Haleigh Fitzpatrick-Owen

Haleigh Fitzpatrick-Owen (she/her, right), Emery Rivera (he/him, center) and Lucy Isman (left)  are the core organizers of DYKE HANG RVA, a Richmond, Virginia-based group that plans events to unite the local lesbian community.

Haleigh, a femme lesbian, public school educator, and DYKE HANG’s lead organizer, will be her group’s ambassador for the Pride Network’s Transformational Leadership Program. Haleigh began DYKE HANG as a way to bring together Richmond’s fragmented lesbian community after realizing how difficult it was to connect with other lesbians in a city affected by the pandemic. Using “teacher skills” such as embarrassing icebreakers, weird attention-getters, and mandatory fun, Haleigh began conducting outrageous outdoor mingling events to encourage folks to meet new people. Since their first event in September, DYKE HANG has expanded from brewery meetups to park picnics, art pop ups, and dance nights. In 2022, she aims to expand the lesbian community’s connectedness and visibility by fundraising for mutual aid and furthering relationships with local businesses, organizations, and LGBTQ+ nonprofits. While one of her dreams is to create a lesbian arm wrestling league, her true ultimate hope is that no Richmond lesbian will ever have to feel alone, invisible, or isolated from the community again.

Matthew Yekell

Matthew Yekell (he/him) is a student at Stanford University studying computer science and sociology. Prior to starting at Stanford, Matthew served on GLSEN’s National Student Council, where he advocated for safer schools for LGBTQ+ students. In 2020, Matthew was named Texas’ Top Youth Volunteer by the Prudential of Community Awards for his homemade meal program and collection drives serving LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. During his gap year, which took place during the 2020-2021 school year, Matthew co-founded Impulse Learning, an online learning institute that has served hundreds of students. His activist and entrepreneurial endeavors have been featured in People Magazine, CNN, and The Huffington Post.

Angie Tamayo León

Angie Tamayo León (she/they) is a writer and community educator. They are a queer Latine immigrant and first-generation college student studying English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies focusing on Social Justice Theories. She is interested in helping queer and immigrant communities flourish despite the barriers placed before them; she advocates for mental health awareness and generational healing in the Latino community. As a community educator, she has experience working with immigrants, LGBTQ+, and youth of color using a culturally responsive, intersectional, and trauma-informed approach. She believes that informal education that is intentionally accessible to all community members can empower communities of color to create change. As a daughter of immigrants, they strive to learn about financial freedom, emotional wellbeing, and spiritual connection to their ancestors. Keep up and connect with her through here.

Brandon Banks

What started as bar buddies who loved going out to support local LGBTQIA+Entertainers turned into an initiative to give them the chance to continue to perform once the pandemic started and Columbia, Mo lost their own drag bar. Now, two years later a group of co-founders and a community of entertainers, venues, and audience members are collaborating to create LGBTQIA+Safe Spaces all across Missouri (and hopefully one day beyond the state boundaries). Nclusion Plus is an LGBTQIA+Entertainment, Education, and Event production organization that produces on average over 2 events per week for the Missouri community including drag shows, speaker workshops, Pridefests, University partnerships, online content, small business infomercials, and even a membership magazine. Their ultimate goal is to build a membership base that allows them to afford and support a new drag bar in their local area.

Dymin Ellis

Executive Producer of Punq Noire Fest, Dyme “Indigaux” Ellis (they/them/their) is a Black nonbinary artist and organizer based in New Haven, CT. Passionate about bringing opportunities and resources to QTBIPOC artists, Dyme is driven by an internal mission to foster and stimulate Connecticut’s colorful communities through creative, eventful experiences. December 2019, Dyme Ellis organized a pop up fashion show at Yale Architecture Gallery. August 2020, Dyme Ellis organized Black Art Matters/Black Art is Resistance (BAM/BAR) at nonprofit art gallery, Artspace. Each of these events entirely featured artists of color from Connecticut. In 2021, Dyme Ellis decided to develop their skills as an arts administrator, and gained experience as an assistant at Arts Council of Greater New Haven. Now that it’s 2022, Dyme Ellis is excited to present the Punq Noire Festival of Underground Arts, a manifestation of their passion, love for, and dedication to Connecticut’s rich and eccentric artist communities.

George Anthony Pratt

George Anthony Pratt is a burgeoning scholar of Black Diasporic studies, Gender and Sexuality, and Religion, double majoring in History and Religion with a minor in Leadership studies at Morehouse College. He is engaged in various research and creative projects as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, Quarterman Keller Social Justice Scholar, Andrew Young Social Justice Fellow, Covenant Fellow, and ESU Luard Morse Scholar. Additionally, George is a contributing writer for the oldest continuously published African American periodical, The Christian Recorder, and serves as the Editor-In-Chief of the Howard Thurman Honors Program literary journal, Litteratus. At Morehouse, he serves as the inaugural Historian-In-Residence of Student Life and founding Executive Director of HouseCorps, a social justice centered initiative dedicated to “telling the stories that are rarely told” through oral history and the digital humanities.

Molly Kennedy Irvin

Molly Kennedy Irvin graduated from Stanford University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with honors and a minor in English. While at Stanford, she spent much of her time working to improve mental health on campus, on both a personal level (peer counseling at the Bridge) and a community level (co-directing the Mental Health & Wellness Coalition).  Currently, Molly is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, working primarily with patients with schizophrenia and depression.  She hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology and conduct research on sexual health, dysfunction, and sexuality.  Outside of research, Molly enjoys teaching comprehensive sex education and reading nineteenth-century British literature.   

Jet Tran (they/them)

Jet Tran (they/them) is a library paraprofessional and creative writer. Their desire to uplift Black & brown queer people informs everything they create—and their background in middle grade education and customer service led them to the Central Arkansas Library System. As a library assistant, Jet pushed for queer & trans-centered outreach, which they do in their newly established role as LGBTQIA+ teen programmer. Jet aims to make library spaces more welcoming to those who are underrepresented both on the shelves and behind the front desk.

Elisha Freitas

Elisha is a queer Latina best-selling author, international public speaker, and award-winning editor. They use their art, stories, and ideas to empower, uplift, and motivate teens and young adults. Elisha is passionate about activism and social justice issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, feminism and women's rights, and mental health. She is working towards her undergraduate in editing and publishing with the goal to start a publishing company dedicated to telling stories about and by diverse under-represented communities. To learn more about and connect with Elisha, follow them at @artistaelisha. 

Hector Francisco Mañón

A South Florida native of Mexican and Dominican descent, Hector found his passion in education and mental health, teaching culinary arts and working with non-profit programs benefiting children and families, as well as individuals with disabilities and other life challenges. Currently, he oversees the post-secondary programs at Arc Broward in Sunrise, FL. In 2020, Hector founded the Association for Culinary Art Therapy. ACAT is dedicated to the development and promotion of Culinary Art Therapy (CAT) as a recreational practice and therapeutic skill. Hector truly believes there is a deep-rooted connection between food, education, and mindfulness. He earned his Associate in Science from Johnson & Wales University and is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts & Food Service Management with a Minor in Psychology. Hector aspires to become a marriage and family therapist or psychologist and would like to specialize in working with LGBTQ+ couples and families.

Rowan K Ching

Originally from Honolulu, HI, Rowan K Ching is a trans masculine Asian-American artist and academic pursuing their Doctorate in East Asian Medicine. Rowan received their Bachelors Degree in Dance and did their undergraduate thesis on Somatics as a Practice of Freedom for People of Color, performing research on how the embodied understanding of one’s own anatomy can be a transformative experience. Based on Leni-Lenape land in what is now known as Philadelphia, Rowan currently works as a freelance teaching artist and consultant with various non-profits. Rowan strongly believes that movement, story telling, and community can aid in the healing of both personal and interpersonal wounds. In connecting with ancestral healing modalities, Rowan aspires to decolonize and queer the wellness field to make medicine more acessible. 

Peyten Sharp

Peyten Sharp (he/him) is a student at Berkeley Law and the Founding Director of Texans Against Conversion Therapy (Texans ACT). Peyten grew up in East Texas before studying Psychology and Economics at Harvard College. Between undergrad and law school, he worked as a paralegal in New York City and a legal intern at the Harvard Law LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. He plans to become a litigator to fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the US and abroad. In his free time, he enjoys concerts, hiking, surfing, and fiction writing and literature.

Evan Zhao

Evan Zhao is a sociologist-in-training from the Midwest who works to shed light on underserved and invisibilized people and minoritized identities. They are currently a researcher at the Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University where they are studying social determinants of health among health disparity populations including racial and ethnic minorities and sexual and gender minorities. They also contribute to the University of Chicago's Urban Labs, researching the impact of innovative interventions deployed in partnership with the City of Chicago. They earned their B.A. and M.A. in Sociology with a minor in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies from the University of Chicago, where their thesis was based on fieldwork in China studying intercultural queer communities. Evan has served as an American Bar Foundation Research Diversity Fellow, a Pozen Center for Human Rights Research Laboratory Fellow, and a Wanxiang Ambassador Fellow. Trained in social science research methods, Evan is experienced with ethnography, in-depth interviews, and survey research. Through challenging exclusionary narratives, Evan hopes to give voice to those who are underrepresented at the forefront of conversations in social justice.