3 Reasons to Register for the Affirmation International Conference

Emmett Preciado is an American transgender actor and singer-songwriter of Spanish, Mexican, and European descent.

He served as a sister missionary for 18 months in The Salt Lake City, Utah Mission. When Emmett returned from his mission, he attended a semester at Brigham Young University, Idaho. In the late summer of 2015, Emmett dropped out of college and moved to Utah to pursue his physical transition from female to male. He remained as active in the Church as possible for a couple of years and has spoken at and participated in conferences and events for LGBTQ Mormons.

In the Spring of 2020, Emmett was cast as Rowan, a recurring character on Freeform’s Good Trouble. At the end of 2020, he shot his first Guest Star role as Rio Gutierrez which can be seen on an episode of the ABC hit drama, The Good Doctor. In the spring of 2021, Emmett guest-starred as Mateo Cruz on ABC’s Rebel.

Blaire Ostler is a philosopher who is specialized in queer studies and is a leading voice at the intersection of queer, Mormon, and transhumanist thought. She is an author who recently published her first book, “Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction.” She is a board member of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, the Christian Transhumanist Association, and Sunstone.

Blaire is no stranger to Affirmation or the International Conference. She was the Master of Ceremonies for the 2019 conference held in Provo, Utah, and interviewed award-winning filmmaker, writer, and social activist Dustin Lance Black for the 2020 conference. This year, she’ll moderate a panel discussion featuring BYU LGBTQIA+ student leaders.

Hao Lee is the president of Affirmation Hawaii, which was started by BYU-Hawaii students in 2020. During her time as a BYU-Hawaii student, she has advocated for LGBTQ+ students through effective communication with the BYUH Administration including both the President and Vice President of BYUH.

Carolyn Gassert is the president of USGA BYU Provo. is a cisgender demisexual lesbian woman who grew up in the Mormon church in South Carolina. Her academic and professional goal is to become a therapist working with marginalized groups, especially LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, in Utah.

TJ Thomas is an active Latter-day Saint therapist and bisexual. He served a mission in Benin and Togo (West Africa) and attended BYU for his undergraduate degree, and went on to receive his Masters in Social Work from the University of Southern California. He now works as a therapist for a wide variety of clients, with a focus on youth in the LGBTQ+ and LDS intersection.

He is passionate about making mental health resources more accessible to all and provides free resources on his Instagram page (@tjcounseling) and his weekly podcast, Therapy Thursday. He has also been a guest on many podcasts to discuss mental health and the LGBTQ population, including Questions from the Closet, Listen Learn and Love, and Oh My Health There is Hope.

Rev. Marian Edmonds-Allen is the executive director of Parity, a NYC-based national nonprofit that works at the intersection of faith and LGBTQ+ concerns and the director of Blessed by Difference, a project that seeks to promote curious and collaborative bridging across the LGBTQ+ and faith divide.

In 2013, Marian was named Person of the Year by Q Salt Lake for her visionary leadership, and in 2015 was named a Petra Fellow for her work with LGBTQ+ homeless youth. She is formerly Executive Director of OUTreach Resource Centers, the National Program Director of the Family Acceptance Project and Executive Director of the Utah Pride Center.