Los esfuerzos internacionales de Affirmation están dirigidos por un comité ejecutivo voluntario y una junta directiva con el presidente de Affirmation elegido cada dos años por los miembros de Affirmation.
Comité Ejecutivo
Melissa-Malcolm King
Melissa-Malcolm King is an author whose current projects include a monthly exhibition for Exponent 2 Magazine, a columnist for Innerversion Magazine, contributor and board member for the West View Media Newspaper eagerly supporting the West Side of Salt Lake in showcasing diversity, intersectionality, and the unique communities evolving there. Utah State Universities Department of Education – Office of disabilities and inclusion has offered Melissa-Malcolm the opportunity to showcase her motivational essays as a monthly correspondent. Melissa-Malcolm has been recently published in two anthologies: New World Coming: Frontline Voices on Pandemics, Uprisings, and Climate Crisis and “I Spoke to you with Silence”: Essays from Queer Mormons of Marginalized Genders. Melissa-Malcolm is the Mid-West Regional President and Director of the People of the Global Majority in Affirmation and President of Asexuals Utah. Melissa-Malcolm runs a non Profit – Project B.E. S.A.F.E. that supports women and gender minorities.
Fred Bowers
We are pleased to introduce you to the newest member of the Affirmation Executive Committee, Senior Vice President Fred Bowers.
Fred began his involvement with Affirmation: LGBT Mormons, Families, and Friends while attending a local ward in the Washington DC area during the 1990’s. He served as Washington DC Chapter Director, Chapter-at-Large Director, Special Assistant to the Executive Committee on Strategic and Business Affairs, Assistant Vice President for Strategy and Development, and Affirmation Conference Chairperson in 2012. He also received Affirmation’s Mortensen Award in 2012.
Fred founded Affirmation’s LGBT People of Color and Allies (now LGBT People of the Global Majority/Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (PGM/BIPOC)) and Affirmation Pioneers (formerly Prime (Ages 50+)) groups. Fred also co-chaired Affirmation’s history-making 2017 Intersectionality Workshop/Leadership Retreat, which focused on under-represented intersectional groups within the LGBTQ Mormon community. He served on its Board of Directors from 2011-2017. In 2020, Fred returned to serve Affirmation as a Board Member Emeritus, leading its PGM/BIPOC community operations, and began serving as PGM/BIPOC director in 2022.
Fred is a subject matter professional in the intersectional experiences of being PGM/BIPOC, gay, and Mormon. He has presented at Affirmation conferences, Sunstone Foundation symposiums, and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) conferences on the intersection of these three life experiences.
Fred transitioned from the US Air Force in 2006 after completing a 20-year career in financial management. He also began his career in management consulting in 2006 and primarily serves federal clients. Fred has worked at two Big Four Consulting Firms, drawing upon his expertise in federal project and program management, financial management, transformation delivery, and Department of Defense (DoD) information technology acquisition with numerous clients.
Fred attended John Brown University and earned a BS in Organizational Management. He earned dual MA degrees in Public Administration and Management from Webster University.
Kate Mower
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.
Junta Directiva
Angel Arrocha
Angel was born in the Canary Islands, Spain, where he became a member of the church when he was 18 years old. Angel struggled, from an early age, to reconcile his belief in God and his sexuality and, after serving his mission, made the decision to embrace his true self and leave the church. He moved to the UK, where he has lived for the last 25 years and where he made contact with affirmation. After attending the first Europe Affirmation conference in the UK, he was invited to join the presidency to help Affirmation’s mission in the continent of Europe.
Lacey Bagley
Dr. Lacey Bagley, LMFT (she/her) is originally from northern Minnesota and now lives in Provo,UT, which is the ancestral home of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, and Ute Tribes. She is theOwner & Clinical Director of Celebrate Therapy (www.celebratetherapy.org), where she leads a team of queer, multidisciplinary clinicians in serving LGBTQIA+ individuals, couples, polyamorous networks, and families across the lifespan. She is also an adjunct professor at Utah Valley University, teaching a section of the practicum course for master’s level students in the Marriage and Family Therapy program. She is a White, cisgender, bisexual/queer, mostly-able-bodied, married woman and mother, a citizen of the US and a native English speaker. She was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where she remained active until her excommunication in the spring of 2023. Her work as a therapist and an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ centers on empowering folx to dismantle internal and external systems of oppression.
David Doyle
David was out to a small group of individuals until a blog post of his went viral in 2017. He attended his first Affirmation International Conference in 2018 where he found a community that understood his experience and provided resources to help him navigate some of the complexities where being LDS & LGBTQ intersect. David strives to increase understanding of the queer LDS experience by sharing his thoughts & feelings with others. David served as a full-time missionary in Busan, South Korea, then attended Ricks College, Brigham Young University, and the University of Florida. He works as a research administrator at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Prior to joining the Affirmation Board of Directors, David served for 3 years as president of the Affirmation Florida Chapter
Chelsea Gibbs
Chelsea Gibbs is a writer, film historian, and archivist who recently relocated from Los Angeles to her home state of New York. She loves the ways storytelling can help people find their own voices and also help them become more empathetic to others – whether those stories come from movies, books, or conversations shared in spaces like Affirmation. Since coming out as queer in 2014 she has been an active part of Los Angeles’ Affirmation chapter, serving as a cultural translator between LDS and LGBTQIA communities. Her priority is to help foster a sense of belonging in LGBTQIA folks so they feel empowered to share their stories on their own terms.
Shauna Jones
Shauna Jones (she/her) lives in Idaho with her husband and three children. She has served as the Affirmation board secretary since the beginning of 2018. She has also been involved with planning/running the youth conference portion of the Affirmation International Conference for several years. Shauna runs a local LGBTQ youth group in the Boise area and loves all things rainbow. She looks forward to serving on the board.
Dario López
Darío López de la Caña, es originario de Lima, Perú. Se convirtió a la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días a la edad de 15 años, sirvió una misión de tiempo completo con la finalidad de quitar su atracción hacia su mismo sexo. Él comenzó a reunirse con otros mormones LGBTQ y conoció Afirmación como una respuesta a sus oraciones, en el 2014 ayudó a establecer Afirmación en el Perú y ha servido como su presidente por 3 años. En Afirmación Dario ha encontrado una familia, grandes amigos y ve a la organización cómo un refugio de seguridad amor y esperanza donde ha logrado ser auténtico.
Samuel Tew
Samuel currently works as a systems administrator for Flourish Therapy, a Utah-based non-profit offering subsidized therapy to LGBTQ individuals along the Wasatch Front. Originally from northern Florida, Samuel has called Utah home since 2018. He served a full-time mission for the Church in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University.
Samuel was appointed as Affirmation’s board secretary in March 2021. His long-term interests are in non-profit management. He recently returned to school for a Master’s in Public Administration degree at the University of Utah. He is passionate about helping marginalized groups and individuals, especially in connection with his experience as a queer person of faith.
Celia Vázquez Martínez
Celia Vázquez Martínez, originaria de Cañitas de Felipe Pescador, Zacatecas, México, casada, madre de tres hijas, abuela de 3 hermosas niñas, y un nieto. Bautizada el 17 de noviembre de 2001 en la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos días, conocí Afirmación en Agosto de 2017, durante estos 6 años ha participado como aliada en marchas del orgullo LGBTQ, asistido a las conferencias en México, Monterrey, Puebla, Querétaro, Celia fue la embajadora de Mamá Dragones en 2019 en la conferencia de Afirmación Colombia que tuvo como sede la hermosa ciudad de Bogotá; Como presidenta la región México de Afirmación organizo la Conferencia Anual 2022 de Afirmación México con sede Mérida, Yucatán; durante su gestión como presidenta ha organizado las reuniones virtuales que se llevan acabo cada lunes a las 21:30 horas desde junio de 2022. Celia colabora en dar apoyo a los miembros de Afirmación, participo activamente en las actividades de Afirmación, reuniéndose con otras organizaciones para ver las problemáticas que enfrenta la comunidad LGBTQ, creo lazos de amistad con Pastores de religiones cristianas que son amistosas con la comunidad LGBTQ+ quienes nos apoyan con temas de teología y nos ayudan a fortalecer nuestra relación con Jesucristo y nuestro Padre Celestial.
Oficiales
Personal
Alejandro Alcántara Carbajal
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.