Board of Directors
Ronnie Larsen - Founder and Artistic Director
Dennis Manning - Board President
Managing Director - Jeff Walters
Chris Caputo - Board Member and Secretary
Caryn Horwitz - Board Member and Treasurer
Terry Dyer - Board Member
Tim Hart - Board Member
Founder - Ronnie Larsen
Ronnie is an actor-director-playwright-producer whose work has been seen in most major cities in America. He wrote his first play in 1994 and his first musical in 2018. Twenty-four of his shows have been produced, five Off-Broadway in New York City. His plays have been seen in Canada, Australia, Italy and he's had five different productions in London. He has also made a documentary that had theatrical runs at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, Cinema Village in New York City and the Laemmle 5 in Los Angeles as well as showings at numerous film festivals in America, England and the Berlin Film Festival. He currently divides his time between Florida, Los Angeles, New York and Mexico. He is always in search of new and interesting adventures and opportunities. He and his husband, Melqui, have been married for ten years and have a dog named Benakee.
President - Dennis Manning
Dennis is an active songwriter, script writer, producer and performing arts activist. With more than 150 songs written and an international musical with his co-collaborator Ronnie Larsen, Dennis is creating art at a rapid pace. Dennis has a master’s degree in Training, and undergraduate degrees in Marketing and English. He plays acoustic guitar. He is the Director of the Customer Experience for GhostBed.com. Originally from Central Pennsylvania, Dennis resides and works in Wilton Manors, FL. Dennis and his partner have been together for 30-years. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them.
Secretary/Treasurer - Caryn Horwitz
Caryn is a criminologist who got conned away from her first career, and became Ronnie Larsen’s producer for over 15 years. Together their productions ran the gamut from children’s plays to Shakespeare. Ronnie discovered his playwriting voice during this time, and Caryn was the original producer of Ronnie’s various plays across the country including his first four Off-Broadway premieres. Caryn finally went back to her first love of crime and justice and luckily landed in Florida with a tenured track position, and is now a Full Professor at Miami Dade College. Yet, her love of Ronnie’s creativity never waned, and when she had the opportunity to help him where she could do best, she happily jumped back into the theatre waters. Caryn has a B.A. in History from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.Phil. in Criminology from the University of Cambridge (England), and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Delaware. She is a proud Jersey girl who has lived in Wilton Manors for the past 10 years with her rude beast, Billy.
Board Member - Chris Caputo
Chris was born in Buffalo, NY and raised in Fort Myers, FL. He relocated to the Fort Lauderdale area when he acquired his first business, a tanning salon, back in 2001. Chris has a Masters in Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University. Chris has been highly involved with the business community in our area for over a decade now. He was a board member of Wilton Manors Rainbow Business Coalition and today is an active member of WMBA. His involvement with the Chamber’s GLBX council has been extensive, from chairing the GLBX Leads Group to serving on the GLBX board. Chris is also a proud leadership Fort Lauderdale graduate. Chris has also been very connected to our non-profit community. He has been heavily involved with the SMART ride for over a decade, as well as helping to raise funds for organizations like Poverello, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and more. Chris just completed an 8 year run as the Pride Center Board Chair, where he oversaw the development of the Residences at Equality Park, Wilton Manors only affordable housing community and a model for other LGBTQ centers to follow nationwide.
Board Member - Terry Dyer
Terry has helped organizations reach maximum potential and growth in both for profit and nonprofit environments. His background consists of Talent Acquisition Management, Recruitment, Client Services, and Program Management with Fortune 100 and 500 companies. In 2010 while working with STOP AIDS Project, POZ Health Magazine named him “African-American Person of the Month”. Additionally, Terry has volunteered his time to various organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, and South Florida communities. Since 2007, he has served as a member of the San Francisco LGBTQ Speakers Bureau. He and the organization aim to dispel homophobic and transphobic violence by educating people about the everyday lives of those in the community. He is a former All-American Collegiate Volleyball Player, a high school All-American track & field athlete, a competitive tennis player, and a former contestant on the acclaimed TV Show, Star Search. Terry received his degree in Vocal Performance from Chico State University, and a second degree in Communications with an Emphasis in Public Relations from Sacramento State University. In July 2020, Terry became the bestselling author of Letters to a GAY BLACK BOY, a memoir sparking conversations around racism, inequality, homophobia, and more. As of December 2020, he is the new Director of Development with a community service-based organization called SunServe. He is also the recent recipient of the Kujichagulia Award for self-determination, presented at the Black Brothers Esteem (San Francisco AIDS Foundation) annual Kwanzaa event.
Board Member - Timothy S. Hart
Mr. Hart has over 40 years of accounting and finance experience.. Mr. Hart has been providing accounting and consulting services through R3 Accounting LLC, a private accounting firm he formed in 2008. He consulted extensively with RailAmerica, Inc., a NYSE-listed holding company for short line and regional railroads in the U.S. which was acquired by Fortress Investment Group in 2007, during its initial public offering, and assisted the company with governmental compliance. Mr. Hart’s firm also provided consulting, strategic tax planning and compliance, and acquisition audits for Patriot Rail Corp., a Boca Raton, Florida based company which is an operator of short line and regional railroads in the U.S. Mr. Hart holds a B.A. in Accountancy, Economics and Business Administration from Thomas More University, and has been a certified public accountant since 1984.
Managing Director - Jeff Walters
Jeff received a Bachelor's degree in film production from Columbia College in Hollywood, CA. He has worked as Director of Photography for several music videos and short films. While studying he appeared as a background performer on Seinfeld, Growing Pains, The Body Guard, and most recently in Steamworks at the Foundry theater. He makes Ft Lauderdale home, and has an identical twin brother.