Pessoal

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Joel was a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized at the age of 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 was hired by Affirmation in 2017 as the English online content manager and then later became the online content & data manager. In this role, he produced content for the website, social media, and print. He redesigned and developed a new Affirmation website. He also established systems to better manage subscribers, donors, membership, events, and more. In 2020, Joel became the director of operations for Affirmation.

Joel earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from Old Dominion University in 2014 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management, also at Old Dominion University. He lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with his partner, Jason.

Alejandro discovered Affirmation in 2014 and helped organize the Mexico Conference that same year. Ever since he’s been active in Affirmation, collaborating with regional leadership and helping to organize other activities. Since June 2020, he has served as Vice President of Affirmation Mexico.

As Latin America Network Coordinator, Alejandro focuses on building relationships with LGBTQIA+ organizations promoting virtual and in-person events; collecting and updating vital information for members, chapters, and regions; managing social media, improving and increasing communications; and increasing visibility of Affirmation as a resource for LGBTQIA+ current and former Latter-day Saints.