Board of Advisors

Behind the Curtains

Margie Adam

Spiritual Support &

Music Advisor

Margie Adam, pianist, singer-songwriter and activist, has been a beacon of the Women’s Music movement, network and industry since her first performance in 1973 at Kate Millet’s Women’s Music Festival at Sacramento State University.

In creative partnerships with Boo Price, Donna Korones and Kerry Lobel, Margie co-produced nine recordings on Pleiades Records from 1976-2008.  Her songs have been recorded by Dusty Springfield, Peter, Paul & Mary, Meg Christian, Cris Williamson, Holly Near and George Lam. Her song, “We Shall Go Forth!” is included in the Women’s Political History Division of the Smithsonian Institution.

Phyllis and Del became mentors and friends to Margie early on, as she witnessed them move in and out of mainstream political environments, effortlessly translating radical feminist ideas into engaging activism. “I wanted to be like them!”  Margie interviews Phyllis on NPR’s StoryCorp, here.

Amy Harrison

Filmmaking Advisor

Amy Harrison is a San Francisco based filmmaker of scripted and unscripted films who is passionate about socially relevant storytelling that feature strong female protagonists and underrepresented communities.

Her work has screened at venues such as New York’s Film Forum, LA Film Festival, London’s BBC Short Film Festival, Slamdance, NY’s Museum of Modern Art, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and more. Her documentary Guerrillas In Our Midst, about the art activists the Guerrilla Girls and their critique of bias against women and artists of color in the blue chip art world, has screened at hundreds of festivals, colleges, and museums world wide, and is distributed by Women Make Movies. She co-produced the feature A Girl Like Grace and directed the short narrative Miss Finknagle Succumbs to Chaos, which won the audience award at Berkeley’s Playground festival. She directed the short Tormenta with the American Conservatory Theater (ACT). She produced work for Comedy Central, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the PBS series In the Life, MTV, and more.

In addition Amy is a committed educator and mentor, and is currently a faculty member in the Media Studies program at Foothill College in Los Altos, California where she is committed to equity and access. She’s also passionate about online learning, with a practice in, and curiosity for, digital, distance, and other innovative learning strategies.

Amy was one of the founders of Women in Film Bay Area. Though she did not have the opportunity to know Phyllis and Del, she has a deep connection to The Lyon-Martin Clinic.

Kate Kendell

Advisor & Support

Kate was a long-time friend of Phyllis and Del and the former Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. An organization which Phyllis and Del supported for decades.

Phyllis remembered Kate even with advanced Alzheimer’s, when she saw a photo of her she would happily say, “I know her! She’s my friend.” Kate would also regularly show up and give the caregiver on duty a break while she took Phyllis out for a drive on the coast and a meal.

Kate was an integral part of how Phyllis’ care developed and knows the story inside out. She is a great supporter of The Day the Curtains Came Down getting made and also one of the essentials in helping the filmmaker know the “bigger picture.”

Kendra Mon

Advisor & Support

Kendra is Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon’s daughter. She interviewed each of us and truly treated us caregivers like family. She is great emotional and brainstorming support to the filmmaker! She was integral to the system that was developed for Phyllis and has endless optimism, compassion and hope.

Kendra is very active in the peace movement and continues to lobby in Washington D.C. in addition to regular meetings and working with a non profit peace organization. She is a big reason why this documentary is being made. Kendra is not only support, but like Carrie will ensure that everything in the film is accurate and tells the story while simultaneously protecting the immense work her mothers did for the world, along with their reputations.

Carrie Schell

Advisor & Lead Caregiver

Carrie was the very first person brought on to be a companion for Phyllis in February of 2012. Eventually she became the manager of the care system (HUGE job).


Currently Carrie is fueled by a passion for LGBTQ elders, who are traditionally locked out of aging services, and the unique intersectional struggles they face. My work aims to build community where every one can thrive and age as they please, and have the resources to do so. She is dedicated to social justice with extensive management and leadership experience.


Carrie tells some fantastic stories in the film, particularly before other caregivers were brought on the team. She loves Phyllis deeply and is on the team to oversee the content of the film just to make sure that Phyllis’ legacy and herstory is accurately portrayed. Without Carrie, the care given to Phyllis could have gone in a whole different direction and not been the success that it was.

Dawn Valadez

Filmmaking Advisor

Dawn Valadez is a second-generation Xicana, disabled, fiercely independent, queer filmmaker and artist. Along with her Co-Director Rodrigo Reyes their film Untitled Lorena (in production) won the 2024 DocLands Jury Prize for their recorded pitch.

Dawn is the Producer/Co-director of “The Pushouts” (with Katie Galloway, 2018), earning the 2019 Imagen Best Documentary award. Working as a producer/co-producer on films such as “Vivien’s Wild Ride” (Hillgrove, in production),  “All We Carry” (Voge, 2024), “Hummingbirds” (Castaños & Contreras, 2023), and “Manzanar, Diverted” (Kaneko, 2021), she supports filmmakers nationwide. Her work has received support from the Ford Foundation/Just Films, Sundance/SKOLL Stories of Change Fund, Tribeca All Access, Catapult, California Humanities, the Rainin Foundation, and many others. Dawn is the Co-director of the BAVC Media Maker Fellowship and the Director of Youth and Artist Development at BAVC Media.

Dawn is stepping into creative and consulting producing of fiction films including a queer romcom, a campy horror film, and a family road trip adventure.