director of counseling services in a large public high school in Massachusetts for over 20 years. As Wendy notes, "I am grateful to have found in PFLAG Cape Cod a place where I can access support and connection as well as offer help to others along the way.”
Vice President of PFLAG Cape Cod until August 2023, Wendy now serves as PFLAG Cape Cod’s Outreach Coordinator to the GSA Clubs (Gay-Straight Alliance/Genders & Sexualities Alliance) in public schools across the Cape and Islands, a role for which she is well-suited given her background as a school counselor. In addition to her involvement with PFLAG Cape Cod, Wendy enjoys volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, hiking, making pottery, traveling, and spending time with her grand dogs, Slater and Maggie.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Paula Degree, Speakers Bureau Coordinator
Paula Degree is retired as a public school teacher and as a church pastor ordained in the United Church of Christ. In August 2014, she finally understood herself and accepted herself as a transgender woman, began living as herself part time in January 2015, then full time that June after being dismissed as pastor of the church she served in Connecticut.
In 2015, she moved to her home in Dennis Port and has served on the Cape Cod Transgender Day of Remembrance Committee and worked with the Vote Yes on 3 campaign. She is the present chair of her church’s Open & Affirming Committee and has spoken on several LGBT panels. In addition, she has done interviews for Public Radio, for PFLAG Cape Cod's podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", and an article in a Connecticut health magazine which was picked up by NPR.
As a transgender advocate, she has reached out in support of other trans individuals and has spoken in churches and to other groups about transgender issues. Paula is proud to be an active and participating member of Cape Cod PFLAG, and has served as Speakers Bureau Coordinator since April 2023.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
In 2015, she moved to her home in Dennis Port and has served on the Cape Cod Transgender Day of Remembrance Committee and worked with the Vote Yes on 3 campaign. She is the present chair of her church’s Open & Affirming Committee and has spoken on several LGBT panels. In addition, she has done interviews for Public Radio, for PFLAG Cape Cod's podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", and an article in a Connecticut health magazine which was picked up by NPR.
As a transgender advocate, she has reached out in support of other trans individuals and has spoken in churches and to other groups about transgender issues. Paula is proud to be an active and participating member of Cape Cod PFLAG, and has served as Speakers Bureau Coordinator since April 2023.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Non-Board Volunteers
Rick Koonce, Podcast Producer
Rick Koonce attended his first PFLAG meeting 40 years ago, when he was a young graduate student at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, struggling with his gay sexuality, and looking for a safe space where he would be both accepted and affirmed as a young gay man. He found that acceptance and affirmation in a PFLAG group in the Washington, DC Area, that he was a member of throughout his graduate school years.
Rick and his husband John, a teacher, were one of the first gay male couples to wed in Massachusetts when it became legal in 2004. They have a daughter, Diana, and two “grand girls” whom they deeply adore. Rick and John live in Hyannis, and were among the earliest same-sex couples in the United States to adopt, a story that was the focus of a feature article in the Sunday New York Times in 1998.
Producer of our wonderful podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", since the spring of 2020, and a former Board member of PFLAG Cape Cod, professionally, Rick is an executive coach and consultant who works with companies around the world. He’s also a retained coach at two leading business schools. Earlier in his career, he was a radio reporter, TV news associate producer, and commentator on National Public Radio.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Rick and his husband John, a teacher, were one of the first gay male couples to wed in Massachusetts when it became legal in 2004. They have a daughter, Diana, and two “grand girls” whom they deeply adore. Rick and John live in Hyannis, and were among the earliest same-sex couples in the United States to adopt, a story that was the focus of a feature article in the Sunday New York Times in 1998.
Producer of our wonderful podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", since the spring of 2020, and a former Board member of PFLAG Cape Cod, professionally, Rick is an executive coach and consultant who works with companies around the world. He’s also a retained coach at two leading business schools. Earlier in his career, he was a radio reporter, TV news associate producer, and commentator on National Public Radio.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Dirk Correia, Support Meeting Facilitator
Dirk Correia is a special education inclusion specialist who came out as transgender at age 14. Then, in college, he discovered that he was not a binary trans man. Instead, he identifies as non-binary, meaning that he doesn’t identify with being either entirely male or female, as society typically defines those terms.
Today, Dirk describes himself as “transmasculine and bisexual. More male than not, but not a man in the traditional sense.” “I like the notion of playing with gender,” he said recently, in an interview for "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", a podcast series featured on this website, and on numerous other social media platforms, including iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora.
Dirk says that their journey to accepting them self as non-binary has been a long, and at times, difficult process. Taking this journey has required a “strong belief in myself,” says Dirk.
Dirk has worked as a social justice advocate since he was a teenager, and hopes to continue this work throughout his life. As part of this work, Dirk conducts sensitivity trainings and workshops for LGBTQ+ people of all ages, focused on helping members of the LGBTQ+ community embrace their authentic gender and sexual identities. He is also a sought-after speaker on LGBTQ+ topics, and a frequent panelist in public discussions of LGBTQ+ topics across Cape Cod.
Dirk served as PFLAG Cape Cod’s Outreach Ambassador to the GSA Clubs (Gay-Straight Alliances/Gender & Sexuality Alliances) in public schools across Cape Cod until February 2023. It’s a position to which Dirk committed himself to help educate, inform, and support greater understanding of human sexuality/orientation and gender identity. He currently serves as one of PFLAG Cape Cod's virtual support meeting facilitators.
Dirk also serves as a board member and event coordinator for the Cape & Islands Trans Resource Fund. CITRF is a grassroots group of transgender people and their allies that provides assistance to transgender and gender non-conforming Cape Cod residents as they navigate the challenges of daily living and self-acceptance.
Dirk graduated from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2019 with a degree in English Literature. Besides his social advocacy work, Dirk also enjoys video games, anime, and adores their cat, Akaashi.
Pronouns: he/him
Today, Dirk describes himself as “transmasculine and bisexual. More male than not, but not a man in the traditional sense.” “I like the notion of playing with gender,” he said recently, in an interview for "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", a podcast series featured on this website, and on numerous other social media platforms, including iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora.
Dirk says that their journey to accepting them self as non-binary has been a long, and at times, difficult process. Taking this journey has required a “strong belief in myself,” says Dirk.
Dirk has worked as a social justice advocate since he was a teenager, and hopes to continue this work throughout his life. As part of this work, Dirk conducts sensitivity trainings and workshops for LGBTQ+ people of all ages, focused on helping members of the LGBTQ+ community embrace their authentic gender and sexual identities. He is also a sought-after speaker on LGBTQ+ topics, and a frequent panelist in public discussions of LGBTQ+ topics across Cape Cod.
Dirk served as PFLAG Cape Cod’s Outreach Ambassador to the GSA Clubs (Gay-Straight Alliances/Gender & Sexuality Alliances) in public schools across Cape Cod until February 2023. It’s a position to which Dirk committed himself to help educate, inform, and support greater understanding of human sexuality/orientation and gender identity. He currently serves as one of PFLAG Cape Cod's virtual support meeting facilitators.
Dirk also serves as a board member and event coordinator for the Cape & Islands Trans Resource Fund. CITRF is a grassroots group of transgender people and their allies that provides assistance to transgender and gender non-conforming Cape Cod residents as they navigate the challenges of daily living and self-acceptance.
Dirk graduated from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2019 with a degree in English Literature. Besides his social advocacy work, Dirk also enjoys video games, anime, and adores their cat, Akaashi.
Pronouns: he/him
Susan Smith, Support Meeting Facilitator
Susan Smith is the mother of an adult transgender son whom she raised with her husband, Roger, on a rural Pennsylvania farm. After moving to Cape Cod with Rog and settling in Brewster, Susan began attending PFLAG Cape Cod support meetings to offer support to others who may be on a journey similar to hers.
In January 2021, Susan was interviewed for PFLAG Cape Cod’s podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", where she talked about how being the parent of a transgender child was a transformative life experience for her.
In addition to being an active member of First Parish Brewster UU, Susan is also an active member of PFLAG Cape Cod and has spoken at public events, most recently on Nantucket. She is an outspoken ally and advocate for the transgender community, and has served as one of PFLAG Cape Cod's in-person Support Meeting Facilitators since the fall of 2022.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
In January 2021, Susan was interviewed for PFLAG Cape Cod’s podcast series, "Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage", where she talked about how being the parent of a transgender child was a transformative life experience for her.
In addition to being an active member of First Parish Brewster UU, Susan is also an active member of PFLAG Cape Cod and has spoken at public events, most recently on Nantucket. She is an outspoken ally and advocate for the transgender community, and has served as one of PFLAG Cape Cod's in-person Support Meeting Facilitators since the fall of 2022.
Pronouns: she/her/hers