Nick Literski (they/them) teaches psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and offers spiritual guidance coaching, workshops, and classes through Dancing Ancestors LLC (www.dancingancestors.com). After leaving the LDS church in 2006, they trained for three years in shamanic practices, then went on to earn master’s degrees in both spiritual guidance and depth psychology. They are currently a PhD candidate in depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Nick has published in both academic journals and book length anthologies on mythic and depth psychological aspects of the transgender experience, and is co-author of Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration, currently at press with Greg Kofford Books. Nick’s most recent work, Five Steps to Rediscovering Your Own Authentic Spirituality is available through Amazon.

After serving in the Canada Montréal Mission, Christian attended BYU, where he studied Int’l Relations, French, Mandarin, and Danish. At the start of his junior year, Christian co-founded a software company that pioneered online shopping systems. Today, Christian is a senior policy advisor for a regional healthcare consulting firm and is active in Salt Lake City regional political circles—advocating on behalf of urban dwellers, transit users, and the homeless. Christian misses attending church in person.

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.

Drew Ostler (He/Him) is a cisgender, straight male who is married w/ Blaire, has three kids, and likes soccer, running, Disney, & traveling.

Blaire Ostler is a philosopher specialized in queer studies. She is the author of “Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction.” She is also a board member and podcaster at Sunstone, and former CEO and board member at the Mormon Transhumanist Association.

Melissa is a freelance writer and poet who has ongoing publications with “Exponent II” and “InnerVision Magazine.” Melissa’s passions include teaching Special Education, supporting LGBTQ rights, and being a voice to the marginalized through her nonprofit project B.E. S.A.F.E., serving survivors of abuse and domestic violence.

Melissa is a member of the Board of Directors of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families & Friends.

Caden Jones is a white pansexual trans man, living in Kirkland, WA, with his partner Kaityln, and kitty-cat, Rufio. He is pursing his doctorate in psychology from Northwest University, and works as a counselor at Center for Discovery, a residential treatment center for people with eating disorders. Caden aspires to specialize in eating disorder care and create inclusive spaces and comprehensive/compassionate care for gender diverse individuals in his private practice.

Rebecca Vest and Donna Gaw will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary in February! They have been fortunate enough for the most part to have support from both sides of the family! Rebecca was raised Mormon in Idaho Falls, Idaho and met Donna…the love of her life, for time and eternity, at the University of Idaho in 1982! Donna was raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia and was accepted into Rebecca’s Mormon family immediately upon revealing to them that she thought they were a choir in Salt Lake City. Rebecca and Donna have learned to laugh in the face of adversity and choose to be their authentic selves.

Evan Smith is the father of a 22-year-old gay son and the author of the book Gay Latter-day Saint Crossroads: My Journey, Your Journey and a Scripture-based Path Forward (which is available for free digitally or for purchase in paperback at gayldscrossroads.org). Evan is an active Latter-day Saint. He was born in the church and grew up in Murray, Utah. He served a full-time mission from 1994-1996 and then married his wife, Cheryl, a year later. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in 2000 and his law degree from the University of Toronto in 2003. He has been a practicing corporate attorney ever since. He and Cheryl have four children and call a small town 35 miles south of Boston home. Evan has served in the church as a stake institute teacher, ward mission leader, high councilor, branch president, bishop, early-morning seminary teacher, and counselor in a stake presidency.

Kate Mower is a nonbinary lesbian from Riverton, Utah. They were raised in a Latter-day Saint household and continue to identify as a Latter-day Saint. They are a PhD candidate at the University of California, Riverside specializing in Romanian and Black Sea history of science. They teach 20th Century World History. Their dissertation focuses on decolonization, critical race theory, and gender. They are currently working on a digital humanities database of sources for ‘The Family: A Proclamation to the World.’ They were a 2016-2017 Fulbright researcher and are now awaiting approval from the US State Department to resume research in Romania. They create educational content on Instagram at @latterdaylez that centers on the intersection of LGBTQIA2S+ and Latter-day Saint identities as well as suicide ideation and sexual assault. They consider California, Utah, and Constanta, Romania to be home.

Carson Perez is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is a Board Member of Emmaus LGBTQ Ministry, an LGBTQ-affirming and Church-affirming ministry. He is also a Filipino-American, gay, and has been with his partner, Alex, for more than six years. They have recently moved from San Francisco, California, to Washington, D.C., where they hope to raise a family. Carson was raised in the Assemblies of God, in Southern California, and embraced the Restored Gospel in July 1996, in Kearns, Utah. A year later, he resigned from the Church. Carson graduated with a B.A. in English from Northwest University, in Kirkland, Washington, and was later on the ordination track to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church and earned his M.Div. at Yale Divinity School. Later, he was rebaptized into the Church as an openly gay, partnered man, in August 2019. Carson has served on the JustServe Committee in the Sunset Ward, and in the Stake Self-Reliance & Welfare Committee, in the San Francisco California Stake. He received his Temple Endowment in May 2021, at the Oakland Temple. Carson attends the D.C. 3rd Ward and facilitates Emmaus FHE, a national, bi-monthly, online Family Home Evening that supports LGBTQ people and allies, in and adjacent to the Church.

Rebecca Solen doesn’t like writing her bio, but she’s writing it anyway. She was raised an active member of the church. She served a mission in Munich, Germany and found she only liked one regional variation of sauerkraut and that the German language is fun because the words are so long. Afterward, she knew she needed to do stuff, so she enrolled in college and discovered that she loved learning, but hated choosing a major. All was not lost, however, having also discovered her superpower is baking chocolate chip cookies. Rebecca is an Army veteran, having served 2004-2012 achieving the rank of Captain. She can still demonstrate a perfect push-up, but never grew fond of MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat). In 2016, she ran for Congress. That was fun. Having run out of excuses to hide her true self, she came out as transgender. She has a bachelor’s degree in information systems, a master’s degree in international relations, and a large collection of LEGO because — why not? Rebecca and her wife Melissa have been married for over 21 years and have four children. Rebecca currently serves as the Vice President of Affirmation, and occasionally serves pancakes for breakfast when all the kids are home on a Saturday morning.

Bobbie Lee-Corry grew up in Singapore and has lived in the US for the last ten years. They studied media arts at BYU and now does freelance photography and videography. Bobbie is currently part of a team of women and non-binary POC working on a short documentary about indigenous people, especially women, who use prescriptive fire to heal their lands. Bobbie is an advocate for LGBTQIA+ minorities and hopes to inspire Asian youth and parents to rethink social norms. Bobbie has spoken at various forums and events, sharing personal stories and poems about being queer and agender while being Chinese with a religious upbringing.

Mike grew up as the fifth of six children in an active Latter-day Saint family. He is currently a member of the Atherton ward in the Long Beach East stake of the LDS church and serves on the stake’s public affairs committee. His unofficial calling is de facto LGBTQ specialist for the stake since coming out as gay in a January 2019 stake conference talk. Under the supervision of his stake president, he has been involved in organizing monthly LGBTQ Family Home Evenings and Ally Nights. He’s also one of the new coordinators of Affirmation in Los Angeles. When he’s not doing outreach, he’s working full-time as a physician in interventional radiology in Los Alamitos, California.

Valerie Nicole Green is a founder and co-chair of Emmaus LGBTQ Ministry. Valerie is a transgender woman who is active in her ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Missouri. Before transitioning, she was married for 34 years and is now widowed. She is a parent to five children and a grandparent to six grandchildren. After five decades of waiting, she has been fully socially transitioned since January 1, 2019.

Olin Thomas is a long time member of Affirmation from the Washington, DC Chapter. He served as Affirmation President from 2004 to 2008 and has been a member of Executive Committees and Chapter leadership many times. Olin was the chief organizer for the 2000 Affirmation Conference in Washington, DC and also served as Corresponding Secretary for a few years. Currently he serves as the chairman of the Mortensen Award Committee and in local chapter leadership.

Kerry Pray teaches writing at Stevenson University and lives with her wife, her two children, and their father.

Melissa is a freelance writer and poet who has ongoing publications with “Exponent II” and “InnerVision Magazine.” Melissa’s passions include teaching Special Education, supporting LGBTQ rights, and being a voice to the marginalized through her nonprofit project B.E. S.A.F.E., serving survivors of abuse and domestic violence.

Melissa is a member of the Board of Directors of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families & Friends.

Ron grew up on the island of Fiji and being a gay minority, dedicated his life to helping minorities reach their potential. He joined the church at the age of 25 and served in the Australia, Brisbane mission a year after becoming a member.

He was the first in his family to obtain higher education and is currently completing his master’s in Accounting at Utah Valley University.

Ron identifies as a gay man. He believes that service to others is the only religion true religion and thus devotes himself to providing safe space for people around him. He currently lives in Utah and works as an auditor in public accounting.

Chelsea Gibbs is a New York based film archivist and programmer who’s always interested in recommendations of LGBTQIA films, shows, and books. She’s queer as heck.

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.

Fred Bowers is a social equity and justice activist, influencer, writer, and social pioneer within the Latter-Day Saint, black, and LGBTQ communities. Fred works to disseminate knowledge about the intersection of these communities through his work in Affirmation’s LGBT People of Color and Allies Facebook group. Fred served as Affirmation 2012 Conference Chairperson and won the Affirmation Mortensen Award the same year. He is the founder of Affirmation’s LGBT People of Color and Allies and Affirmation Pioneers (formerly Prime (Ages 50+)) Facebook groups. Fred served on Affirmation’s Board of Directors from 2011-2017.
He serves/served in leadership roles in Big 4 Consulting Firms LGBTQ business resource groups. He also served on Out and Equal’s Workplace Advocates People of Color Advisory Committee.

Kimberly Applewhite Teitter (she/her) is black and proud! She is a psychologist at the Utah Center for Evidence Based Treatment. Her dissertation was on the lives of LGB individuals in conservative religious communities. She has participated in facilitating dialogues for Affirmation and other LDS/LGBTQ affinity groups.

Kate Kelly is a zealous advocate and passionate activist. She has a JD from American University Washington College of Law, the only law school in the world founded by, and for, women. She graduated cum laude in 2012, and received the Class of 2012 Peter M. Cicchino Award for Outstanding Advocacy in the Public Interest. She is a vocal women’s rights champion in the U.S., and around the world.

In her legal career she has had various incredible opportunities including working as an Ella Baker Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights; a law clerk at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; a research assistant to the Chair of the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva, Switzerland; a post-grad fellow at the Women’s Refugee Commission; an attorney at the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights; Legal Advisor for Legal Action Worldwide working on sexual violence legislation in Somalia, and litigating before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; consultant for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees report Women on the Run; and Strategic Advocacy & Policy Counsel at the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah; Legal Fellow for the Human Rights in the U.S. Project at Columbia Law School; Human Rights Attorney at Equality Now. Kate believes the simple and popular adage that women’s rights are human rights, and is committed to legal advocacy & education for women & other marginalized groups. She is a nationally-known advocate for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and Host of the podcast Ordinary Equality. She has a forthcoming book (Spring 2022) also called “Ordinary Equality” about the history of the women who have shaped the U.S. Constitution.

In 2013 Kate founded a group called Ordain Women to advocate for gender equality in the Mormon Church. She was convicted of apostasy by 3 male Mormon leaders & excommunicated from the church in June 2014 for speaking out against the institutional oppression of women. But, Kate’s work for women’s equality continues unabated. Thanks to her work with Ordain Women, and her outspoken advocacy, Kate has a Wikipedia page accompanied by a disambiguation term she is proud of: Kate Kelly (feminist).

Alice Faulkner Burch was born in Oxnard, CA to Cleo & Elwanda Faulkner. She was baptized into the church in July 1984. While serving as the first Black American on a full-time proselyting mission in the Chile Santiago South Mission 1987-1988, she and her companion were assigned as First and Second Counselors in a Branch Presidency. Following her mission she was called as an Ordinance Worker in the Salt Lake City Utah Temple, becoming the first Black American to be called as an Ordinance Worker in that temple. She served a one year mission in the Salt Lake Inner-City Mission and served in a calling for 5 years at the Utah State Men’s Prison in the Family History Center. She served as the Genesis Group Relief Society President 2014-2019.

Alice retired in August 2017 from L.D.S. Church Headquarters where she worked for 29 years. In 2012 she married the Great Love of Her Life, Robert Samuel Burch, Jr. She has worked with White American parents who are raising Black American children to teach them essential skills in raising their children. Involved in many community organizations, together Alice and Robert work to make Utah a better and enjoyable place for black people to live. Alice enjoys writing, watching Marvel movies a thousand times with her Robert, quilting (which she taught herself to honor her maternal grandmother Nancy), cross-stitching, renovating their old home, and reading. She is humbled to be asked to speak at this year’s Affirmation Conference.

Robert Burch is Executive Director of Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation, a nonprofit that researches African American history in Utah and the Mountain West. He is Principal of Sema Hadithi, LLC, an e-commerce business that provides research services and Afrocentric products online.

Robert began his career in the United States Navy where he served four years. He had tours of duty in the Caribbean, South America, the North Atlantic, and the Meditteranean Ocean. He received the Navy Expeditionary Cross for service as part of the U.S. Peacekeeping force in the Mediterranean.

His professional life has been varied, focused primarily on sales and customer service, including four years in food safety and corporate compliance.

His volunteer career includes Utah Chapter President and National Board Member of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Charter Board Member of Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, Family History Director of the LDS Genesis Group, Utah Juneteenth Committee, and Utah Black Roundtable.

Robert has served in numerous church calling including, stake missionary, primary teacher, nursery leader, ward membership clerk, elders quorum president, Sunday school president, and counselor in the branch presidency.

Robert S. Burch, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 10, 1961. He attended Talladega College, where he became a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

He married Alice Mae Faulkner in the Salt Lake City Temple on April 12, 2012. Robert has four children. He and Alice reside in West Valley City, Utah.

Josh is originally from California, but raised with his nine siblings primarily in Provo, Utah. Josh’s parents are both converts to the church who met at BYU. His father was from Guatemala, though he passed away when Josh was in high school. At home, the family spoke English, so it was not until Josh’s mission to Honduras and Belize that he learned Spanish, fell in love with the language, and eventually made the Spanish language central to his career as a linguist and teacher of Spanish. Josh has a PhD in Spanish linguistics and has taught Spanish language at all levels from high school Spanish to graduate courses in Spanish linguistics. Josh is currently teaching Spanish to high school aged heritage Spanish speakers (students who grew up speaking Spanish at home, but may not have studied Spanish at school), which is very rewarding.

Josh and his wife Laurie also met at BYU as musicians, both from musical families. They have three grown children: a straight daughter, a gay son, and the youngest non-binary. After much turmoil with the church arising from the conflict between LDS teaching and the reality of their LGBTQ children, Josh and Laurie felt compelled to distance themselves from the church. They have continued their spiritual journey and found a loving community in their local Reform Synagogue, where they are actively involved and contributing their love of music, scripture, and the Hebrew language. They currently live in Northern Illinois, about an hour from Chicago.

Joel McDonald (He/Him) was a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized at 17 while his family lived in Okinawa, Japan. At 19, he served as a full-time missionary in the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission, returning home in 2006. In 2008, Joel resigned from the Church. In 2009, he came out as gay. He found Affirmation in 2015.

Joel McDonald served as Affirmation’s online content manager and then director of operations from 2017 to 2023. In these roles, Joel worked to improve Affirmation’s web presence, organize Affirmation’s data, automate and streamline administrative processes, provide training and support to community leaders, and plan and execute fundraising campaigns. He also collaborated with the Affirmation Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Officers, and other committees to develop a strategic plan, plan and execute conferences and other events, develop the annual budget, establish new financial policies, publish the Affirmation Community Leaders Guide, and much more.

Joel is the web manager for a national nonprofit serving peer support professionals, owns and operates a small business providing web design, development, hosting, and consulting services to small-to-medium-sized businesses and organizations, and is finishing a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management at Old Dominion University.

Francisco has been a member of Affirmation in Mexico since 2014 and have been serving in leadership in Mexico since. He loves helping and serving his LGBTQ sisters and brothers and sharing his love for the Savior and his belief that we are 100% accepted by God as we are. He is a professional in the insurance industry in Queretaro, Mexico but originally from Oaxaca.

Chelsea Gibbs is a New York based film archivist and programmer who’s always interested in recommendations of LGBTQIA films, shows, and books. She’s queer as heck.

Bradley is the founder of Color the Campus at BYU (see @colorthecampus on IG) to help bring more understanding and support for LGBTQ Latter-day Saints. He served a mission in Winnipeg, Canada. Bradley is graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in psychology and hopes for a career in criminal psychology.

The family of Jairo Fernando González Díaz was among the first LDS converts in Colombia, hence the unusual trajectory of an active Mormon since boyhood in a conservative and Catholic society where Mormonism was barely known. The mission he served in different cities of Colombia, accentuated his leadership skills and his religious convictions.

His professional training included a professional degree from the Colombian Polytechnic, as well as the development of his expertise as an auditor in renowned law firms such as Price Waterhouse Coopers and Nexia International. In the latter, his performance included the assembly of a conceptual technical structure that is still in use today. In more recent times, he established himself as a Founding Partner of Infinity, an accounting and consulting firm that develops its activities in important companies in western Colombia and Ecuador.

Kyle Ashworth is the creator and voice behind Latter Gay Stories. Latter Gay Stories is an LGBTQ+ podcast and website resource for those in—and adjacent to the intersection of LGBTQ Street and LDS Avenue. Its mission is to bring visibility to the LGBTQ+ community and establish the value of queer experiences in society.

Kyle actively supports many local LGBTQ organizations and he currently sits on the Encircle advisory board. He has previously served as president of the Affirmation Intermountain Region and in various community board positions.

He is the father of four children. He and his partner, Jay, reside in Heber City, Utah.

John Hamer holds the priesthood calling of Seventy and serves as pastor of the Toronto Congregation of Community of Christ, the former RLDS Church. Toronto congregation models the way a church in the Restoration tradition can be fully LGBTQ+ inclusive and affirming. The congregation’s “Beyond the Walls” Sunday service is the largest online ministry in Community of Christ, livestreamed in English, Spanish, and French, at Youtube.com/c/CentrePlaceTV to hundreds of disciples and seekers in dozens of countries worldwide.

Raised in the LDS Church, John came out as gay as an undergraduate student at BYU, where he served as publisher of the independent newspaper, the Student Review. After college, John left the LDS Church over the issue of institutional sexism. He became a student of Restoration history and served as the executive director and later president of the John Whitmer Historical Association and also as the Restoration Studies coordinator of Sunstone. On April 6, 2010, John was baptized into Community of Christ.

Preston Fields is the first openly gay pastor in the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA)., the nation’s largest Lutheran body. Preston was raised within and was very active in the Catholic church but left when he was 25 years old after he met his now-husband. He is currently the pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Sycamore, Illinois.

Emmett Preciado, formerly known as Emmett Claren, is an American transgender actor and singer-songwriter of Spanish, Mexican and European descent. He was born in Merced, California but grew up in Chilton, Wisconsin. Emmett is the oldest of seven kids, with three brothers and three sisters. He grew up in the Mormon faith, which was very difficult for Emmett because he knew at a very young age he was different. In kindergarten, he knew he liked girls and also believed he was a boy. It wasn’t until he reached puberty and his body started to change that Emmett felt extremely uncomfortable in his body. He wore layers and hoodies to cover his chest and always asked for short haircuts, not wanting the girls in his class to see he was turning into “one of them.”

Performing was a way for Emmett to escape his reality, so he actively participated in school musicals as a child and into his teen years. He was always putting on plays for his family, singing on stage, competing in talent shows, and started writing music when he was ten years old. His family moved to South Sioux City, Nebraska when he was a freshman in high school. He played French Horn, performed in Show Choir, was Drum Major two years in a row, and a three-time All-State singer.

After graduating from High School in 2012, Emmett went to community college for a year to pursue a degree in the medical field. At age 19, he left Nebraska to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He believed that if he served faithfully, maybe God would make him feel “normal.” 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. At this time in his life, he was depressed and struggling with suicidal thoughts. He had tried for years to fit in and be the person his family and the Church wanted him to be, but decided it was time to finally be true to himself.

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 came out as transgender to his family and friends. It was not easy at first, but over time his family became more and more supportive of him. 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.

Emmett started to seriously pursue his acting career in the Fall of 2018 and got his first principal role in the spring of 2019 while living in Provo, Utah. He was encouraged to go stealth and not be openly trans when he went into auditions or shared his resume. But Emmett wanted to make a difference by being seen. So in June of 2019, he moved to Los Angeles and started getting cast in small commercials and projects. He has worked with The Trevor Project and The National LGBTQ Task Force. 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.

Fun fact about Emmett’s last name: his former last name, “Claren,” was actually made up. He never knew his grandfather, meaning Emmett’s father didn’t know who his father was. On his dad’s birth certificate, “Claren” was the name written down. But in 2019, Emmett’s dad took a “23andMe” test and found his father and a whole side of the family they never knew about! The name on his birth certificate should have been Preciado, the name he now proudly goes by.

Gildo completed a bachelor’s degree in social work and specializes in public policy, management, and social service.

Cristina is married to Viviane Moraes. She completed a degree and administration post-graduate studies in quality engineering. She served a mission for The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She lives in São Paulo, Brazil. Cristina is the former president of Affirmation Brazil and is currently a member of the Affirmation Board of Directors.

Alexsandro Barbosa is Brazillian and was born in Salvador. He currently lives in São Paulo. He was born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a full-time mission from 1998 to 2000. He’s 41 years old and has been married to Rony Mesquita for 19 years. He’s a hairdresser and entrepreneur in the beauty industry. He found Affirmation in 2017 and currently serves as the president of Affirmation Brazil.