LOS ANGELES — The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has announced the nominees for its 2025 Board of Directors election.
The announcement follows:
Voting in the Free Speech Coalition’s Board of Directors election is open from December 3 - December 10, 2025.
This year, there are eight Board seats up for election. The candidates for those seats include eight incumbent Board Directors and two member-nominated candidates. Each elected Director will serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2026.
All FSC members in good standing will receive an email with a unique voting link on December 3. It is important that as many members as possible participate. If you don't plan to vote, please click on the voting link in the email and choose "Abstain" to avoid receiving reminders.
Nominee Bios
Cathy Beardsley (Incumbent)
President and CEO, SegPay
FSC Board TreasurerCathy Beardsley is the President and CEO of Segpay, a global leader in digital payment processing.
The company specializes in credit card, PayPal, and alternative payment solutions for e-commerce and subscription-based businesses. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Segpay also maintains offices in the United Kingdom and Ireland to support clients across the EU market.
Cathy founded Segpay in 2005 to provide a secure, reliable payment processing option for high-risk merchants who lacked direct relationships with banks and credit card networks.
A dedicated advocate for merchants’ rights, Cathy serves on the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) Board of Directors. Her work with the FSC allows her to give back to the industry that has supported Segpay for two decades. The organization’s focus on combating banking discrimination and advancing practical age verification legislation continues to play a vital role in ensuring the long-term success of the industry.
Jeffrey Douglas (Incumbent)
Attorney - Los Angeles, CA
FSC Board ChairJeffrey Douglas is a Santa Monica criminal defense lawyer, representing all segments of the adult entertainment industry since 1982.
He is Chairman Emeritus of the First Amendment Lawyers Association, a nationally recognized spokesperson for the adult entertainment industry, as well as author and expert witness. Mr. Douglas appears regularly as a media commentator, and on invitation, has testified before Congress.
He has chaired the FSC Board of Directors since 1995, committed to improving the quality of life for the people of the adult entertainment, products and services commmunity, strengthening the sales environment, and resisting government intrusion. In recent years, he has been part of the team lobbying in Washington D.C. addressing banking discrimination and the exclusion of adult performers from the "no taxes on tips," as well as the team overseeing the litigation efforts against "Adult Verification" laws. "It has been an honor leading the FSC Board for these 30 years. I hope to continue to serve."
David Eliason
Owner of Dick & Jane’s Naughty Spot
David opened Dick & Jane’s Naughty Spot in Sturgis, South Dakota in 2010, adding a second store in Rapid City in 2018. With more than 25 years in adult retail, he has watched the industry change and has worked to keep his stores strong and community-minded.
His commitment to advocacy comes from personal experience. David fought and won several federal lawsuits after local municipalities tried to close his stores. He also focuses on helping his staff build stable and fulfilling careers.
David serves on the board of the Sexual Wellness Professionals Alliance (SWPA), where he works closely with both retailers and manufacturers. This helps him bring a balanced perspective that connects the pleasure products side of the industry with the broader content-creation community. “I would be deeply honored to serve an industry that has given so much to me and to contribute to its continued growth, integrity, and success.’"
Steven Grooby (Incumbent)
Founder and CEO of Grooby Productions
Steven Grooby is the CEO of Grooby Productions, a company he founded in 1996 after he graduated from film school and was unable to find work. As a 20-something year old in London, he purchased a PC to solely work on scriptwriting and soon found he was spending more time scouring newsgroups for niche porn to occupy his time. Seeing a short-term opportunity, in a small thing called 'the internet' as a way to get more free porn, he started fan sites in the niches he wanted to see more content in.
Grooby Productions is the largest producer of trans content, with over 35 unique websites supported by over 1,000 scenes being produced annually worldwide across N. America, Brazil, Europe, and Asia. Grooby also hosts the annual Trans Erotica Awards in Los Angeles, originally conceived as an online competition to support their models who were being ignored in other award shows and has since expanded into a celebration weekend of all things trans erotica. Grooby Productions is very much involved in the outreach, welfare, education, and support of all trans performers and those who work with them.
“I've very much enjoyed and learned from my position as a board member for the FSC in the past few years. I still feel I've a lot to learn, a lot to give and a lot of ideas to continue to move the FSC forward and represent the industry, and I hope you will see to vote me for a further term.”
Lucy Hart (Incumbent)
Performer / Actress- New York
Lucy Hart performed in her first adult film in 2007. She has since performed and directed in adult film as a man, non-binary person, and trans woman.
She is the only person to win adult film awards in three genders including Male Performer of the Year, Best Male Fetish Performer, Best Trans Performer, Best Parody (directing), Best Fetish Scene (directing and performing) and Best Group Sex Scene (performing). She spent the bulk of her performing work in gay, straight and trans BDSM. She spent the bulk of her directing and producing work for her own company, PervOUT where she directed gay, bisexual, trans, and queer fetish movies.
When she was "Lance Hart," she was the founder and CEO of the PervOUT Network, PervOUT Pay (a P2P payment solution for sex workers), and PervOUT Education (a free online program to bridge the information gaps created by systemic racism in entrepreneurship).
At the age of 42, Lucy began transitioning to female with hormones and underwent 5 gender affirming surgeries in under 7 months. In 2022 Lucy sold PervOUT and relocated from Las Vegas to Brooklyn. Lucy splits her time between acting, in person sex work, directing independent fetish film, writing, and arms dealing. She dedicates her free time to serving on this board, the board of directors for PASS, and running a peer-to-peer suicide hotline for trans women called "Down Divas."
Constance Penley (Incumbent)
Professor of Film and Media Studies, University of California-Santa Barbara
As Film and Media Studies Professor of the Graduate Division and Founding Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center for media research at UC Santa Barbara, I am honored to be the first academic elected to the Board.
It has been a privilege to be part of the FSC's dramatic growth in advocating for the adult industry and its workers in legislation, policy, and education.
For over 30 years, I have taught a course on pornography in a rigorous film and media studies curriculum (prompting Rolling Stone to call me one of the "most dangerous professors in America") and pioneered Porn Studies as a scholarly discipline with its own international journal, conferences, archives, and doctoral programs. These academic initiatives help normalize the adult industry for the public and policymakers as one creative industry among others, and to view its workers as workers.
As a member of the FSC Board, I will continue to investigate what academia can contribute to understanding the adult industry and what the adult industry can teach higher education about advocating for free speech and freedom from arbitrary and capricious laws in these authoritarian times. Through my activist work in the industry, such as working on the No on Prop 60 campaign, I developed my slogan for defending higher ed: If the porn stars can do it, the professors can.
Jamie Rodriguez (Incumbent)
Jamie Rodriguez spent 15+ years building, supporting, and safeguarding online creator communities at VS Media, where she championed broadcasters’ safety, growth opportunities, and the right to be heard through industry expansion and technological change.
Rodriguez continues to advance creator rights by collaborating with both content companies and government agencies to build thoughtful products and have a voice in the continually changing landscape.
Recognizing the board’s critical role in proactively addressing legal challenges and protecting the interests of creators, members, and industry businesses, Rodriguez is a passionate advocate for ensuring rights are upheld, and every voice remains protected and heard.
Megan Stokes (Incumbent)
Partner, NMG Management
Megan Stokes is a Partner in NMG Management, a global leader in content revenue generation and premium brand management.
In addition to handling new business development and all ancillary revenue streams for some of the largest online paysite brands, NMG helps Independent Content Creators scale their distribution channels to the next level, from Fan Sites to Viewshare, to Broadcast TV and Licensing.
Megan entered the industry as an independent affiliate sending traffic to paysites before a spur-of-the-moment application for an in-house affiliate manager role became the first step in a two-decade career. Before joining NMG, she held Executive roles with powerhouse companies like Shane's World and Girlfriends Films where she gained years of expertise in business development, sales management and content licensing. She also worked on large-scale adult TV network initiatives while serving on the executive team in the licensing and TV divisions at Reality Kings.
A long-time industry veteran, Megan values strong, lasting relationships that create long-term value. A visible voice in the space, she has served as a frequent panelist, moderator, and keynote speaker across major industry events. An advocate and mentor for women in the industry, she champions creator-first practices, professional standards, and growth that protects both the bottom line and people.
Scott Watkins (Incumbent)
VP, Sales and Marketing for Doc Johnson
FSC Board Vice PresidentScott Watkins is responsible for managing the sales and marketing departments at Doc Johnson. Since he joined the team in 2013, Scott has infused the company with the latest corporate strategies, along with a focus on streamlining procedures while continuing to expand business. He brings 14 years of hands-on sales, business development, and management experience, and he is always looking for ways to deliver great products and elevated customer satisfaction while strengthening the global presence of Doc Johnson.
Under Scott’s leadership, Doc Johnson has further strengthened its position as the world’s market leader for American made pleasure products.
Watkins previously held the position of Vice President of Sales at Trigg Laboratories, a market leader in the personal lubricant category. Previous positions include Director of Sales and Marketing at Ronco Inventions, a well-known infomercial company; Director of Business Development at Worldlink Media, a B2B solution for direct response and infomercial clientele where he founded an integrated media division; and in his early career, as an Account Executive at Excite@Home (imail.com), a one-time provider of web hosting, site creation, and e-commerce tools.
Legrand Wolf
Founder, Carnal Media
Legrand Wolf is the founder of Carnal Media, the largest gay porn streaming service in the world. Under his leadership, Carnal Media has grown into CarnalPlus.com, BareBackPlus.com, and FTMPlus.com—three networks created to normalize queer sexuality and affirm LGBTQ+ desire as a vital part of human expression. FTMPlus.com, the world’s only FTM trans adult network, reflects the brand’s commitment to representation, inclusivity, and performer-centered content rooted in decades of queer liberation.
As one of the extremely rare CEOs who is also an active performer—and the only one on the gay side of the industry—Legrand continues the legacy of queer artists who used adult media to challenge shame, expand visibility, and claim space for erotic freedom. He brings an uncommon dual perspective to performer advocacy, ethical production, and the protection of creative expression. His work has been widely recognized, earning industry awards spanning company achievements, studio brands, productions, and personal honors, including Performer of the Year and Favorite Daddy.
For more information, visit FreeSpeechCoalition.com.
