COLAGE Board of Directors

Aaron Sachs, 28, Berkeley, CA - Vice Chair

Aaron is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Saint Mary's College of California. He holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Iowa, and his work focuses on the intersection of media, technology, and culture with a particular concern for issues of race, gender, sexuality, and class. He wrote his dissertation on film representations of hip-hop in the 1980s and has published non-fiction narratives about growing up as a COLAGEr. Born with the help of anonymous donor insemination, Aaron was raised by lesbian moms in Berkeley, CA. After his parents separated, one mother came-out as bisexual and was involved with a man until 2007. In 2004, Aaron was contacted by his donor and the two remain in touch. Aaron identifies as culturally and spiritually Jewish; as male, but not masculine; as straight, but queer; as a person of color without a particular color to belong to; and as an anti-racist white ally who isn't really white. Aaron joined COLAGE in 2008 after marching with the New York chapter in NY Pride and working at Family Week in Provincetown.

Adam J. Costa, 25, Dallas, TX

A.J. is a native of Houston, TX, and a graduate of the Texas Lutheran University where he became a member of the first Greek-letter intercollegiate fraternity for African Americans, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. A.J. was raised by his two moms and has a very diverse cultural background. A.J. has rejoined the Board of Directors after a 7 year absence and looks forward to bringing his myriad of experiences and expertise to the table. A.J. now resides in Houston where he is an Area Coordinator for Group Excellence, a mentoring and tutoring firm based out of Dallas, Texas.

Alexis Collins, 16, NY

Alexis is an independent, Bi-Racial, high school junior, currently residing in up-state New York. Alexis is the product of a heterosexual relationship, but has been raised and supported by two mothers. She is an only child and currently lives with her biological mom. Currently, Alexis is involved in multiple community service activities and enjoys traveling. After six years of involvement with COLAGE, she is interested and devoted to pursuing a career in or related to child psychology.

Asha Leong, 31, Atlanta, GA

The proud product of many parents and a southern belle at heart, Asha identifies as a queer, femme, multi-racial, immigrant, organizer with a passion for social justice. Asha lives in Atlanta and has had the good fortune of working in LGBT allied communities, on several legal and political campaigns with a range of local, state and national organizations, for the past 10 years, including her current work as an online organizer for 9to5 National Association of Working Women in Decatur, Georgia. Asha founded the Ad Hoc Committee for Racial Justice to help challenge racism within our own LGBT community. In recognition of this work, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force awarded her their Community Service Award in the fall of 2000. Asha has been involved with COLAGE for 9 years, as a SpeakOUT member and Family Week facilitator, and board member, and otherwise indulges her artistic side through writing, dancing, and performance art. Asha chairs the Board Fundraising Committee.

Brett Webb-Mitchell, 54, Chapel Hill, NC

Brett is a dad of two amazing children--Adrianne and Parker--who, along with his partner Dean Blackburn, has been given the opportunity to truly experience the adage that life is never boring. Brett is an ordained clergyperson in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for over twenty-six years, having served churches in Massachusetts, Washington, Florida, and North Carolina. Having taught at Duke University for over a decade, Brett is now Director of the School of the Pilgrim (www.schoolofthepilgrim.com) in Chapel Hill, NC. He focuses on taking people on intentional pilgrimages around the world, helping them break out of the "religion of rush," and enabling them to find their spiritual path back at home. In 2007, he wrote the book On Being a Gay Parent (Seabury Press, 2007), the first book that is pro-gay, pro-family and pro-faith, and continues to write a monthly column on gay parenting in the Carolinas Q-Notes. Along with being an advocate with people with disabilities, and addressing the concerns of LGBTQ folks, in communities of faith, Brett enjoys going to plays, musicals, movies, along with training for marathons and hopefully a triathlon in the near future.

Caitlin MacIntyre, 19. Houston, TX

Caitlin is the proud daughter of the most stupendously radical ally mom and two wonderful gay dads, Daddy and Daddy Tony. Recently she was privileged to have the life-changing experience of the 2008 Soulforce Equality Ride where she non-violently spoke truth to power and built wonderful relationships with oodles of people from all different walks of life and is now the Equality Ride Director for Soulforce in Houston, Texas. Community organizing and anti-oppression activism are her joy and her bliss and she is always looking for exciting new ways to advocate for justice and liberation. She looks forward to working with COLAGE, learning, growing, being challenged, and continually empowering young people to be voices for their own liberation.

Cathy Sakimura, 30, San Francisco, CA

Cathy Sakimura is a Staff Attorney & Family Protection Project Coordinator at National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco, CA. She coordinates NCLR's Family Protection Project, which supports free and low-cost family law services for low-income LGBT parents and their children, with a focus on increasing services to families of color. Before she became a lawyer, Cathy worked at Gay-Straight Alliance Network, where she empowered young people to combat homophobia and transphobia in their schools and participated in a multi-organization project linking work against homophobia with work against racism. Cathy and her partner Ellen coordinated the COLAGE Pen Pal Program as volunteers for 7 years, starting after Cathy worked with COLAGE on their Bay Area programming in 2001. Cathy is hapa (half-Asian) and grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Crystallee Crain, 27, San Francisco, CA

Crystallee is the Project Coordinator of Heal the Streets at the Ella Baker Center of Human Rights in Oakland, CA. She is originally from the Midwest but relocated to the Bay Area to finish her PhD at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Crystallee learned of COLAGE through her work as an online peer mentor with a Washington DC based youth advocacy group. In her spare time she enjoys singing, hiking, running marathons and sleeping. Crystallee chairs the Board Development Committee.

Deanna Makinen, 17, Exeter, NH - Secretary

Deanna is currently a junior at Exeter High School in Exeter, NH. She lives with her two moms and her brother in New Hampshire and spends time with her father on weekends. While her favorite activities include theater, making jewelry, and writing, Deanna also enjoys spending time anywhere outdoors, especially the beach. In addition to advocating for gay rights issues, Deanna is involved in national and local politics. In college Deanna wishes to major in elementary education, focusing on inclusive learning and eventually pursue a career as an elementary school teacher. Deanna has been involved with COLAGE for 9 years, since attending her first Family Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Michelle Duso, 41, Cranston, RI

Michelle is a dynamic leader who brings nearly two decades of nonprofit and community building experience to the COLAGE board. She is the former executive director of a statewide nonprofit working with and for LGBTQQ youth in RI. Michelle is the founder and director of POWER4GOOD, a consulting firm specializing in youth development & engagement, strategic planning, and coalition building. She is also co-founder of inFOCUS, a firm that designs and conducts trainings and consultation that inspire LGBTQQ inclusion. She lives with her partner and their three children, and became involved with COLAGE after enjoying Provincetown Family Week activities for several years.

Morgan Green, 25, Oakland, CA

Morgan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area with a lesbian mom, a female-to-male transsexual dad, and a younger brother. She became interested in advocating for the rights of LGBT people when she was a teenager and subsequently joined her high school's GSA, which she later led. She has been a member of UC Santa Cruz's LGBTA student organization CLUH, and has volunteered for Triangle Speakers in Santa Cruz, the Pacific Center in Berkeley, and San Francisco Suicide Prevention's HIV/AIDS Nightline. Morgan graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and has been employed as a Senior Program Associate at Out & Equal Workplace Advocates ever since. She will begin pursuing a Master's Degree in Social Work in the fall of 2010.

Paul Perry, 24, Berkeley, CA

Paul grew up outside Philadelphia, PA with his father, his father's partner and his aunt Dot. Paul is a graduate student at UC Berkeley pursuing a master's of Public Policy as graduate student instructor for the School of Public Policy in Berkeley, CA. He has worked previously as a middle school teacher and debate coach in Southwest Philadelphia. Paul attended American University in Washington, DC where he had the opportunity to work in the U.S. Senate, the NAACP, Center for American Progress as well as with low-income youth in Southeast DC through a nonprofit called FLY. He is proud to have had the opportunity to live and work abroad in Africa, South America and Europe. Paul joined the COLAGE Board in October 2010 and is looking forward to helping the organization fulfill its mission.

Steve Scarlato, 47, Lake Buena Vista, FL - Treasurer

Steve is an administrator in the public school system and enjoys working with staff, students, and parents in the high school environment. He is particularly proud of his current school assignment because it has an active GSA club. He is also instrumental on the board of his Home Owner's Association, where he has served in the role of Treasurer for six years. Although Steve no longer has contact with his father and does not know of his whereabouts, he is proud of his dad for living as an openly gay man and sharing that life with him in their earlier years. Steve became interested in COLAGE after seeing a presentation made by staff at his workplace in 2007. He is currently in his second year as a board member and chairs the Board Finance Committee.

Tobi Hill-Meyer, 25, Eugene, OR - Chair

Tobi grew up in Oregon with her lesbian moms and younger brother. Tobi is a Technical Writer by profession. She also self-publishes a sex-positive zine series, leads workshops and presentations on a wide range of issues such as trans inclusion, linguistics, sexual and gender identity, and queerspawn issues. She originally connected with COLAGE through online list serves and communities and currently chairs the Board Executive Committee.