Staff
GSA Network Staff
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Victoria Benavides, Central Valley Program Coordinator
Victoria was born and raised in the Central Valley of California. A proud member of a Mexican American family who migrated from Texas to find sustainable work and resources, Victoria is proud to have her cultural and familial roots so deeply connected to Fresno and the surrounding communities. As a proud sister to a strong man who decided to break stereotypes and challenge conservative notions of love, Victoria became a devoted advocate and ally to her gay brother by the age of 10. Inspired by her brother, who instilled in her the idea that difference should not create divisions but instead encourage difficult discussions for positive change, she pursued a double BA in Ethnic Studies and Chicano Studies from UC Berkeley and was the first in her extended family to attend a 4-year university. In her spare time, Victoria enjoys spending time with family, reading Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldúa, and other feminists of color, taking walks, and the comfort of a nice cup of tea. |
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Renee Bracey Sherman, Program & Development Coordinator |
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Ginna Brelsford, Administrative Manager Originally from Juneau, Alaska, Ginna is thrilled to have brought her administrative talents to GSA Network. Having been raised to advocate for social justice, Ginna became fully immersed in her activism while at Smith College where she was President of the Native American Women of Smith, sat on the Smith College Civil Rights Board and was a member of PRISM, the queer students of color alliance. While working at MassEquality in Boston, MA during the height of the same-sex marriage debate, Ginna embraced her passion for queer advocacy and nonprofit operations combining both to fight for social justice one spreadsheet at a time. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, Ginna worked at the Nonprofit Finance Fund and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water before she found her home as GSA Network’s Administrative Manager. When not at the GSA Network office, she can most likely be found feeding her rugby habit while playing for the 13-time National Champion Berkeley All Blues. |
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Hilary Burdge, Research Project Manager Hilary is from Seattle, Washington, but has lived and studied throughout the United States, Central America, the Middle East and Europe. In the Middle East, she studied the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and worked with the Women’s Center for Legal Aide and Counseling in Ramallah, Palestine. She also lived in Spain where she attended the European Peace University to study International Peace and Conflict Studies. In the United States, Hilary has organized against white nationalism in the Northwest; and for women’s reproductive rights. In 2007, Hilary graduated with an MA in Liberal Studies. Her graduate research relied on queer theory, feminist theory and critical race studies. In her current position as Research Project Manager, Hilary is working with students, parents, teachers, and administrators to learn more about LGBTQ curriculum inclusion in California high schools. Hilary currently lives in San Francisco with her rescued pit-bull, Betty-Lou. |
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Jun-Fung Chueh-Mejia, Southern California Program Coordinator |
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Dulce García, Sexual Health Education & Prevention Coordinator Dulce is a fierce Queer Xicana Femme born in Mexico City and raised in East Los Angeles where she evolved from a high-risk youth to an outspoken community activist. She graduated from UC Irvine with two Bachelors degrees, and received her Master's in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University. Blending book smarts with street smarts, Dulce’s passion and commitment to serve underrepresented and underserved communities is evident through her years of work in cross-cultural and multi-gendered organizations, especially those serving queer youth of color. Currently, she serves on the Steering Committees of Somos Familia and the Femmes of Color Symposium. Her film, “With Conviction”, has screened nationally and won QWOCMAP’s Audience Choice award. As a sexual health educator, she advocates self-empowerment though education that is fun, non-judgmental, and accessible to her audiences—regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, racial identity or ability status. When not talking about sexual health education, you can find her at the nearest San Francisco dance floor – she'll be the lady with the hot red lipstick and matching heels dancing Salsa! |
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Amanda Harris, Northern California Program Coordinator |
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Carolyn Laub, Executive Director Carolyn Laub is the Founder and Executive Director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. Carolyn received a 4-year fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation in 1999 that helped launch GSA Network. In 2000, she was honored as one of the first U.S. recipients of the international Ashoka Fellowship, a 3-year fellowship that supports her work as a social entrepreneur. Carolyn was a leader of the grassroots youth effort to pass the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (AB 537), an historic law that prohibits discrimination based on actual and perceived sexual orientation and gender identity in California schools. She co-founded the Make It Real Project, a youth-led statewide initiative to implement AB 537. In 2001, Carolyn served on the California Department of Education's AB 537 Advisory Task Force. In 2002, she co-founded the California Safe Schools Coalition, which is dedicated to the full implementation of AB 537. Carolyn has co-led the coalition since its inception and helped author the coalition's groundbreaking report, Safe Place to Learn: Consequences of Harassment Based on Actual or Perceived Sexual Orientation and Gender Non-Conformity and Steps for Making Schools Safer. Prior to starting GSA Network, in 1997, Carolyn created Outlet, a support program for LGBTQQ youth living on the San Francisco peninsula. Additionally, Carolyn was the Director of the AIDS Prevention Program at the Mid-Peninsula YWCA where she developed innovative HIV prevention curriculum and published her research documenting the link between gender ideologies and adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior. She currently serves on the Board of the Transgender Law Center. Previously, she has served on the Board of Directors of Bay Area Young Positives, KQED's Community Advisory Panel, and Stanford Pride, the Stanford University LGBTQQI alumni club. Carolyn graduated from Stanford University in 1995 with a BA in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on the social construction of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the United States. |
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Kelly Lewis, Advocacy Program Manager |
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Jill Marcellus, Communications Coordinator Born and raised in New York, Jill is thrilled to be in (relatively) sunny San Francisco and coordinating the Make It Better Project. Prior to joining Gay-Straight Alliance Network, she fought for a more inclusive media landscape at the Women’s Media Center. In addition to media-training women scholars, journalists, and other experts, she worked with girl activists at WMC to fight sexualization in the media, and campaigned for fair coverage of women candidates during 2010’s “man up” midterm election season. A writer of sorts, she blogged for the Wall Street Journal’s “Hire Education” about her post-college job search, and reported and conducted research for findingDulcinea.com. Jill earned her BA in English from Barnard College and studied at Oxford University, choosing the unusual Victorian literature route to social justice work, feminism, and queer activism. |
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Ian O'Brien, Program Associate, Safe & Healthy LGBT Youth Project Ian is thrilled to join the GSA Network team through the R. Scott Hitt Foundation Internship in Leadership Development. Originally from San Diego, California, Ian recently graduated from Humboldt State University with a self-designed major in Multicultural Queer Studies. Integrating theory and practice, Ian worked as a Sexual Health Educator for Humboldt State and was the Fiscal Administrative Coordinator for the Eric Rofes Multicultural Queer Resource Center. Ian also served as co-coordinator for Humboldt State’s annual Social Justice Summit in 2011, organizing under the theme “What do you want? Desire as a Means of Liberation.” He also enjoys discussions on intersectional feminist theory, watching horror movies, and finding new queer artists and musicians. Ian is also afraid of werewolves. |
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Dave Reynolds, Project Director, Safe & Healthy LGBT Youth Project Dave is the Director of the Safe & Healthy LGBT Youth Project, one of our national programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dave earned his BA from Occidental College, majoring in American Studies and minoring in Critical Theory and Social Justice. Dave received his Masters in Public Health from Columbia University, focusing on program design, implementation and evaluation. His focus was on the sexual and mental health needs of the LGBTQ community. Dave worked at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, assisting with their HIV and AIDS Media Resource Guide. He as previously worked at The Trevor Project for four years, supporting LGBTQ youth and making sure their voices and experiences were heard among elected officials and other influential people. When Dave isn’t working, you’ll find him fiercely competing in his dodge ball league or playing with his dog, Harley. He thanks his parents for passing on to him the art of teaching. Dave loves the Pittsburgh Steelers and his partner, who’s also from the Steel City. |
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Laura Valdéz, Deputy Director Laura was born and raised in El Paso, Texas on the U.S. – Mexico border. Her social justice framework embraces the intersection of multiple oppressions, and is rooted in her life experience as a daughter of Mexican immigrants, migrant worker and queer Chicana. As a National Urban Fellow, she earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the City of New York's Bernard M. Baruch College, School of Public Affairs. She has over 17 years of leadership experience in nonprofit administration, public policy and grassroots organizing. Laura is a human rights activist who brings a broad range of skills with her passion for social change including significant volunteer and community involvement. Over the past fifteen years, she has served as a board member or active volunteer in twenty-five organizations. She currently serves on the board of StreetSide Stories and Parent Leadership and Action Network (PLAN). In 2001, she had the special honor of being an official delegate to the World Conference against Racism, Homophobia and other Forms of Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa. She was also chosen as a LeaderSpring Fellow, Class of 2009, completing a two-year, on-the-job leadership training program for nonprofit executive directors in the San Francisco Bay Area. |
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Laura Wadden, National Program Manager Laura was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois and loves to talk about the Midwest. She recently graduated from Stanford University where she studied political science, feminist studies and education. At Stanford, Laura swam on the varsity swim team and co-captained the team during her senior year. In 2008, Laura organized the No on Proposition 8 Campaign on Stanford's campus. After organizing the No on 8 campaign, Laura was inspired by the energy of the campaign and founded the Emma Goldman Society for Queer Liberation and the National Marriage Boycott, both Stanford-based youth-led queer rights organizations. Laura joins GSA Network through the R. Scott Hitt Internship in Leadership Development and is thrilled that her passions for youth development, safer schools and queer liberation are all part of her work. She can be found cooking yummy veggie food at her co-op in San Francisco or biking around the city. |
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Geoffrey Winder, Racial & Economic Justice Manager |
GSA Network Interns - Spring 2012
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Emily Allen, SoCal Program Intern, Los Angeles Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Emily is now at the University of Southern California, pursuing degrees in Psychology and Creative Writing. Emily was born into a family filled with LGBTQ pride: both her siblings are gay. She first became involved in the USC LGBTQ community as president of the Jewish Alliance of GLBTs and Straights. She was also Executive Director of the USC Queer and Ally Student Assembly for the 2010-2011 school year. Emily is excited to join GSA Network to work alongside youth to spread the message of youth empowerment. Outside of the office and the classroom, Emily enjoys Broadway records, vintage clothing, and her favorite TV shows. |
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Miguel Hernandez, New Media & Graphic Design Intern, San Francisco |
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