A few dedicated members of LGBTQ+ and ally communities make the study possible,
but it’s your contributions that will make The PRIDE Study a success!
Cassie Armea-Warren, MSc is a white, gender-non-conforming, pro-ho, highly organized, abolitionist and country queer with a harm reduction heart. One of Cassie’s superpowers is building relationships and connecting people to resources.Cassie has extensive experience in community engagement strategies, innovative program design, and leadership development.
In their previous role leading clinical operations to support LGBTQIA+ young people experiencing homelessness, she expanded the operations of the sexual health clinic to include same-day access to PrEP/PEP, contraception and hormone replacement therapies. Eventually they expanded to full primary care services and increased their retention in street-based youth to 87%. Cassie has a passion for redistributing resources and building the capacity, power and visions of trans people, people of color, sex workers and all people impacted by gender injustices and oppression. She deeply believes that if we center trans people, we all win. Cassie is excited to join the PRIDEnet team to utilize her skills and passions towards LGBTQIA+ representation, equity and justice in healthcare.
They completed their undergraduate degree at Western Kentucky University in Psychology, with minors in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Anthropology. They moved to Amsterdam for graduate school and completed their Master of Science in Sociology, concentration in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Universiteit van Amsterdam through the Nuffic Scholarship Program. Cassie moved to Chicago where he’s been since 2012.
Cassie is the Mapa* of a joyous, independent and book-loving one-year-old. They thoroughly enjoy making lists, checking things off lists, curating spaces for people to gather and heal, game nights, and the art of letter writing. His love languages are snacks and coffee.
*Mapa is a mash up of mama and papa
Alexis Ceja is currently the Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator of Dr. Annesa Flentje's Sexual and Gender Minority Health Equity Lab at the University of California, San Francisco. Alexis works on several projects investigating the impacts of intersectional minority stressors on the health and well-being of sexual and gender minority (SGM) communities, with a particular focus on gender minority communities. Alexis is also interested in exploring how systemic and structural barriers impact healthcare accessibility among multiply marginalized communities such as Black and Hispanic/Latine SGM people. Outside of their research, they volunteer with Científico Latino, a program aimed at increasing the diversity of graduate school applicants and STEM professionals. Alexis is very excited to join The PRIDE Study and work towards reducing health disparities among our diverse SGM communities.
Ell Hundertmark values utilizing research to advocate for underserved populations, instill systemic social change, and subvert harmful, misinformed narratives surrounding stigmatized groups. They have learned, through their past experience working with and for underserved populations, the importance of integrity when conducting impactful, action-oriented research, and seek to implement this further as a member of PRIDEnet and in future applied work.
While working toward their undergrad degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Ell participated in community-based action research on psychosocial factors affecting LGBTQ+ mental health, access to quality mental health care and trans/nonbinary affirming therapy, and evidence-based methods to teaching about equity and diversity. They also assisted in conducting research on the intersections of race, gender, and social values in fields of computing and how the workplace environment can influence epistemic hierarchies in cultures of tech.
Ell aspires to be a resource for queer love and marginal experience. They are excited to join PRIDEnet as the LGBTQ+ Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator to further actualize this, build resilience within their community, and employ liberatory praxis in their day-to-day life.
Daniel Moretti, MSc has more than fifteen years of experience working at the cross sections of community engagement, social justice, research, and non-profit arts in diverse locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, London (UK), and Cebu (Philippines). He is excited to apply his passion for centering intersectional storytelling and lived experience to his role with PRIDEnet.
Prior to joining PRIDEnet, Daniel was Program Manager and Interim Manager at the County of Santa Clara Office of LGBTQ Affairs, the first ever county office of its kind established in the nation. In this position he focused on policy, programs, and research to support LGBTQ+ communities to thrive, including playing a lead role for one of the largest local studies with LGBTQ+ older adults. At Frameline, he was Director of Distribution and Educational Programming and oversaw a national education program that developed LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum and partnered with more than 1,400 middle and high schools. Through his tenure as National Community Engagement Manager at ITVS, Daniel spearheaded more than a dozen national film-based campaigns focused on social issues such as racial justice, LGBTQ+ equity, homelessness, and more.
Daniel holds a BA in Visual and Media Arts with a minor in Gender Studies from Emerson College, and an MSc in Gender, Media, and Culture from the London School of Economics where he conducted primary research within queer film festival audience studies. In his personal time, he likes to watch and chat about the latest in LGBTQ+ film and television, travel, and feed his passion for fashion.
Ari Pefley is excited to support community-engaged research as a LGBTQ+ Operations/Administrative Specialist with PRIDEnet. As a student of Stanford University, Ari studied Sociology with a minor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality studies. They served as teaching assistant for the Sociology department and a research assistant to help study demographic survey measures for LGBTQ+ populations. Between classes, they interned for the San Francisco LGBT Center and the Djerassi Resident Artists’ Program. For their honors thesis research, they interviewed transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming folks to better understand how these groups applied gender and sexual identity labels to themselves. The resulting paper was awarded the Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo Prize in the Social Sciences.
Prior to working with PRIDEnet, Ari worked with the queer ensemble theater company Eye Zen Presents as an Associate Communications Manager. Ari’s other passions include theater, studying Yiddish, sculpture, painting, and campy films. Looking toward the future, their ultimate goal is to pursue a PhD in Sociology and become a social researcher and community-engaged scholar.
Ana Rescate, MBA brings deep expertise in multimedia and community affairs to The PRIDE Study, drawing from her experience in various communication roles throughout her career.
In her free time, she volunteers on the leadership council team for Somos Familia, an organization founded by two moms from the East Bay, who wanted to create support and acceptance for Latina/o/x lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning youth and their families. She is also a graduate of Equality California’s 2019 Leadership Academy in Northern California. In 2020, she joined the California Board of Psychology as an appointee of Governor Gavin Newsom.
A resident of the Bay Area, Ms. Rescate believes that all people have a right to be themselves without fear, and this philosophy is a through- line in all her roles. The credence that people deserve to tell their own stories underpins Ms. Rescate’s work. She strongly believes that each of us deserves to tell our own stories. As a queer WOC, she recognizes that her voice is her power and does what she can to empower others to use theirs. She earned her Master of Business Administration in marketing from Baker College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film and television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Nguyen K. Tran, PhD, MPH is a social epidemiologist with The PRIDE Study at Stanford University School of Medicine. He holds a PhD and MPH in Epidemiology from Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health and a BS in Public Health from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining The PRIDE Study, he was a former graduate research fellow for the Health Equity Advancement Lab whose long-term goal is to enhance HIV PrEP access and prevent opioid-related overdoses among people who use drugs in Philadelphia. In his current role, he applies his training epidemiology, data science, and causal inference to conduct and support community-engaged research that addresses the health priorities of queer and transgender communities, with the goal of advancing health equity for these populations. This work includes examining the validity of gender identity and sexual orientation question sets in population-based surveys, evaluating social and structural influences on mental health, and understanding the spatial pattern of infectious diseases (e.g., HIV and mpox).
JT Williams, BA, also known as German Chocolate was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and then moved to American in the early 90s. As he grew up in the church, he learned the importance of working to build lasting and impactful relationships. This resulted in the development of people and compassion skills for helping people from all walks of life.
As a graduate of East Carolina University, he has been working in the Health Education and Promotion field for over 15 years and in the Human Health and Service field for the past 20 years. Resulting in the title of a Health Advocate for Improved Quality of Health for all.
JT’s goal is to enrich the quality of life for all communities and beyond through his creative and charismatic personality. With his wide array of networks, resources, and community relations. The impact he is leaving is on a global scale.
Live and in charge, German Chocolate is good for the heart. Stay tuned for all of the latest updates from this agent of change as he works to unite the communities and create change for generations to come.
Oscar Anderson is currently a Senior Research Communications Advisor at AARP, where he has spent 15 years conducting research on older adults and aging. He is focused primarily on technology and media, mental health, and maintaining social connections throughout the lifespan. He is an advocate for research on LGBTQ older adults and has worked to ensure LGBTQ respondents are represented in the research of AARP and its partners. Oscar is an incoming MSN student at Yale School of Nursing. After graduation, he hopes to work in primary care specializing in transgender medicine in order to serve the gender diverse community. He hopes to help address the community's critical need for more compassionate, competent healthcare.
Devin Hursey is an advocate for people living with HIV and public health, from Kansas City Missouri, currently pursuing dual master’s degrees in Public Health and strategic communications at the University of Missouri Columbia. In 2019, Hursey was honored as one of the 40 under 40 in public health by de Beaumont. His local and state work includes: legislative advocacy with the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition, and board membership of Blaqout KC. In addition, Hursey is a steering committee member of the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus, and a steering committee member of MPACT global action for gay men’s health and rights. Hursey was formerly an appointed member of the CDC/HRSA Advisory Committee on HIV and Viral Hepatitis.
Joelle Maslak is employed as a network engineer for a streaming video company, where she is a leader for the Trans* employee resource group. She has over 20 years of neurodiversity advocacy experience, and is particularly interested in the intersection of gender and neurodiversity. She is also involved in AASPIRE (Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education) team. She co-founded and facilitates a peer support group for trans people on the spectrum. She is currently working towards a second degree in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Kara Sprague (she/her) is the Director of Strategy & Impact at SAGE, the nation’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT+ older adults, where she has worked since 2014. In this role, Kara is responsible for implementation and measurement of SAGE’s Strategic Plan, providing consultation on program evaluation and impact assessment across the organization, and promotion of a data-informed culture. Prior to SAGE, Kara worked in a variety of program evaluation and implementation roles across HIV services and international development. Kara has a B.A. in Sociology from American University and an M.S.W. from Fordham University.
David Utuone is a gay Sāmoan HIV advocate and community organizer residing in the traditional Tongva and Gabrieleno lands (presently known as San Bernardino, California). He is the current director of Mai Le Pogisā (Out of the Darkness) at a community based organization called The Young Serving All Mankind Our Alofa (SAMOA). He has dedicated his life to raising better awareness and cognizance of sexual health and queer identities both in his local Inland Empire and Pacific Islander communities.
Nikki Alexander-Tumblin, Founder and Visionary of New Orleans Black Pride, is a dynamic force in the world of LGBTQ+ advocacy. With unwavering dedication, she has carved an inspiring path as a Black Queer woman in a male-dominated society, leading a movement that celebrates diversity, equality, and resilience.
Nikki's journey is a testament to her boundless passion for social justice. Her leadership has not only birthed an inclusive haven for the LGBTQ+ community but also serves as a symbol of strength for those facing adversity. Her profound commitment to intersectionality ensures that no voice is left unheard.
A visionary with an indomitable spirit, Nikki has propelled New Orleans Black Pride to greater heights year after year. Her ability to create safe spaces and foster connections has empowered countless individuals to stand proudly in their identities. With a heart full of empathy and a mind brimming with innovation, Nikki continues to break barriers and shatter stereotypes.
Through her tireless efforts, Nikki Alexander-Tumblin has not only brought joy, acceptance, and empowerment to her community but also ignited a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ+ movement. Her legacy as a trailblazer, advocate, and change-maker inspires us all to strive for a more inclusive and accepting world.
DelRio ‘Rio Antone’ Perkins is a Non-Binary Entertainer and Gender diverse specialist with over a decade plus of professional expertise. Acting as both an LGBTQ+ activist and Human rights advocate, Rio has made history after being crowned the first ever MX Las Vegas Trans Pride title holder and first recipient of the MGM Enterprise ‘Spirit of the Lion Award’. Rio is the founder of the media entertainment brand Ladyboy Diaries, Inc. which place focus on dismantling bias societal norms and uplifting disenfranchised voices utilizing various artistic outlets.
Donald M. Bell identifies as a 72 year old single, cisgender, pro feminist, gay or SGL (Same Gender Loving) man of African, Indigenous, and Scots-Irish roots. Don is a third-generation native-born Chicagoan, Southsider, and lifelong White Sox fan.
He is a retired professional in Higher Education Administration/Student Affairs; certified in HIV/AIDS counseling, health education, and outreach; and IDCFS Social Worker. Now at the end of a long hiatus he plans to re-enter the work field in the area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He has become a recognized resource in the area of aging, in general, and LGBT+ aging in particular. He often presents on those and related intersectional social justice issues.
Continuing his lifelong dedication to advocacy and activism, he assumes a leadership role in several social justice organizations. He is a founding member of the National Leadership Council of the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), the nation's oldest pro feminist men's organization. He is a member of the Board of Directors of The Village Chicago, the largest urban village in the national Village-to-Village Aging Network. He also sits on the Boards of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus and One Roof Chicago, the developers of a proposed intergenerational LGBT-riendly residence for the South Side of Chicago. And finally, he is the nominee of AARP Illinois to Governor JB Pritzker to sit on the newly established Illinois State Commission on LGBTQ+ Aging.
Don is a resident of Town Hall Apartments, Chicago's first and the nation's fourth LGBT-friendly senior residence. And in his spare time, he continues to be the proud father of two adult sons, and seven grandchildren. Life is full!
Rosaia Shepard grew up in Seattle’s Colored District, where, as a student activist in the 1960s, she fought racism, sexism, sexual abuse, as well as sexual orientation discrimination. Over the decades, ableism and ageism were added to the list. Rosaia has held many management, advising, and consulting positions for various enterprises including the Internal Revenue Service, the University of Washington, and Deloitte. Recently retired in Metro Atlanta, she writes nonfiction and volunteers her time supporting Georgia political candidates who advance LGBTQIAP rights. Rosaia holds a B.A. in African American Studies and Literature from the University of Washington and an MBA from the University of Arizona.
Paul Vila is a freelance web developer and writer. He attended New College of Florida, where he graduated with a BA in Political Science and Environmental Studies. His academic work has focused on marrying scientific literacy and in-depth understandings of sociopolitical structures with the goal of disassembling systemic injustices. With that in mind, much of his current activist work centers on outreach for LGBTQ+ health issues, with an emphasis on Latinx communities.
Jeffrey Worthington, known under his moniker "Jaycee Dubyuh", is the founder of the Gaymer Allied People of Color. This movement has one simple mission: to build, house, and protect black and brown queer bodies as they intersect with normative spaces in technology and fandom. Coupled with his decade of experience as a tournament and esports organizer, Jaycee continues to spread awareness of his brand and consult with those in need of guidance through the esports community. As PRIDEnet becomes the latest addition, Jaycee extends a resume of being featured in interviews and panel discussions from several organizations and educational institutions. He looks forward to creating new avenues that will conjoin PRIDEnet with a unique gaming perspective that minorities will be certain to enjoy and learn from.
Lilli Xiang is a 21 year old, biracial, queer, neurodivergent undergraduate student from Texas. Currently, they are pursuing a BS in Psychology and a BS in Integrative Studies with areas in Criminal Justice, LGBTQ+ Studies, and Women and Gender Studies at the University of North Texas. An inaugural graduate of the first Early College High School in their home district, their experiences helped them realize a passion for integrating research and education with youth activism. Lilli focuses on fostering connection and belonging among residents and presents across the state and nation on topics affecting the well-being of diverse college student populations, having won awards in both fields.
Lilli strives to advocate for student perspectives in the professional world. Serving in multiple leadership roles on and off campus, their activism centers student voices at the higher education level in departmental policy adjustments, equitable representation, and program creation designed to meet the needs of every student. Through a national mentoring program, Lilli has advised underrepresented high school seniors across the United States. As they finish undergraduate studies, they look forward to new experiences, furthering their education and community involvement as a lifelong learner.
Oscar Beltran is an Assistant Professor in the Health Science Department at Butler University. He completed his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso and post-doctoral training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His work experience and research focus on community-based participatory research and interventions in the areas of HIV/STI prevention, substance use/abuse, Hispanic/LatinX health disparities, cross-border health, and LGBTQI health.
Shane Lamba is a Health Science Specialist in the Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders (SCI/D) Center at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System. He works on a multidisciplinary team, where he serves as one of the exoskeleton trainers collecting data on how its usage with Veterans can help improve quality of life for those living with a SCI. Additionally, he has brought to his team at the SCI center, a rejuvenated need for LGBT centered health research, he is diligently working alongside collaborators in applying for funding to initiate qualitative research on topics related to health equity and disability.
He also serves as a member on the Cultural Competency committee for the VA SCI/D Center, working alongside clinicians to bring diversity and inclusion trainings regarding LGBT Veterans. Shane will be enrolled in the Fall as a Master's of Public Health graduate student at the University of New England, where he intends to focus on community health promotion and education. He is a Bay Area native, and enjoys being active outdoors and relaxing at the beach. Shane is super excited to be a part of The PRIDE Study, as he believes it will help broaden his skill sets working with community engaged research methodology and health equity.
Dr. Briana McGeough is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas and Director of the Center for LGBTQ Research and Advocacy. She earned her PhD and MSW from the University of California, Berkeley School of Social Welfare and her B.A. in Sociology and Gender/Sexuality Studies from Brown University. Her research focuses on understanding and addressing mental health and substance use challenges among LGBTQ+ people. She recently pilot tested a substance use intervention and a general mental wellness intervention for LGBTQ adults.
Nicholas Panyanouvong is an undergraduate student at Stanford University who, although undeclared, is considering a major in mathematical and computational science or biomedical computation. As an aspiring MD/MPH, he is interested in investigating the relationship between genetic and environmental factors in determining health outcomes, particularly with respect to groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in medicine. Here at the PRIDE lab, I’m studying the epigenetic basis of minority stress in sexual and gender minorities, as well as the various ways that stress manifests itself in the body.
Outside of population health, my research interests include cognitive and behavioral science; at Stanford, Nicholas works with the O’Connell lab to study spatial navigation in amphibians. He also a patient health navigator at Pacific Free Clinic, and an advocate for disabled/neurodiverse individuals with the Stanford Neurodiversity Project.
Ben Schwartz is a medical student at Stanford Medicine who is passionate about using research to support tangible, impactful reform for LGBTQ+ communities. As an undergraduate, he attended Stanford University, where he earned a BS in Biology and a BA in Religious Studies, graduated with honors, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. His previous research focused on using advances in health sciences to eradicate LGBTQ+ discrimination in religious communities. Mental health and its requisite destigmatization played pivotal roles in his work. Ben also served as the president of Jewish Queers, a Stanford student organization focused on creating space for those identifying as Jewish and queer. As a medical student, he was elected by his class to serve as one of two Recruitment Chairs, a position designed to facilitate student involvement in the admissions process, welcome prospective students to Stanford for their interviews, and recruit a diverse group of students to comprise the incoming class. Moreover, Ben currently serves as co-chair of LGBTQ+ Meds, the primary LGBTQ+ medical student organization at Stanford. He hopes to work closely with faculty to more explicitly integrate the care of LGBTQ+ patients into clinical training.
Ben is eager to bring his personal experiences and academic/professional interests to the PRIDE Study team. He hopes to explore the healthcare dynamics of queer identity, the medical implications of sociocultural repression, and the dermatological care of LGBTQ+ patients.
Elliot Tebbe is a Licensed Psychologist and holds an appointment in the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Tebbe's research centers on investigating and addressing factors driving mental health inequities among queer and trans/nonbinary people and communities. Dr. Tebbe centers community-based approaches in the development and implementation of prevention and intervention strategies to alleviate distress and promote health and well-being and to improve access to competent and affirming health care.
The PRIDE Study thanks its former team members for their contributions: