Afelia immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. During her high school years, she volunteered at La Clinica de La Raza and Planned Parenthood. She later earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology where she found her interest in quantitative research and data analysis. As one of her senior projects, she focused her quantitative research to the effects of historical residential segregation on socio-economic and racial inequality. Afelia is excited to serve the LGBTQ+ community by providing her research and data analysis skills. She believes data is an important tool to provide insight and drive action towards the endless battle of the LGBTQ+ community.

Ali Michael Cannon (he/him) grew up in the San Fernando Valley outside of Los Angeles, CA.  Throughout his education management career and in his social justice activist life, he’s been a bold and courageous leader fighting for the rights and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folx. He earned a B.A. and an M.A. in Feminist Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and San Francisco State respectively.

He has spent much of his career in the field of youth education. Prior to coming onboard with Rainbow CC, he worked as an Equity and Expansion Strategic Consultant partnering with nationally and regionally recognized organizations to support clients to create institutional change including working with partners to advance their LGBTQ+ equity lens.

Prior to his consulting work, he served San Leandro Unified as a School District Administrator, managing state and federal grants that improved the lives of youth without equal access to education. In that role he served as the Homeless and Foster Youth Liaison and led the district in re-visioning its Safe Schools LGBTQ+ work. For over 20 years, he worked as a nonprofit education manager serving youth and adults throughout the region.

Cannon is an expert in building strategic partnerships engaging a wide variety of cross-sector stakeholders. His work as a courageous visionary has transformed organizations both as staff and seasoned Board Member. He has served on the Board of local and national non-profits stewarding organizations to fulfill mission and vision. He currently serves on the Emeritus Board of Our Family Coalition, the governing Board of Kehilla Community Synagogue, and is a founding Board member and Treasurer for The Clifton House.

Ali is a writer, organizer, activist, and public speaker and a recognized leader in the transgender community. For the past 35 years, he has been invited to speak on various panels and organized numerous conferences and events for the LGBTQI+ community. A proud husband and father, he lives in Oakland with his wife, an OUSD principal, and their teenage son. Chosen family is a vital part of his relationship to building and sustaining queer community./him) grew up in the San Fernando Valley outside of Los Angeles, CA.  Throughout his education management career and in his social justice activist life, he’s been a bold and courageous leader fighting for the rights and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folx. He earned a B.A. and an M.A. in Feminist Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and San Francisco State respectively.

Allie Cerezo was born and raised in the East Bay Area, and lives with her partner of 6 years, her family, and her two kittens in Bay Point, CA. She is a student at Loma Vista Adult Education Center (LVAC) and is with Rainbow as an Administrative Assistant intern, as part of completing her Office Professional Program. She has innate skills in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Suite programs, among additional business office skills. She is eager to apply the skills she’s learned at LVAC to her internship with Rainbow and hopes to build new skills and relationships during her tenure. 

Allie has proudly supported the LGBTQI+ community during her 4 years of high school and present day, participating in her high school’s LGBT Club, as well as regularly attending the weekly after-school Empowerment Program formerly run by Anita Marquez, Pittsburg High School’s (PHS) Four Corners Program Director, and Dominique Burgess, Center for Human Development’s Empowerment Youth Program Coordinator. Allie proudly walked in the San Francisco Pride Parade with the Empowerment Program.

In her free time, Allie loves to express her creativity through multiple mediums such as painting, “bujo”, resin crafts, wire wrapping, music, drawing, reading, writing, and video games. During high school, Allie played the clarinet in the PHS Marching Show Band, and learned piano and guitar on her own - playing by ear. She was even asked to perform in a Rainbow variety show in high school just by playing around on a piano during rehearsal. 

Allie hopes to use all the skills she’s learned in school and her creativity to find a career with a healthy amount of challenges and capacity to discover her full potential as a successful and resourceful individual.

Bianca is chicanx, non-binary and bisexual individual. They went to Walnut Creek Intermediate where they started the GSA club. That’s where their love for helping others and trying to make the world a better place started. They began coming to youth group in March 2016. Then in 2017 they started the Rainbow Youth Leadership Project for three months along with some other resilient individuals. They spoke on panels and facilitated some workshops at the Welcoming Schools and Committees Summit/ Rainbow High. That was just a taste of all the lovely things they wanted to do. Bianca knew, from the first day of youth group when they were making tea and flower crowns, that they were going to work there one day. This was their dream job at age 13 and they are beyond excited for the endless opportunities at Rainbow when it comes to understanding their community and their needs. As a freshman, they were a representative of Latinos Unidos; as a sophomore, they were treasurer; and as a junior and senior year, they became president and changed the name to Latinx Unidos.

Carol (she/her Pronouns) identifies as Lesbian and Queer, and. comes to Rainbow with over 30 years of clinical experience. She has worked as a Therapist in Private Practice and in agency settings as Program Director, Training Director, and Clinical Director of a community based Mental Health Agencies. Currently Carol provides Clinical Supervision of Psychology students, and therapists in training for Licensure: Clinical Social workers, Licensed Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists. She has worked in this capacity at John F. Kennedy University, Pacific Center for Human Growth, and Rainbow Community Center. Carol assists therapists in finding their clinical confidence, expertise, and particular skill in working with the LGBT+ community, and other marginalized populations. She works from a place of authenticity, presence and mutual empowerment.

Christian was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. He immigrated to the United States when he was 12 and eventually attended Alhambra High School. After graduating, he earned Makeup Artist and Hair certifications from NY Makeup Academy in San Jose, CA. 
 

As a teenager Christian discovered the Rainbow Community Center (RCC) Youth Program, where he gained the strength and confidence to be himself. Christian always valued giving back to his community, so he became a volunteer at the RCC for over a year. While participating and volunteering at the RCC, Christian became passionate about LGBTQ+ sex education and HIV prevention. 

While at the RCC, Christian went on to work as an HIV Prevention Specialist and Youth Outreach Counselor. In addition, he now has the opportunity to coordinate the HIV prevention program at the RCC as the HIV Program Manager. As the HIV Program Manager, he focuses on group facilitation, HIV/STD testing, social media outreach, community events, and fundraising. 

Christian believes that the “personal is political” and has been involved in several non-profit organizations around the Bay Area that focus on helping LGBTQ+ and undocumented folks such as Si a la Vida in San Francisco and The Sanctuary in Berkeley.

You might even find yourself at an event such as Drag Queen Story Hour at a local library or a Pride Stage in the Bay Area, where Christian’s drag queen persona, Bella Aldama performs. As always, remember to take a picture with Bella if you see her, she loves interacting with the community and being in front of the cameras! 

Christopher received his Bachelor of Science at Boston’s Northeastern University and an addition graphic arts degree at Epping Forest College, London, England. His most recent work experience was as a Program Coordinator for 140+ disabled/formerly homeless seniors in a supportive housing setting. Prior to that, Christopher lived in Zurich, Switzerland for 7 years and traveled extensively through Europe and Asia and taught English in Dharamsala, India. 

Courtney Watson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist offering psychotherapy in her Oakland private practice. Courtney has 2 master's degrees, one in Human Sexuality and the other in Marriage and Family Therapy and she is completing her PhD in Human Sexuality. In 2018 Courtney expanded her solo private practice, Doorway Therapeutic Services, into a group practice of predominantly Queer, predominantly Black, 100% BIPOC therapists of color addressing the mental health needs of Black Indigenous People of Color, LGBQ, trans, non-binary, 2 spirit, otherwise gender expansive individuals and allies. There are 4 sex therapists in the group practice. Among other marginalized experiences, Doorway Therapeutic Services also offers a safe space for folks in non-monogamous relationships, kinky folks and sex workers. Folks that do not hold any of the above identities are also fully welcomed at Doorways! Courtney believes the field of psychology has done a disservice to people of color and it is essential that therapists of color provide psychotherapy that addresses the cultural complexity often missed in mainstream psychology. More recently Courtney has followed the direction of her ancestors to incorporate psychedelic assisted therapy to the services her group practice offers and emphasizes the importance of Black, BIPOC and Queer providers doing this work. When she's not watching Paw Patrol with her youngest child or doing art with her oldest child, she is kinda working on her dissertation and quite possibly taking a nap.

Cristina is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Rainbow Community Center. Her past endeavors range from being a bike messenger to earning an FCC License and broadcasting in Top Forty Radio. Raised in San Francisco, Cristina was also very much inspired by and always gravitated towards the Cultural Arts. The Mission Cultural Center housed a space of Arts, Dance and Music. There, Cristina was a student of Capoeira, silkscreening and Dance. "La Danza Azteka allowed me to give back to the community in a very spiritual way." The well being of Mind Body and Soul are very important to Cristina and has always felt a need to help others balance and navigate through tough times. Having moved from City to City in the last five years, Cristina has found herself in the East Bay helping the most marginalized such as the Rainbow Spectrum and would very much like to use her past experiences and skills for the greater good! "At this point in my life and the times that we are going through, it is Paramount that we invest in each other's wellbeing."

Ginger (she/her pronouns) is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who provided clinical services at Rainbow from 2014-2018, first as an MFT intern, then moving on to become Lead Clinician and School-Based Services Coordinator before taking a full time position with Contra Costa County Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health. Out of commitment to this community and to the work of this agency, she has returned to Rainbow offering support for the counseling team as a clinical supervisor.  She hopes to empower newer clinicians to find their groove, increase their skills and confidence, and to empower the clients they serve. Identifying as queer herself, Ginger has focused her clinical experience within the LGBTQIA+ community, with particular concentration on transgender and gender expansive people. She recognizes the privilege in which she is situated in many respects as a Cis-White woman, and is a fierce advocate for social justice and human rights. Issues of diversity, intersectionality and social equity have always been of concern to Ginger, who strives to approach her role(s) with a culturally humble and trauma-informed lens. She has spent many years working with and advocating for youth, beginning in her previous career in Special Education, and places special emphasis on helping survivors of trauma and abuse. Ginger approaches her work with a collaborative spirit, from a perspective of resilience, strength and growth, and with respect for the powerful role of human connection. She views her own journey as one in progress and remains open to growth and learning. Ginger’s free time is spent with her beloved partner of almost 30 years and friends, appreciating nature, music and the arts. She is an animal lover, creative spirit, and activist.

Jessie (she/they) is a proud transgender Chicanx woman from Salinas, CA and is a second year student in the Master of Public Health/Master of Social Welfare concurrent degree program at UC Berkeley. After graduating from UCLA in 2018, she worked as the Trans* Empower Workforce Development Program Manager at a community clinic in South Central Los Angeles. In that role she assisted transgender patients with job readiness skills, job placement, legal gender and name change paperwork, and trained employers in Los Angeles on transgender competency to best support transgender workers. Her research interests include how institutions, systems, and organizations affect the mental health of transgender people of color. She aims to gain work experience working with LGBT+ individuals of color and their mental health in the hopes of becoming a therapist for transgender clients after she graduates.

Kadeth (pronouns he/him and Sir) is a queer trans masculine artist and composer who fuses mythology, magic, shamanic arts and feminist theory with traditional psychotherapy to inform and guide his work. He is a Reiki Master Teacher and shamanic practitioner.  

Kadeth received his Master in psychology from JFK University where he focused on neuropsychology, feminist perspective and mental health care for the transgender, non binary and BDSM community. His prior work includes school based domestic violence education and intervention, grassroots reproductive rights support and many years in the veterinary community focusing on emergency and critical care anesthesia. 

Kadeth be found found in his glass studio liquefying and spinning colored glass into artwork with very large amounts of fire. He reads research papers on medicine, biology, psychology and astrophysics for fun. 

“The good of the many outweigh the good of the few, or the one...and starts with the action of the one.”

Kiku, he/him pronouns, is an intersectional queer trans man originally hailing from Michigan and has been living and thriving with his partner in Oakland, CA since 2004. Kiku is an educator, trainer, and consultant engaging his human centered design thinking, with a visual arts background focused on diversity, equity, and expansion. Kiku has 30 years of experience with youth development and responsive community program design, outreach, implementation, impact, evaluation, and advocacy through a social justice lens. Kiku is independently and collaboratively adept at creating culturally and trauma-informed, accessible, affirming approaches and content for a wide variety of intersectional communities including LGBTQI+, People of Color, youth, and adults working across sectors including juvenile justice, education, mental health, community-based, and faith-based organizations. He has traveled the country educating on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Affirming Approach and Expansive Practices connected with the CDC funded handbook he authored that is open source. Kiku is a Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, Supporting LGBTQ Youth Program Fellow. He loves being in community with all folx with a special affection for the cat community. Kiku loves teaching mediums for expression like stained glass construction and is fascinated with how things work and embodying MacGyver at every opportunity! He's writing a book about his life journey through trauma and as a man of trans experience. Most importantly, Kiku knows liberation is found every time he gets on the dance floor!

Laura is a queer femme educator who brings 25 years of working with youth and their families through a healing centered, regionally informed, intersectional lens. She has trained cross-sector nationally, and developed curriculum to support educators, administrators, facilitators, and youth workers in providing restorative practices in their setting with a particular focus on serving LGBTQ+ youth. She most recently taught for 10 years where she was the Athletic Director, 8th grade advisor, and Social Emotional Learning curriculum writer and teacher. She also was the adult advisor to the GSA. Before teaching, Laura worked in the non-profit sector serving youth in Detroit, and later working to empower athletes of all abilities as the Vice President of Regional Sports at Special Olympics Northern California. In her free time she loves to swim, cook up new recipes in the kitchen, and explore the Bay Area with her amazing partner!