Honoring Chester Day, Stephen Chien, and Aaron Tidman

Chester Day
Associate General Counsel at OpenAI

Stephen Chien
Vice President, Global Compliance Operations at Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Aaron Tidman
Director & Assistant General Counsel, Compliance at Pinterest

Tuesday, March 3, 2026
5 pm to 7 pm Pacific

Address provided only to registrants
San Francisco

Online registration is here. Please email Nicole Fox and Paul Thaler at developmentstaff@lgbtqbar.org if there are any questions.

ABOUT 

Chester Day (he/him) is currently an Associate General Counsel on the litigation and regulatory team at OpenAI.  Chester previously spent 16 years at Google, first managing worldwide patent litigation for Android, Chrome and Apps products, and then running the Litigation Advance team that oversees a portfolio of proactive litigation and amicus strategy.  He also worked on the steering committee for Google’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group between 2016 and 2020.  Prior to joining Google, Mr. Day was an IP litigation associate at Orrick’s Silicon Valley office, and a 2L summer law clerk at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.  Chester received his law degree from Harvard Law School, and his B.S. (CS) and B.A. (AAS) from Stanford University.  While he grew up in Florida, he has also lived in Taiwan, France, Australia, and Japan before settling down in San Francisco.

Stephen Chien (he/him) is Vice President of Global Compliance Operations at Gilead Sciences, Inc.  At Gilead, Stephen has held a variety of roles within Legal and Compliance, including leading the company’s Asia Legal and Compliance teams, establishing its Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption function, and serving as interim Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. He has also contributed to industry-wide efforts to strengthen ethical standards through involvement in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Ethics Initiative, the IFPMA Ethics and Business Integrity Committee, and a PhRMA steering committee supporting the launch of the U.S. Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaboration.

Stephen has maintained a long-standing commitment to pro bono and volunteer service. He has worked on pro bono matters with the ACLU, MALDEF, the Asian Law Caucus, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, among others, on matters involving civil rights, racial and LGBTQ discrimination, and access to legal representation. His work includes successful challenges to racial profiling in Maricopa County, Arizona, prisoner access to courts, as well as access to improve access to counsel in the State of Montana.

Stephen received his Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, with a minor in Computer Science, from Stanford University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.  He began his career as a federal law clerk for the Hon. Vaughn R. Walker, Chief Judge of the Northern District of California in San Francisco, and later practiced law at Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP in New York and Covington & Burling LLP in San Francisco.  Stephen is admitted to practice in California and New York.

Aaron Tidman (he/him) is Assistant General Counsel and Director at Pinterest, where he leads the Regulatory Compliance team and previously served as Interim Chief Compliance Officer. Before Pinterest, Aaron was Senior Counsel at Gilead Sciences, advising on legal and compliance matters for the company’s anti-bribery and sanctions programs. He began his career in Washington, DC, as a white-collar defense and litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Mintz Levin.

Aaron has been proudly out in the workplace since his first legal role during his 1L summer at the New York Attorney General’s Office—at a time when doing so carried far greater professional risk. Throughout his career, Aaron has paired high-impact legal work with sustained LGBTQ+ advocacy. He devoted hundreds of pro bono hours at Debevoise, including work with Lambda Legal advocating for stronger federal protections for LGBTQ+ children in foster care. He later helped bring Lambda Legal to Mintz, co-authoring an amicus brief in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Previously recognized as one of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s “40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40,” Aaron has also led LGBTQ+ employee communities in-house: at Gilead, he helped grow the LGBTQ+ ERG to more than 800 employees globally, even driving the truck pulling Gilead’s float in the San Francisco Pride Parade. At Pinterest, Aaron led the global LGBTQ+ Community Group through the isolation of COVID by creating connection through virtual concerts, cooking demonstrations, and family-focused programming for LGBTQ+ parents.

 

Please join us in honoring the National LGBTQ+ Bar’s leadership, our committed legal professionals, and the Bar’s ongoing work. Our mission to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion is only possible because of our volunteer leaders and dedicated members, and we hope you will join us as we celebrate our community.

Honoring Frederick Sultan and Rachel Goldberg

Frederick Sultan
President of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association

Rachel Goldberg
President of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Foundation

 

Monday, March 30, 2026
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm Central

Address provided only to registrants
Austin

Online registration is here. Please email Nicole Fox and Paul Thaler at developmentstaff@lgbtqbar.org if there are any questions.

ABOUT 

Frederick Sultan (he/him) has practiced commercial litigation in Austin, Texas for over 25 years. He has previously served as litigation counsel to the Lower Colorado River Authority, and has represented a wide range of businesses and individuals in private practice at Foley & Lardner LLP, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, and Clark, Thomas & Winters PC. He has served as briefing attorney to Justice Mack Kidd on the Third Court of Appeals of Texas sitting in Austin.

Fred is passionate about his community and serves organizations on the local, state, and national level. He serves on the Austin Advisory Counsel for Vivent Health, is former chair of the Board of Directors of AIDS Services of Austin, is former chair of the LGBT Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, and is a co-founder of the Austin Bar Association’s LGBT Law Section. He has been awarded the Austin Bar Foundation’s David H. Walter Community Excellence Award (2019), the State Bar of Texas LGBT Law Section’s Judge Norman W. Black Award (2018), and the Austin LGBT Bar Association’s Award of Excellence (2017). In 2013, he was named as the Outstanding Director by the Austin Bar Association.

He received a Bachelor of Arts from Rice University, a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law, with honors, and was admitted practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008.

Rachel Goldberg (she/her) maintains a private law practice that is focused on real estate development. She is a James W. Cooper Life Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation and served on the Connecticut Law Tribune’s Editorial Board from 2013 through 2019. Attorney Goldberg worked to secure passage of “An Act Concerning Discrimination” (PA 11-55) which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression; “An Act Concerning Birth Certificate Amendments” (PA 15-132) which modernized Connecticut’s standard for allowing transgender and intersex people to correct the gender designation on their birth certificates and other state laws, regulations and procedures to protect the rights of Transpeople in Connecticut. Rachel Goldberg has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University and a Juris Doctorate from Quinnipiac University School of Law.

 

Honoring Roxanne Almaraz and Clay Allen

Roxanne Almaraz
Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Arnold Ventures

Clay Allen
General Counsel at Houston Rockets

 

Tuesday, March 31, 2026
4 pm to 6 pm Central

Address provided only to registrants
Houston

Online registration is here. Please email Nicole Fox and Paul Thaler at developmentstaff@lgbtqbar.org if there are any questions.

ABOUT 

Roxanne Almaraz (she/her) serves as Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Arnold Ventures, a multi-billion-dollar enterprise focused on advancing evidence-based policy solutions through philanthropic, advocative, and other means.

Roxanne holds degrees in corporate communication (B.S.) and journalism (B.J.) from the University of Texas at Austin, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. While at Stanford, Roxanne served as a Senior Editor of the Stanford Law & Policy Review and as a member of the University Judicial Panel.

Roxanne began her legal career as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Barbara M. G. Lynn, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas. Thereafter, Roxanne transitioned to BigLaw in Houston, ultimately paving a path for herself as a leading energy M&A lawyer to both strategic and financial investors. Immediately prior to joining Arnold Ventures, Roxanne was a partner with a global AmLaw 25 firm, where she represented clients engaging in complex M&A, joint ventures, and other business transactions.

In her current role, Roxanne bears ultimate responsibility for her organization’s Legal, Grants, Technology Services, Administrative, Operational Planning, and Data Strategy functions. She plays a critical role in the operationalization of strategies designed to further Arnold Ventures’ mission of maximizing opportunity and minimizing injustice for all Americans.

Roxanne has received the professional recognition of Texas Monthly, Texas Lawbook, The Legal 500 United States, Texas Lawyer, and the Houston Business Journal, among others.

Roxanne believes in the importance of helping others and giving back to her community. She is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, has served on the boards of directors of the Discovery Green Conservancy, Houston Zoo and Houston Parks Board, and takes pride in mentoring individuals in Houston and beyond as they seek to navigate with confidence their own professional paths.

Clay Allen (he/him) is General Counsel for the two-time NBA Champion Houston Rockets. A native Houstonian and lifelong Rockets fan, Clay began his career with the organization nearly 25 years ago as a part-time Marketing Associate, working his way up within the organization before leaving to attend law school in 2007. Following graduation, Clay practiced at Locke Lord in Houston (now Troutman Pepper Locke) before returning to the Rockets as Associate General Counsel in 2013. He was promoted to General Counsel in 2021, becoming one of the few LGBTQ+ executives in professional sports.

As General Counsel, Clay oversees a broad range of legal and policy matters for the Houston Rockets, Toyota Center, and Space City Home Network. He is also a member of the team’s Senior Management Committee and has served as the senior leader on its Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Clay is a leading voice on LGBTQ+ issues in sports and has played a key role in advancing visibility and inclusion within the Rockets organization, including through the development of the team’s annual Pride Night. He has also served as a Board Advisor for HomeField Alliance, the first nationwide affinity group for LGBTQ+ professionals in sports, and regularly speaks on leadership, workplace inclusion, and the business of sports.

Clay has been recognized nationally for his work, including features in OutSmart Magazine, the Houston Chronicle, and the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law. He has received the National Diversity Council’s “Top 50 General Counsel” award, was named a finalist for the Texas Minority Counsel Program’s Corporate Counsel of the Year Award, and has been selected to the Outsports Power 100 list as one of the most influential LGBTQ people in sports for three consecutive years.

Clay received his B.A., cum laude, from Trinity University and his J.D., cum laude, from Baylor Law School, where he served as Technical Editor for the Baylor Law Review.