Shay Ellis (they/them)
President/Creative Director
Born and raised in Central PA, Shay resides in York County with their wife and two children. A fierce advocate for marginalized communities, in 2016 they attended a program for minorities at Temple University and received their certification in community health work. Since then, Shay has been organizing protests for important points like reproductive justice, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQIAP+ rights. They have volunteered at the LGBT Center in Harrisburg and they are a patient story teller for Planned Parenthood Keystone. In addition to being the President and Creative Director for CPDAV, they perform as drag monarch Shay D Gender.
Mary Kraynak (she/her)
VP/Treasurer/Finance Director
A lifelong resident of Central PA, Mary resides in Cumberland County with her partner and child. A creative by nature, Mary has indulged in art of various forms her entire life. Mary attended Millersville University and The Art Institute of Pittsburgh where she studied fine arts and has marched with multiple east coast color guards since adolescence. She has spent the last decade self employed and brings her knowledge of business and finance to the table as CPDAV’s treasurer and finance director. With several years of recovery from alcoholism under her belt, Mary is incredibly passionate about harm reduction and recovery as well as how that correlates to the LGBTQIAP+ community and our spaces.
Maddy Brown (she/her)
Secretary/Social Media Director
Maddy is born and raised in Cumberland County and resides there now with her husband and two children. She has always had a strong sense of justice so combined with wanting to ensure she is raising empathetic yet STRONG children, she had made sure to set an example and use her voice for change. She began organizing protests to support Black Lives Matter in Carlisle during the beginning of the pandemic and dove back into organizing and attending protests when Roe v Wade was overturned. Maddy is a huge supporter of small, local, queer, BIPOC, and woman owned businesses as well which makes her perfect for the role of Social Media Director and community outreach. At CPDAV’s January 20th 2024 Drag Me to the 90s Trivia and Drag event, she managed to single handedly collect $1300 worth of prizes for attendees from local Carlisle businesses!
