Their streets to success.

GAY CORPORATE LEADERS

From coming out to frisky clients, to attracting gay consumers, to selling CEOs on diversity, these white-collar out professionals have seen it all in corporate America--and thrived

PAUL FRENE

OCCUPATION: Financial services representative

COMPANY: MetLife Inc.

AGE: 42

RESIDENCE: Nutley, N.J.

HOMETOWN: Washington, D.C.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Partner of 14 years, Gene Cavazos

Paul Frene spent nine years closeted at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As he gained more responsibility, he found it tougher to hide his sexual orientation from his staff and his secretary, who took messages from a frequent male caller--his partner. "I can see now how being closeted does have an impact on your life and the Rile that you devote to covering it up," says Frene.

When he interviewed for a job in 1999 at MetLife, he came out. Asked what market he would serve, Frene said he planned to offer retirement and estate planning to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clients. "I'm the gay poster child of MetLife because of my market, and it's a lot better environment to work in," says Frene, who works in MetLife's Baypark Financial Group in Roseland, N.J.

Well-meaning straight peers cautioned him about limiting himself to gay and lesbian clients. "The guidance was, 'Don't focus too much on the gay and lesbian market,'" Frene says. "The idea was that heterosexual couples are going to be more likely to plan together. It turned out that the reverse is true. Same-sex partners need to have a lot of extra stuff--wills, trusts, health care proxies, powers of attorney--because the law doesn't take care of it."

He became a specialist with MetLife's division of estate planning for special-needs children after noticing that his gay clients seemed more likely than straight clients to be caring for someone with Down syndrome or other disabilities.

"When our parents go, we're a little less likely to have children, so we're a little more likely to be the ones to take care of our special-needs siblings," Frene says. "And because it's a little harder for us to adopt, we're a little more likely to adopt special-needs children."

Frene also spearheaded efforts to form a GLBT employee resource group, a 300-member nationwide network he chairs. And he successfully pushed MetLife to offer domestic-partner benefits and serves on the GLBT marketing advisory council.

His partner, Gene Cavazos, works for an advertising company that helps pharmaceutical companies launch new medicines. The couple spends most weekends at their second home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., the seaside town where they met 14 years ago.

Though happier to be out at work, Frene honed a valuable skill when closeted at the Federal Reserve Bank.

"I became such a good listener," he says. "When you're closeted and the question comes up about the weekend, you want to avoid answering specifics about yours. So you're really good at getting the other person to talk. When I sit down and talk with people about finances, it helps that I've developed really good listening skills from being closeted over the years."--Todd Henneman

KEITH POWELL 

OCCUPATION: Assistant to the chairman and president

COMPANY: Eastman Kodak Co.

AGE: 35

RESIDENCE: Rochester, N.Y.

HOMETOWN: Virginia Beach, Va.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

Keith Powell recently became one of the highest-profile openly gay executives at Eastman Kodak Co. Daniel Carp, chief executive officer of Kodak, chose Powell for a job that's comparable to serving as the CEO's chief of staff. The company uses the post to groom executives like Powell for its senior ranks. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says Powell, who had been a finance director. "To be able, on a daily basis, to be with the top two people [in the company], you can't beat that experience."

Powell began the job confidently, not intimidated. That's characteristic for a man who believes in taking risks professionally. Early in his career, Powell and a coworker felt like the manufacturing plant where they worked needed a dramatic overhaul. So they researched best-in-class companies, compared their operations to those, and took their results to the plant manager, realizing that he could have been so angered that he would fire them. Instead, the manager asked them to lead the improvement efforts. The experience helped Powell advance his career.

"I think a lot of people are afraid to take some risks, but it certainly has helped me," Powell says. "I also have been flexible in terms of the assignments I get and where I live. I have lived all over the country. Don't look for titles, or money, or those things as much as for getting experience. Eventually they'll all accumulate to a point where you get what you really want."

Powell graduated from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and then earned an MBA from Indiana University.

He joined Kodak more than four years ago. "The environment at Kodak allows you to be who you are," he says. "It's kind of like walking into your mother's house. You get that instant comfort thing."

The son of an educator, Powell says his family believed in education as the key to getting ahead as African-Americans. His family also emphasized the responsibility to educate others. He upholds those values by volunteering with groups such as Junior Achievement and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. He also is active with the 100-member Lambda Network, the company's GLBT employee group. He cochaired Lambda's 10th Anniversary Education Event last year, where Elizabeth Birch, former executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, spoke to more than 400 Kodak employees and their guests.

Powell enjoys traveling, gourmet cooking, and watching football and college basketball. Education, though, remains one of his biggest passions. Powell says, "I feel there's always an opportunity to educate yourself as well as educate the general public on GLBT issues."--T.H.

LOUISE YOUNG

OCCUPATION: Senior software engineer

COMPANY: Raytheon Co.

AGE: 57

RESIDENCE: Dallas

HOMETOWN: Ada, Okla.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Partner of 34 years, Vivienne Armstrong

When she was growing up in southeastern Oklahoma, Louise Young often heard her parents say, "Most of all, make a difference in the world." Their words stuck. As early as 1971, while a graduate student involved with the University of Colorado at Boulder's Gay Liberation Front, Young spoke to business groups about being a lesbian. That's also when she met her partner, Vivienne Armstrong, now a home health care nurse. The couple returned to Oklahoma, where Young taught a college course on homosexuality. Her contract was not renewed, she later learned, because of her sexual orientation. "I have no regrets about what I did," she says.

In 1976, Texas Instruments hired her. She also became a leader of the Dallas Gay Political Caucus and active in the Democratic Party, eventually riding in President Clinton's 1993 inaugural parade with her partner. She applied the lessons that she had learned from political activism to workplace activism.

"It taught me the value of diverse thinking," Young says. "Most of all, my 20 years in politics and the gains that I could see looking back taught me that patience is everything and also that working within the system is going to pay off in the long ran. I know there are a lot of different approaches our movement has taken to affect change. And I think that a lot of different approaches are good. What I've found most comfortable for me is working within the system. I like to see all the different sides feel like they are coming out ahead."

At Texas Instruments, Young formed the Lesbian and Gay Employee Network and worked to have sexual orientation added to the company's nondiscrimination policy. When her business unit was sold to Raytheon Co., an aerospace and defense contractor, Young began again, persuading Raytheon to update its nondiscrimination policy.

But a defining moment came in 2001 when she was given three minutes to speak at Raytheon's first diversity forum. Young used the time to talk about life for GLBT employees and the need for domestic-partner benefits. It worked: In 2002, Raytheon, one of the country's largest defense contractors, added them. "It was said that the only noise in the room was the sound of barriers and stereotypes crashing to the floor," says Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson, who hosted the event.

Young, who calls Swanson her hero, credits Raytheon's management for its commitment to diversity and heeding her call for action. "I really feel that the joy of that moment of sitting up there on the stage and watching their faces change was worth all of the years that I had worked," Young says of the 2001 forum. "The joy of that moment was worth working a lifetime."--T.H.

DEAN ALTVATER

OCCUPATION: Director of GLBT national sales and strategic partnerships

COMPANY: Wyndham International

AGE: 39

RESIDENCE: New York City 

HOMETOWN: Union Bridge, Md.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Dating

Dean Altvater remembers how awkward he felt when a flirting female client--oblivious to his sexual orientation--caressed his leg during a dinner meeting. "I had to delicately negotiate out of that situation and get her back to her hotel without having to escort her to her room," he recalls, laughing. "It was like, 'Lady, don't you have a clue?'"

More than 15 years later, Altvater's current job includes ensuring that no gay guests face any awkwardness when staying at the upscale hotels operated by Wyndham International.

As the Dallas-based company's first marketer devoted to the GLBT community, Altvater has added sensitivity training so employees don't assume that two men traveling together want two double beds, for example, instead of one king in their room. He oversees Wyndham's sponsorship of nonprofit organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, alliances with community groups, and outreach to leisure travelers. A colleague in a similar-job focuses on marketing to African-Americans and Latinos.

Altvater and his clients often sense a certain understanding or an "unspoken familiarity" because they're both gay, but he maintains the same professional conduct he always uses. "You can't assume that you can go walking into the office and say, 'Girlfriend!'" Altvater says. "GLBT clients are professionals, just like everybody else. It's still business."

Altvater graduated from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., in 1987 and moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a meeting planner. In 1990 he left Washington for New York and came out at work. Six years later he joined Wyndham.

He says he follows a principle suggested by a former boss: "When dealing with clients, always be genuinely you. If someone does not want to work with you for any reason--whether it be your race, religion, or sexual orientation--just move on. There are plenty of other clients out there, and truthfully, you probably did not want to work with that person either. Never compromise on this principle."

When not working, Altvater enjoys traveling and collecting antiques. But he has spent much of his free time during the last 14 years volunteering with the Children's Hope Foundation, which helps children with HIV and AIDS. The nonprofit organization provides everything from strollers for doctor's appointments to seasonal parties that entertain the kids while giving their parents a break.

"A lot of the children don't even know they're infected," says Altvater, who serves on the board of directors. "It's hard when you know their life expectancy isn't as long. That being said, the children are living longer, which is heartening."--T.H.

JONI ELDER

OCCUPATION: Business risk manager for HR outsourcing

COMPANY: Hewitt Associates

AGE: 40

RESIDENCE: Long Grove, III.

HOMETOWN: Tell City, Ind.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Partner of II years, Leigh Ann

Joni Elder never envisioned herself as a GLBT pioneer in the corporate world, but examining her 19 years at Hewitt Associates--a global human resources firm--shows that she has taken on that role.

Elder helped the company adopt domestic-partner benefits, helped establish a GLBT associate network group, was a member of the company's original diversity council, and was a contributing member of "The Affirmations Exhibit" campaign that was shown at the Out and Equal Workplace Summit in Tempe, Ariz., in September.

"Come to think of it, most of the roles I have taken and loved have not existed before," she says. "I was able to create them from scratch."

Elder adds: "I'm really not a mover and shaker or activist in this part of my life. The Hewitt mission statement is 'Making the world a better place to work.' I believe that my part has been best shown by living my life openly and helping to create equal benefits for everyone along the way."

She shares her life with her partner of II years, Leigh Ann. The couple just bought a 55-year-old house in suburban Chicago and renovated most of the structure.

"In many ways we have a very traditional relationship. We leverage each other's strengths," Elder says. The pair held a commitment ceremony in 1995. "Leigh Ann envisions the yard finished and shows me where to make the holes for the trees. We would get married if it were legal in Illinois--in fact, we would be one of the first couples in line."

Elder, who also shares her house with an assortment of pets, begins her day at 4:15 A.M. with exercise. "This is more crucial, now more than ever, since Leigh Ann has discovered how to make creme brulee," she says with a laugh.

--Alexsys Coleman

MARK J. RHOADES

OCCUPATION: Mortgage account executive

COMPANY: Bank of America 

AGE: 37

RESIDENCE: San Francisco

HOMETOWN: Tracy, Calif.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

The front of Mark Rhoades's business card bears the company logo, his title, and contact information. But the back is anything but standard. "I am a proud member of the following organizations that have so significantly contributed to the quality of life in San Francisco," it reads, listing the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation; the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Democratic Club; and the Golden Gate Business Association, the nation's first business group formed by gay and lesbian entrepreneurs.

Rhoades added the affiliations when he left JPMorgan Chase and Co. a year ago to join Bank of America. When he moved from JPMorgan Chase's skyscraper for the Bank of America branch in the heart of the Castro, he envisioned people stopping by his desk to ask questions. "I got the idea that really, as a business person, what you're promoting is your reputation," he says. "The whole thing is to establish your character, which is the most important thing to me."

Banking wasn't always the obvious career path for Rhoades, who was an art major at the University of San Francisco. To help pay for college he worked part time for a mortgage and loan company and discovered that it fit him. "It turns out that I have a good business head," says Rhoades, who provides mortgage consulting services.

He remains an art lover and invites Bay Area artists to hang their work on the bank's walls so they gain more exposure. The most recent display features photographs from the GLBT Historical Society. He also cohosted the Castro branch's annual holiday party, where Bank of America presented donations to San Francisco's LGBT Community Center and to Project Open Hand, which provides groceries and meals for people with HIV or AIDS.

His community involvement reflects his upbringing in California's Central Valley, he says. "My family raised me the same way the Kennedys were raised," Rhoades says. "It doesn't matter how successful you are, how much money you have, or what your job title is. You always have to give back--period-to your community. And you give back with time."

Rhoades's community outreach does come with a few perks. For example, he recently presented a proclamation on behalf of San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to Sandra Bernhard declaring December 31 to be the Sandra Bernhard Breast Cancer Emergency Fund Day.--T.H.