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Board of Directors

Robert Doody has been the director for the South Dakota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union since October 2008. Doody, who was raised in Minnesota, has spent his legal career working in the area of Indian Law in South Dakota. Doody has worked extensively on Federal Indian Law issues while in law school, during his employment on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. While at the ACLU, Doody has started the process of building up a sustainable ACLU with clear objectives and goals that will continue to defend the civil liberties of all people in South Dakota for future generations. received his Juris Doctorate from the University of North Dakota, School of Law in 2005, his BA in Philosophy from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland and a Master's Degree in Philosophy from the Queen's University, Belfast Northern Ireland.

David Fischer lives in Aberdeen, SD where he is employed as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) at Avera St. Lukes Hospital. David is “out” in Aberdeen and has been successful in changing hearts and minds through community participation, interpersonal relationships and his relentless efforts to speak and write the truth. In 2008 he was instrumental in launching Aberdeen's first PFLAG (Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays) chapter.

Don Frankenfeld lives in Rapid City, SD. A Republican, Don served as a state senator and chaired the senate tax committee. In 1990 he was the Republican candidate for South Dakota's single Congressional seat, losing to a now-Senator Tim Johnson. As a Bush Foundation leadership fellow, he earned an MPA at Harvard's JFK School of Government. Don often testifies in court as a forensic economist and financial expert. He testified nearly one hundred times on behalf of claimants to the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. His testimonial appearances on behalf of a gay survivor in California and a lesbian survivor in Missouri were personally transformational, and led him to become an advocate for gay marriage rights.

Rev. Wes Garcia has always been concerned and an activist when it comes to human rights issues. He serves on the Minnehaha County Diversity Committee and is co-founder of Divercity. Besides his interest in human rights issues, he is also an activist on the environment. He is now retired from teaching psychology and counseling classes and now spends his time working on human rights and  environmental issues, and serving on a number of boards.  Wes has an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy and a M.Div. Wes has been married for 34 years and has three children and one grandchild on the way. More than ever, he is concerned with what his generation is leaving behind for the next generations to deal with.

When not involved as an activist, Wes relaxes by being involved with his hobbies of photography and model trains.

Lawrence Novotny, Vice Chair of EqSD lives in Brookings, SD where he works as a quality assurance chemist with South Dakota State University. Besides having a long history of involvement in South Dakota's environmental and social justice movements, Lawrence has also been involved in various former & current LGBT organizations. He is also secretary-treasurer of SD Resources Coalition, treasurer of Brookings County Democrats and a regular writer for the Gayzette.  The Brookings Human Rights Committee presented the Dorothy and Eugene T. Butler, Jr. Human Rights Award to Lawrence in 2007 as someone who has shown outstanding commitment to the cause of Human Rights.

Curtis Price lives in Rapid City, SD where he works as a Federal scientist in the fields of geographic information systems and environmental data analysis.   Curtis, a former board member of the Black Hills Center for Equality, is the SD Network Coordinator for Integrity USA, an organization dedicated to the inclusion of LGBT people in the Episcopal Church. He is a musician and supporter of the arts, performing  with the Dakota Choral Union, the Black Hills Symphony, and Bells of the Hills. Curtis volunteers for youth musicians at the Black Hills String Retreat  and served on the Dakota Choral Union's Board for five years. He has been active in local and State politics and blogs about it as "Robbinsdale Radical."

Amy Richards, EqSD and EqSD Institute's Treasurer, grew up on a ranch east of Sturgis, SD on the Belle Fourche River. She is the granddaughter of a Methodist minister, Reuben Tanquist, and a great uncle, Dr. Benjamin Rush, signed the Declaration of Independence. As a child she attended Farm Bureau, Stock Growers, and Meade County Republican meetings and learned about the power of organizations to create change. Amy graduated from Montana State University in 1990 with bachelor’s degrees in business administration and art, and received a master’s degree in nutrition from South Dakota State University in 2004. Amy, a registered dietitian, directs the University of South Dakota Dietetic Internship Program and lives in Sioux Falls.

Gary Snow resides in Pierre, SD where he owns Gary Snow & Associates, Inc. an environmental consulting and contracting company serving North and South Dakota. He currently serves on the PAC committee for NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota and was a board member of the Campaign for Healthy Families during the 2006 effort to overturn the South Dakota abortion ban. Gary was a member of the Pierre School Board, Missouri Shores Domestic Violence Shelter board of directors and has been an on-call chaplain at a local hospital for the past 25 years. He has testified at several South Dakota legislative hearings on various social issues over the past three decades and was a registered lobbyist in the early 1990s.

Sharon Ludwick Warner, Vice Treasurer of EqSD PAC, lives in Rapid City, SD. She is a third generation family owner of Rain Bird Corporation, a manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. Sharon currently serves and has served on the boards of numerous local, regional and statewide public charities. She has extensive experience in grant making and administration as a member of the Ludwick Family Foundation. Sharon is a lifetime member of the American Association of University Women and longtime women's rights activist.