Join us for a celebration of you being one of our key supporters.
Hosted by Penny Barton-Zuckerman, our Board Treasurer. RSVP at https://colageparents.eventbrite.com
- This event has passed.
Join us for a celebration of you being one of our key supporters.
Hosted by Penny Barton-Zuckerman, our Board Treasurer. RSVP at https://colageparents.eventbrite.com
Jamie Bergeron is the Manager of Diversity & Inclusion at Northeastern University where she presents, plans and consults with organizations, communities and colleagues throughout the New England region. A long-time social justice advocate and educator, she spent over a decade working specifically to support queer students and students of color in school/university settings. Jamie is originally from Central New York, a daughter of two lesbian moms, and granddaughter to two lesbian grandmothers. She has been involved with COLAGE for the last 15 years as a youth participant, Family Week volunteer facilitator, and Chapter Leader for Greater Boston Chapter and is passionate about creating strong intergenerational bonds between queer folks. The intersectional feminist education she received at State University of New York as a first-generation college student cemented her dedication to working with others to elevate voices of those within her community.
Bill is the Treasurer of Charles Schwab & Co., a company that challenges Wall Street and provides more Americans with the opportunity to benefit from investing. Prior to joining Schwab and moving to the Bay Area in 2010, Bill worked as a portfolio manager and chief risk officer (CRO) at other firms in Kansas City and Washington, DC. Bill also was the Board Chair at Hope Care Center, a nonprofit nursing facility in Kansas City for those living with HIV. He and his partner, Chipp are the proud parents of two sets of twins. Bill has Bachelors and Masters Degrees from MIT.
Ray Cheng is the proud father of three COLAGErs (Alberto 18, Nathan 14, and Zara 3). Ray and his spouse Jeff Butts, live in Boston with their children and have been involved with COLAGE and Family Week for the past 7 years. Ray is a manager at Ernst & Young, LLP and works with a diverse group of clients helping them with state and local tax matters. He earned his Bachelors in Business Administration and his Masters in Professional Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin. He has been active on various boards and has previously been a board member of SMART Team, a nonprofit organization created and directed by Jeff that provides social services to young people impacted by the juvenile courts, trauma and homelessness, many of whom are part of the LGBTQ community. He is also currently actively involved with the LGBTQ professional network at Ernst & Young and is passionate about supporting social causes that directly and indirectly impact the LGBTQ community.
A daughter of two gay dads, Malina Simard-Halm has been involved with COLAGE programming for 19 years, as a camper, staff member and now board member. Though Malina lives with her family in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she currently studies Political Science and Economics at Yale University with a concentration in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Malina spends time outside of school working at the Federal Public Defender’s office and advocating for LGBTQ families whenever she can. Malina has spoken on Huffington Post, CNN, NPR, spoken in court, and submitted testimony for the amicus brief, “Voices of the Children,” used and cited in the recent Supreme Court cases. She is additionally a fellow at Young People for the American Way – an organization which specializes in conducting research, legal work, education, and advocacy for a wide variety of liberal causes- where she has worked on projects relating to reproductive, racial and LGBTQ justice.
Charles Frey is a Connecticut-based nonprofit consultant with 20 years of experience leading mission-driven organizations including the American Red Cross of South Central CT and the SARAH Foundation. His passion and experience aid in achieving breakthrough results in communications, fundraising, strategic planning, and leadership development. Charles is a trained educator and NYC native who attended Hunter College as an undergraduate and Fordham University for graduate studies in education administration. Prior to relocating to Connecticut in 2000, Charles served 16 years as an inner-city teacher and principal, earning recognition for educational leadership as the School Administrators Association of New York State (CASDA) Principal of the Year, and receiving several nominations for the prestigious Reader’s Digest American Heroes in Education Award. Currently residing on the CT shoreline, Charles and his spouse, Kevin Lembo, are proud parents of 3 COLAGErs (ages 30, 27 and 16) and have been active participants in Family Week programming since the 1990s.
Penny Barton-Zuckerberg is the Financial Manager at the Willimantic Food Co-Op. She is a CPA with over 30 years of accounting experience in both the public and private sectors. Penny has also been a full time Assistant Professor of Accounting at a local community college. Prior to becoming an accountant, she worked in the Human Services field. Penny has a BA in Psychology from The University of Wisconsin, an MA in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Connecticut and an MS in Professional Accounting from the University of Hartford. Penny has been involved with the Family Equality Council since it began as a grassroots organization in the 1980’s. She has been a passionate supporter of COLAGE from the time it was founded. Both of Penny’s children “grew up” in COLAGE. They are now volunteers at Family Week. According to Penny, there aren’t enough words to express how much her family has gotten from COLAGE. Penny lives in Connecticut with her wife and children.
Jordan Budd is the Organizing Director for Family Values at Work. A skilled organizer and strategist, he is supporting our state-led effort to make paid sick days, paid family leave, and other family friendly labor policies a reality for all working families across the country. Before joining the FV@W team, Jordan was the Deputy National Policy Director at Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, the nation’s largest restaurant worker advocacy organization. He has been working as an organizer for nearly ten years and is a three-time alumnus of President Obama’s campaigns. Most notably, Jordan worked as Florida’s Youth and LGBT Vote Director in 2012 and as the Deputy Coordinated Campaign Director for the Texas Democratic Party in 2014. A native of South Florida, he arrived in New York City in 2007 to study “The Political Application of Black Intellectual Thought” at New York University. Ever since, Jordan has endeavored to work in and on behalf of intersectional spaces that uplift youth, queer communities and people of color.
Michelle is a dynamic leader with over two decades of experience in nonprofit management, program design and coalition building. She is the Principal/Director of Power4Good, a consulting firm providing services to build, grow and strengthen nonprofit organizations. Before launching Power4Good in 2007, Michelle spent over a decade leading Youth Pride, Inc., the only statewide organization dedicated to meeting the social, emotional and educational needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth. She holds a Masters of Social Work from Boston University, and a BSci in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Michelle supports COLAGE and its critical role in building leadership, family and community with love, humor, compassion and fierce dedication to equity. COLAGE has been an important part of her family for over 15 years, and her three children have grown up knowing the love and support of the COLAGE community.
Adrian Ogle is the National Events Manager at Lambda Legal, the nation’s oldest and largest LGBT legal organization. In his role, he assists in leading the development and execution of Lambda Legal fundraising events in all national markets. He manages a personal portfolio of major ticketed events across the country and provides operational and budgetary oversight for over 80 events to raise $4.9 million annually. In his tenure, Adrian has co-produced art, cultural, and special events across four organizations in the LGBT movement. Prior to Lambda Legal, he has worked at Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) and the NYC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center. His portfolio includes events that have received national press coverage, including CNN, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and the recognition from the White House. Adrian began his career in events at Dartmouth College and Brown University. Originally from South Florida, Adrian is a COLAGEr who grew up with a lesbian mom. Adrian is an alumnus of the University of Florida where he found his passion for racial justice, politics, and LGBTQ advocacy.
Courtney Faria has been involved in COLAGE programming since the year 2000. She started coming to COLAGE programming at Family Week in Provincetown, MA when she was 10. Her mom had just came out as a lesbian, her biological parents got divorced, and she moved to a new town with her two younger siblings and her mom to live with her mom’s new partner. She didn’t realize at the time, how much having two moms and her biological mom coming out would effect her life in really important ways. COLAGE became (and still is) a huge part of her life. She became a volunteer Family Week staff member as soon as she could and was also an intern twice. COLAGE is where she learned the value of community, social justice, her story, her voice, & how to hold up other people’s experiences & voices as well. Courtney is second gen and grew up on Cape Cod and went to Smith College in Northampton, MA. She currently lives in Seattle with her partner who is also a second gen COLAGEr! She is hoping to pursue a career as a social worker and workplace equity trainer but is currently working as a cookie baker and gardener as well as in her administrative role with COLAGE.
Zorina was born in Shaker Heights, OH and raised in Longmeadow, MA. She graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Her operational management & human resources experience was developed in small firms as well as large corporations. Zorina will be supporting COLAGE’s financial and operational goals by reconciling activity, generating reports and overseeing accounting systems. She has an exceptional service oriented attitude from her work in food & beverage and hospitality. Her interest in event planning started in Las Vegas, where she began in corporate event production. Later, she continued west, proving her leadership and project management skills in her professional and personal pursuits. As a queer woman of color, she feels passionate about lending her support and time to organizations whose values are aligned with her own. Zorina has utilized her office management and fundraising experience by supporting organizations such as EQCA, NCLR, Glide, Academy of Friends, Project Open Hand, and Ali Forney Center. She loves handling the details, and establishing process. Keeping projects prioritized and impeccably organized gives her a great deal of pride.
Kaitlyn is a quiet, yet resolute advocate for LGBTQ+ people and families. Raised in a small southern Missouri town, her mother came out to her when she was a teenager. Unaware of communities like COLAGE, Kaitlyn lived several years feeling alone and different. It was not until she began wrestling with the intersections of her faith, sexuality, and family dynamics—getting involved with the Gay Christian Network as an intern and eventually as an Assistant Conference Director—that she began meeting other COLAGErs.
With her background in mental health and her Master of Public Affairs in Public Policy from the University of Missouri, Kaitlyn has learned the value of facilitating empathy through storytelling and research. She comes to COLAGE with a passion for accurately reflecting and lifting up the stories of people in a way that will create an impact and to discover new ways of engaging people in the mission and vision of non-profit organizations. Portrait by Gabriela Herman from the project The Kids.
Nate Peterson is passionate about serving his community and inspiring others to live their truth. He has been an active supporter of LGBTQ families and queerspawn for several years. Nate comes to COLAGE with an extensive public relations and communications background, which will translate well into his role as programming intern. He is currently living in northern New Jersey, and is pursuing a degree in Business Administration.
Rafael Soldi is a Peruvian artist, designer and curator. He holds a BFA in Photography & Curatorial Studies from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has exhibited and published his work internationally and his work can be found in the permanent collections of the Tacoma Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, and the King County Public Art Collection. Rafael works as a photographer, curator, and designer in the Seattle area, collaborating with creatives and non profits, lending his experience to social justice causes when possible. He has consistently curated projects and exhibitions that explore queer identity and history—he is the co-founder of the Strange Fire Collective, a platform dedicated to highlighting work made by women, people of color, and queer and trans artists.
Originally from Houston, Texas, Christian was raised by two great moms. She graduated from Hampshire College with a degree in media and video art, and has always been drawn toward social justice and community empowerment. Christian’s past experiences as a youth media educator, non-profit professional, and deep sense of pride in alternative family models tie her closely to COLAGE’s mission. As Development and Communications manager, Christian hopes to set the stage for the empowerment of many more generations of COLAGErs. When not devising strategic action plans, Christian works as an aspiring chef in Santa Ana, CA.
Kaley is a fierce southern genderqueer organizer who has been involved with COLAGE for the past four years as Family Week volunteer staff and 2015 Board Fellow. Raised in North Carolina, Kaley was brought to America by two loving moms, when they were 6 months old, from Lima, Peru. Kaley has a large amount of pride for their family and has been organizing in their local communities since 2009 with an emphasis on youth empowerment, social, and racial justice. Kaley graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and completed a Non Profit Management certificate program at Duke University. They consider COLAGE a second family and aim to build more networks and connections within COLAGE and LGBTQ communities to promote and develop resilient youth leaders. Kaley and their black lab currently live in Asheville, North Carolina.
Paul Perry is freelance writer and social impact consultant. He previously served as the Bay Area Executive Director of The Reset Foundation, a nonprofit that runs residential education campuses for transition-age youth (18-24) as an alternative to incarceration. Paul has served as an assistant principal in Boston and worked with Los Angeles Unified School District on professional development for teachers and principals. His career as an educator includes teaching middle school in Philadelphia and leading college courses at San Quentin State Prison in California. He holds degrees from American University, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California – Berkeley. Most recently, Paul earned his Doctorate of Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He grew up in Norristown, PA with his hardworking and thoughtful fathers Ken and Paul.