The New Who’s Who of Philly’s Gay Community

Sims started his advocacy by helping elect Judge Dan Anders to the Court of Common Pleas. “Dan was trying to join Ann Butchart on the bench, and it was really important to me that he was running as a member of the LGBT community,” says Sims, an attorney who’s now running for the State House in the Democratic primary against Babette Josephs who’s held the seat for almost three decades. The ex-football star—a Division II champ—is a former Army brat who lives in the Gayborhood with his 170-pound Newfoundland. He credits his dad with teaching him to be a leader. “He’s shown me my entire life that a strong, intelligent, capable man can also be compassionate and empathetic,” says Sims. “He was a career Army officer who has a doctoral degree, has traveled the world, has been married to the same woman his entire life, and is loved by all of his children. There’s a lot to look up to there.”

Gambone admits, “I wasn’t one of those people who always knew that I wanted to be a lawyer.” She wanted to go to film school until something just clicked. “My focus is on nontraditional family law and family law aimed at the LGBT community,” she says, in Collingswood, N.J. “My intentions are to help LGBT folks navigate this confusing landscape so that they and their families are protected as best as possible. In this field, awareness can be key, so I take great personal pride in helping to shed light on those issues that are important to our community.”