Our Board of Directors
Kathryn Omarkhail Executive Director Kathryn is a clinical social worker employed as an Behavioral Health Clinician at Baylor All Saints Medical Center. She also has a private practice conducting adoption social studies and child placements. Kathryn has served her community the past 13 years as an officer of her neighborhood association to include VP and President and street representative, board member of the Fairness Foundation, member of Code Blue COP (Citizens on Patrol), member of the Community Mobilization Committee and member of CERT (Certified Emergency Response Team) and previously as member of the Fort Worth Community Resource Council. Kathryn began working behind the scenes with QCinema in 2003 helping set up before and after films. This work moved into other areas of service such as membership director, fund-raising, advertising and playing host to visiting filmmakers and producers. During the 2007 film festival, that hosting led to a move from behind the scenes to on the screen in a featured documentary film, Truths & Transformations. In 2014 she took on the responsibilities of QCinema's executive director. |
Curtis Smith President
Curtis Smith has been an active member of the Tarrant County LGBT community serving various groups. Besides being a Board Member for QCinema, Curtis is also the Pastoral Leader of Trinity Metropolitan Community Church in Arlington. Curtis continues close affiliations with the Fort Worth chapter of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the Imperial Court de Fort Worth/Arlington, the Tarrant County Gay Pride Week Association and all of the local AIDS service organizations. |
Thomas Halliburton Secretary
Thomas Halliburton is a Realtor and Principal of the Haliburton Mittal Group at RE/MAX Trinity. He has been a member of the real estate community for the last 4 years. Thomas, specializes in first time home buyers, physicians, and the LGBTQ+ community. Thomas holds a bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University in Social Media Marketing and Sales. Thomas has been involved with QCinema for two years now and looks forward to many more to come. |
Nicole Corley Treasurer
Nicole Corley is the Senior Manager of Labor, Payroll, and Travel Accounting for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. She assumed her current position in December 2014. Ms. Corley’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace is evidenced in her involvement in various D&I initiatives throughout the business area. She has been an active board member for PRIDE Employee Resource Group (ERG) since its inception in 2012 serving as Vice President and President. Ms. Corley is a champion of LGBT workplace issues, education, and has been instrumental in creating dialogue around this topic at Aeronautics. Ms. Corley has transitioned to the role of Mentor to the 2015 board. A native of Texas, Ms. Corley was born in Port Arthur and raised in Houston. She graduated from the University of Houston, where she received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting. She and her partner of 22 years, Gretchen Stoeltje, currently reside in Fort Worth with their dog, Ruby. |
Marin Smolćiĉ & Tyler Chester Technical Directors
Marin is a Software & Systems Integration Test Engineer for Lockheed Martin. He got involved with college friends in 2013 and through his love of the people who make the festival happen and supporting the voices of the LGBT community he keeps coming back. Each year as new venues have been tried with varying in-house equipment, he hasn't failed to be able to work out technical issues and make sure that the show does go on. Tyler is a Software Development engineer for Omnitracs. He got involved in through Marin starting in 2014 out of a passion for making sure that LGBT stories have a platform to be told to the people in the community who don't get to hear them. Tyler has assisted Marin in resolving technical issues to keep the show going and help communicating the messages of Q-Cinema. |
Denise Bennett
Denise is an educator of science and has been in the field for more than 20 years. She has been selected by her students and peers several times to be honored in the Who's Who of Educators in both Kansas and Texas. An opportunity in 2003 with QCinema's need for volunteers helped her to get more involved in serving the lesbian and gay community. Since 2005 she has served QCinema as a board member in different positions such as Membership Director and Fund-raising Director. Volunteering also opened the door for Denise to be featured in a documentary Truths & Transformations which premiered during the 2007 film festival. Denise has enjoyed the many opportunities to discuss educational issues with producers and filmmakers worldwide provided by her involvement with QCinema. Since 2013, she has served as treasurer for Fairness Fort Worth. |
Monroe Howard
Monroe has been a life long resident of Fort Worth, Texas. After finishing school he began a career in Human Resources for 13 years and eventually that led to his current career as an Environmental, Health and Safety Coordinator of more than 12 years. He was introduced to the Arts community of Fort Worth when he began singing as a chorus member with the Fort Worth Men’s Chorus. He is now on the Board of Jubilee Theatre as Vice President where he has served for the past 5 years. His relationship with QCinema began with attending film festivals and progressed to sponsoring several films over the years. |
Antonio Mercado
Tony has had the pleasure of growing up here in Fort Worth & strives to make his community inclusive to all. While attending Tarrant County College he found his tribe in the college’s gay straight alliance T.R.E.E., where he also found his voice advocating for LGBTQIA rights. Seeking his B.A. in Advertising at the University of North Texas, Tony saw his passion for art & advocacy could be one. Tony works as an Outreach Specialist for Health Education learning Project an LGBT health Clinic here in Fort Worth. As a long time movie goer/critic/film school drop out he found the the art form of film to be the most highly effective in relaying a message to the masses, & is the reason he fell in love with movies. In 2017 Tony got involved with Qcinema making mock trailers & advertisements for the organization. He has volunteered every year since & will forever be an audience member to any queer with a camera. |
Francisco Ramirez
Howdy Amigos-My name is Francisco Ramirez and I love Fort Worth! I recently retired from the City of Fort Worth, Transportation & Public Works Department. I am a native of Fort Worth and have not only enjoyed my career here, but also attended Fort Worth public schools, college and continue to live in this great city. My background is in civil engineering, drafting and landscape management. I enjoy spending time with family, friends, my dog Vasco and watching independent films! I have been a patron and fan of the arts and QCinema in particular for many years. I am happy to be serving the community once again as a member of this board. Dia Jones
Dia Jones, originally from East Jordan, Michigan, is a long-time Fort Worth resident currently employed by Bass Hall and Lone Star Mustangs (Women's Professional Full-Contact Football) and previously played for them. She has been a faithful volunteer with QCinema since 2010 and been progressively more involved since that time. Jones enjoys giving back to the LGBTQ community via her volunteer work. Glenda Hartsell-Shelton Managing Director
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Honorary Member
Todd Camp Non-Executive Chairman
Todd used his journalism degree from Texas Christian University to begin a newspaper career that spanned more than two decades, beginning with two years at the Denton Record-Chronicle as a graphic designer, film critic and editorial cartoonist . He then spent 18 years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram where he helped define the paper’s ground-breaking section for young people, Class Acts, and served in multiple roles over the years as a critic, reporter, section editor, copy editor, humorist, vocal performer and punching bag. Outside of his journalistic endeavors, Camp has written, directed and starred in three features; reviewed film for KXAS/Channel 5; written and illustrated three graphic novels; written and illustrated seven long-running comic strips; and was a prolific stage performer in various Metroplex community theaters. In 1998, he co-founded QCinema, the Fort Worth Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, for which he served as Artistic Director until 2012. He is currently the marketing communications analyst for American Airlines Federal Credit Union and as the Executive Director of QLive! Camp was recently named the Community Advocate of the Year by the Tarrant County Stonewall Democrats and the first LGBT Person of the Year by the Dallas Voice. |