Brent Pelton

Owner of American Beech Hotel

Brent is honored to have been invited to serve as a co-Grand Marshal of the 2024 North Fork Pride Parade. As an attorney and entrepreneur, Brent founded Pelton Graham LLC, a law firm representing workers in unpaid wage, prevailing wage, discrimination and whistleblower matters.  Brent began visiting the North Fork in 2010 and fell in love with the areas waterways, wineries, farms and restaurants.  He purchased Stirling Square in Greenport in 2014, and opened American Beech Restaurant & Hotel in 2015.  He has subsequently opened Aqua Beach Hotel in Aquebogue, NY and The Pink Palm Hotel in St Thomas, USVI.  Brent has been active in North Fork voter registration efforts, politics and civic organizations.  Brent enjoys boating, cooking, snowboarding and entertaining. He resides with his partner and their Bassett Hound, Diego, in Southold and Manhattan.

Colleen Stellato

North Fork Resident

Colleen is a resident of the North Fork and a proud ally. She works as the Head of Partnerships for furniture.com in NYC and has turned her sales and event planning skills toward organizing fundraisers and obtaining sponsorships for NoFo pride since its inception in 2023. She lives in Southold with her husband Nick, son Marco and black pug, Enzo.

Sandra Benedetto

LGBTQ+ Activist & Advocate

Sandra Benedetto is a proud lesbian feminist who is an activist and advocate for equity and opportunity for LGBTQ+ people, Women and People of Color. She is the daughter of a white Italian father from Brooklyn and a brown Latina mother from Puerto Rico, who were both involved in the Civil Rights and Peace Movements and who taught her and her sisters to fight against injustice and bigotry and to strive to find common ground to make a positive difference. Sandra is presently a member of the Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force and the chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee. She is a member of the North Fork Women for Women Fund, where she served for 3 years as president and 3 years on the board from 2005 to 2011. Sandra is honored to be a Grand Marshal in the 2nd Annual North Fork Pride Parade and Festival. She wishes everyone pride and courage today and always.

Sarah McNaughton Hoffman

Cultural Communications Specialist

Sarah is a cultural communications specialist and Director at strategic consulting firm Resnicow + Associates, working with mission-driven institutions and non-profit organizations across the visual arts. She brings her experience in audience engagement and relationship building to her fundraising, community outreach, and media relations efforts for North Fork Pride, for which she has been an organizing volunteer since its launch in 2023. A full-time Southold resident, Sarah is joined by her husband, Chris, and Airedale terrier, Chip, who are marching in the inaugural North Fork Pride pet parade.