2021-2022 Board of Directors

Glynda McGinnis (’89, MA ’91) (she/her), President, is a Business Liaison Consultant in the Financial Services industry working on Root Cause Analysis of customer complaints working to identify systemic problems involving People, Processes or Technology. She has been serving as an Ally to the LGBTQ community for four decades.  She is passionate about helping people bring their entire selves to school, work and their community. As an ally she supports my adopted community as well as work to bring awareness, openness and acceptance to those who have not yet experienced the love and open arms she has received from the LGBTQ community for the last 42 years.

Shawn Kuehn (’10, MBA ’16) (he/his), Vice President,  has served on the UH LGBTQ Alumni Association Board of Directors in a variety of roles since 2014. He also served as Co-Chair of Red Dinner II and Red Dinner III. Shawn is President of the Lone Star Volleyball Association.

Margarita Perez Frinsco (MBA ’21) (she/hers)Treasurer,  Margarita currently serves as the Director of Advancement for the University of Houston College of Technology and Graduate College of Social Work. She has nearly 15 years of experience within philanthropy serving across organizations ranging from corporate, nonprofit and most recently higher education. Margarita works to build institutional resources to help advance the philanthropic goals of alumni, industry partners and other community organizations. Most recently, she led the philanthropic efforts of the College of Technology during the immensely successful UH-System $1 billion “Here We Go” campaign.

Margarita is a relationship-centered leader with a passion for transformational philanthropy. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of St. Thomas and is expected to complete her Master of Business Administration at the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston in May 2021.

She is a proud Houstonian and resides in the Near Northside community with her wife, Jessica, gray tabby cat, Jules, and German Shepherd dog, Maxine. During her free time, she mentors first-generation STEM Latinex college students and serves as the Vice-Chair of The Hollyfield Foundation.

Kevin Nguyen (’18,’21) (he/him), Director of the UH LGBTQ Resource Center, I am a Vietnamese-American raised by two immigrant parents. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Baylor University (2007), a Health, B.S. (2018) and Psychology B.S. (2021) with the University of Houston, and a Master’s Degree in College Counseling and Student Development from Azusa Pacific University (2010). I have worked for the University of Houston for over 11 years in different capacities advising Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students. I have lived in Texas, New Jersey, California, and a brief stint in Bangkok, Thailand as an English teacher. I value the idea of self-discovery and improvement through education and experience and consider myself an advocate for social justice and equity for those in the LGBTQ+ community.

P. Tim Martindell (MED ’04, EDD ’12) (he/him), Secretary & Director, Scholarship & Emergency Crisis Aid,  Dr. P. Tim Martindell is a middle school English teacher and debate coach at The Village School, as well as being an adjunct instructor in literacy development at the University of Houston Downtown. In 2015 Tim Martindell received the College of Education Star Award for outstanding alumni who make significant contributions to the field of education.  

In addition to his twenty-five year teaching career, Tim served as the Houston A+ Challenge program coordinator for literacy and critical friendship, and the past president of both the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts and the West Houston Council of Teachers of English.  Tim is a diamond level writing project trainer with the Abydos writing project and a national level facilitator of critical friendship practices with the School Reform Initiative.  He holds an Ed.D. and M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Houston and a B.S. Ed.. in communications education from Miami University.  

Davis Mendoza Darusman (’19) is thrilled to be serving as the new Director of Events for the UH LGBTQ Alumni Association!

Davis currently works for a local nonprofit organization, Houston in Action, as the Member Communications Coordinator for their Latinx Cohort. As a graduate of the University of Houston, Davis is the recipient of the 2019 Legacy Award after serving in leadership positions such as Student Body Vice President, Station Director for Coog Radio, and Chair of Special Events for the Student Program Board.

After graduating, Davis founded Houston Unscripted Productions, the multimedia production company behind the first-of-its-kind LGBTQ+ reality dating show, Panning for Love, which received praise & recognition from Houston’s LGBTQ+ magazine, OutSmart Magazine, as well as Houstonia Magazine. Davis is proudly dedicated to the rights & representation of queer folks in Houston (and beyond!).

Scott Escalona (’20)I joined the UH LGBTQ Alumni Association because I saw it as a great opportunity to meet and interact with new people. I also wanted to promote awareness and inclusivity across the UH community, especially those who are LGBTQ+. As a member myself, I hope to encourage all LGBTQ+ folks and allies to come out and participate in our events. You never know what could come out of it.

Jamie Gonzales (M.Ed ’16) (she/her), Director of Scholarship & Emergency Crisis Aid, currently serves as the Director of Community Relations & Events at the nonprofit association, oSTEM (Out in STEM). Before her current role, she worked at the University of Houston in various offices and capacities such as a Program Coordinator for the UH LGBTQ Resource Center (2016-2020) and a Career Counselor and Pre-Law Advisor for University Career Services (2020-2022). Jamie also serves as a Co-Director for the Houston Chapter of New Leaders Council.

Victoria Quijano, I’m a graduate of the University of Houston, and during my last year there I worked at the Houston Chronicle’s in-house Ad Agency, which launched my design career over 20 years ago.

Since then, I have enjoyed working with several Houston companies including Chevron, BHP, Baker Hughes, University of Houston Law Center as well as various ad agencies. I am currently working in the Corporate Communications Department at Harris Health System as a Digital Designer helping to improve the health of those most in need in our community,
and I love it!

I volunteer with UH LGBTQ Alumni Association because I’m proud to be a Coog and want to help LGBTQ students who are having a tough time for simply living in their truth. I was one of those students once, but thankfully I had a paid internship and was able to live on my own and finish my degree without my family’s support.

Jenna Pel (’13) (she/hers), Past President, is a Middle School Humanities teacher. She has served as President of the UH LGBTQ Alumni Association since 2018. A forever Coog, she is driven to give back to LGBTQIA+ University of Houston students and alumni.