PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce the Tuesday, November 13th meeting will feature “An Evening with Santa Cruz County Supervisor Neal Coonerty”

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together to hear from Supervisor Neal Coonerty as he shares intimate stories during his years as a strong ally to the LGBT community, including his experiences with passing the first non-discrimination ordinance in the City of Santa Cruz which prohibited discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation & Gender Identity in 1992 as well as his experiences with building Bookshop Santa Cruz as one of the early book stores with an LGBT book section and LGBT Community bulletin board.

The first hour of the PFLAG Santa Cruz County (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) meeting is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our November keynote speaker “An Evening with Santa Cruz County Supervisor Neal Coonerty.”

Neal Coonerty was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in June 2006 and re-elected to another four year term in June 2010. Before being elected to the Board of Supervisors, Neal Coonerty was the owner and operator of Bookshop Santa Cruz in downtown Santa Cruz, a business he successfully ran since 1973. Supervisor Coonerty also served on the Santa Cruz City Council from 1990 to 1994, and was elected to serve as Mayor of Santa Cruz by his fellow council members in 1994.

While on the City Council, Neal introduced the City’s first non-discrimination ordinance which prohibited discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation & Gender Identity. In 1992, the City of Santa Cruz became one of the early cities to include Gender Identity.

Supervisor Coonerty graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, as an English literature major in 1969. He was born in Santa Maria, California, and grew up in Van Nuys, California. His wife, Lucie, is a retired elementary school teacher. His son, Ryan, a lecturer in legal studies at UCSC and Cabrillo College, was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council in 2004, and re-elected in 2008, and twice served as mayor of Santa Cruz in 2008 and 2011. His daughter, Casey Coonerty Protti, currently operates the family business, Bookshop Santa Cruz.

In addition to Supervisor Coonerty’s long-standing support of GLBT issues through the Bookshop and his tenure on the city council, he has continued his advocacy while serving on the Board of Supervisors by supporting critical legislation at the state and federal level and ensuring that county policies protect the rights of everyone in our community.

A special evening with Supervisor Neal Coonerty is not to be missed!

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Santa Cruz County meets the second Tuesday of every month from 7-9 pm at First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz at 900 High Street in Santa Cruz.

Contact us at pflagscc@gmail.com, www.pflagscc.org, or call (831) 427-4016

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce the Tuesday, October 9th meeting will feature “Meet the Parents: Celebrating National Coming Out Day”!

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together for an intimate conversation with community leaders Jim Brown and his mom, Sherry and Steph Taylor and her mom, DeeDee. Hear their parents’ perspective about not only having a child coming out, but having them become a leader in the LGBTQ community.

The first hour of the PFLAG Santa Cruz County (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) meeting is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our October keynote speakers “Meet the Parents: Celebrating National Coming Out Day.” Discussion around parents coming out within their extended family and community is an important aspect for LGBTQ community members. Please join us for this important and intimate conversation.

Sherry Register is a mother of three gay sons. She is also step mother of three and foster mother of three more! She was raised in the Mormon church, but left the church in her mid-twenties when she discovered deep inconsistencies in church doctrine.

Resources

National Coming Out Day was founded by Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary on October 11, 1988 in celebration of the second gay march in Washington D.C. a year earlier. The purpose of the march and of National Coming Out Day is to promote government and public awareness of gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender rights and to celebrate homosexuality. National Coming Out Day is a time to publicly display gay pride. Many choose this day to come out to their parents, friends, co-workers and themselves.

Parents as Allies

It has been said that when gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender children come out, their parents go in the closet. Part of this angst is borne from the misconception that having a GLBT child means that the parents must have done something wrong in how they raised the child. One way parents can overcome some of their negative feelings is by educating themselves about the issues and talking with other parents of GLBT children. Through groups such as Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays parents are able to realize that they aren’t the only ones and can move from reacting to the news to acting on behalf of their child.

Most parents, once they are more comfortable with their gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender child, take their next step and come out to others. It may be when a family friend innocently asks when a son or daughter is “finally going to get married,” or when a relative tells an anti-gay joke at the family reunion. Some parents stop their journey once they have come out to family, while others come out to everyone possible.

In a conversation with Betty DeGeneres, Jeff Ellis, a conservative Christian and father of a gay son, said he was motivated by an anti-gay column in his local paper. “I just couldn’t stand it any more. I basically outed our family in the local paper and then wrote a letter to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.”

Ellis and his wife, Patti, could be considered “super-allies,” creating and maintaining a website for the parents of gays called Family Acceptance.

“Somehow I knew during those times that were so hard for us that there were parents out there who were struggling the same way we were and keeping silent about it,” said Patti Ellis. “But I knew that if I could ever get through this and find my way to the other side, I would try to do something for parents who were like us. Parents who weren’t ready to go to PFLAG but needed some answers, needed some comfort.”

Frequently asked questions about Coming Out

What is a straight supporter? How do I come out as a straight ally?

A straight supporter or straight ally is someone who supports and honors sexual diversity, acts accordingly to challenge homophobic remarks or behaviors and explores and understands these forms of bias within him- or herself. Just as it takes courage for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to be open and honest about who they are, it also takes courage to support your LGBT friends or loved ones.

Straight allies are some of the most effective and powerful advocates for the LGBT movement and have proven to be invaluable personally and politically, and increasingly important in the fight for LGBT equality.

October is Queer History Month!

A special evening celebrating National Coming Out Day is not to be missed!

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Santa Cruz County meets the second Tuesday of every month from 7-9 pm at First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz at 900 High Street in Santa Cruz.

Contact us at pflagscc@gmail.com, www.pflagscc.org, or call (831) 427-4016

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce the Tuesday, September 11th meeting will feature documentary photographer Jana Marcus!

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together to hear from documentary photographer Jana Marcus as she discusses her award-winning book Transfigurations and understanding the transgender community.

The first hour of the PFLAG Santa Cruz County (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) meeting is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our September keynote speaker, documentary photographer Jana Marcus, who will talk about the making of Transfigurations and be joined by several of the people featured in her book.

Marcus’ book recently won the National Independent Publisher’s Gold Award for Best GLBT Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and BAYMEC named her the 2011 Community Activist of the Year.

Jana Marcus
Jana Marcus has been creating award-winning documentary photography for over 20 years. She is a professional photographer in the California Bay Area focusing on the documentary, editorial and performing arts genres. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and extensively published in newspapers and magazines. Jana received the UC Berkeley Center for Photography’s International Photojournalism Award for her series After Midnight: Youth Subcultures of New York City and she was recently named one of 50 Exceptional International Photographers by Exposure of New York.
Transfigurations, originally a 58-piece exhibit which toured galleries and universities across the U.S. from 2004 to 2010, was included in the prestigious Best Photos of The Year in both 2004 and 2005 by Photo District News of New York, as well as The International Photography Awards, The Phelan Art Awards, The Excellence in Photography Award from San Jose State University’s School of Art & Design, and The Center for Photographic Arts Awards.

Jana received her MFA from San Jose State University, a BA in Community Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and studied photography at The School Of Visual Arts in New York City. Jana’s first book, In The Shadow of the Vampire: Reflections From The World Of Anne Rice, was published by Thunder’s Mouth Press of New York. She frequently lectures on the subject of documentary photography.

Transfigurations
Known for her compassionate and revealing photographic images of underground subcultures, documentary photographer Jana Marcus brings to book format her award-winning work, Transfigurations, a startling and ground-breaking photographic series on the transgender community.

Transfigurations explores transsexuals and their notions of masculinity and femininity as they change gender identities. Discovering that gender is both real and illusory, natural and constructed, Marcus’s photographs shed light on the transformation from one sex/gender to another. The series also explores the importance of the body to gender identity as well as the effects of transformative practices on the body, creating a reality beyond ordinary experience.

Get your autographed copy of Transfigurations during the September 11th PFLAG meeting at the special price of $20 per copy.

A special evening with Jana Marcus and her guests is not to be missed!

For more information please visit Jana Marcus Photography at www.janamarcus.com or www.7angelspress.com

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Santa Cruz County meets the second Tuesday of every month from 7-9 pm at First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz at 900 High Street in Santa Cruz.

Contact us at pflagscc@gmail.com, www.pflagscc.org, or call (831) 427-4016

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce that our Tuesday, August 14th meeting will focus on “Out In Sports”!

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together to hear from a local parent of a LGBT Athlete as well as a LGBT athlete to share their experiences in being out in sports.

The first hour of the PFLAG Santa Cruz County (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) meeting is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our August panel “Out In Sports: Family Members and LGBTIQ Athletes share their experiences with various degrees of acceptance and inclusiveness within team and individual sports.”

Guest panelist includes Mary Spadaro, the mother of Benjamin Landauer, a 2011 QYLA Awardee. Benjamin graduated from San Lorenzo Valley High School in 2012, where he was named Valedictorian, Most Outstanding Senior, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was also recognized by The Santa Cruz Sentinel as one of the county’s top Scholar-Athletes of the Year.  At SLV, he was active in GSA, journalism, drama and band, played football for 4 years and wrestled for 3 years. As a senior wrestler, he was ranked #22 statewide in the 220-lb weight class, placed 1st at SCCAL Finals and 2nd at CCS Finals, which earned him a berth at the highly competitive California State Wrestling Finals in Bakersfield. At State Finals, he was one of just 10 wrestlers statewide to receive a CIF Sportsmanship Award for “pursuing victory with honor.”

“Out In Sports” Resources

“Fearless” Project
Portraits Of High School And Collegiate LGBT Athletes

During the London Olympic Games, Pride House 2012 hosts artist Jeff Sheng’s “Fearless” Project. Nearing its tenth year, the project features more than 150 athletes from the United States and Canada and has been exhibited in schools and galleries across the country and abroad, as well as in the Nike Headquarters in Oregon. It is currently on display in the Pride House at the 2012 London Olympics. As a former closeted junior athlete, as well as a person of color, the project is very personal to Sheng. His hope is that other artists and photographers will undertake future projects that will do justice to other underrepresented groups and that one day all athletes, regardless of skill level, may feel as comfortable as these young scholastic athletes and proudly share their sexuality and who they are with the public. For more information on “Fearless” or to have an exhibition at a campus or center, visitwww.FearlessProject.org. To support the project, visit www.FearlessPhotobook.com. Read more at Pride House 2012, The Huffington Post and TowleRoad.

Watch the 10-minute “Fearless” video exhibited at Pride House 2012 during the London Olympic games!

Athlete Ally

Hudson Taylor founded Athlete Ally in January of 2011. An athlete all his life, Hudson experienced demeaning humor in high school and college athletics, but befriended LGBT people when studying theater and Interactive Performance Art at the University of Maryland. Seeing the juxtaposition between the theatre department and the locker room, Hudson felt it was imperative that he confront a side of sports that no athlete should be proud of: sports marginalize LGBT athletes, coaches and others through systemic homophobia and transphobia. Hudson decided that he could no longer watch from the sidelines as his athletic culture isolated and segregated LGBT athletes and betrayed the integrity and diversity at the heart of athletics.

You Can Play

Gay athletes. Straight allies. Teaming up for respect. I’m taking a stand!

“Locker rooms should be safe and sports venues should be free from homophobia. Athletes should be judged on talent, heart and work ethic, not sexual orientation.”

“Winning because athletes are allowed to be all the things our parents taught us to be growing up. Honest. Dedicated to achieving goals. Hard working and full of competitive spirit. It’s tough to be those things when a player is keeping a secret. Teams get better results, and athletes are better, when they can be honest and open about who they are. That includes athletes who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual.”

Gay Surfers

To bring gay surfers together by maintaining an informative and interactive site where gay men and women can gather and improve public awareness.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Santa Cruz County meets the second Tuesday of every month from 7-9 pm at First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz at 900 High Street in Santa Cruz.

Contact us at pflagscc@gmail.com, www.pflagscc.org, or call (831) 427-4016

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce that our Tuesday, July 10th meeting will feature COLAGE Board of Directors Co-chair Aaron Sachs!!

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together to hear about COLAGE and their important national work in supporting youth and adults who have at least one ore more LGBT/Queer parents.

The first hour of the PFLAG Santa Cruz County (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) meeting is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be
dedicated to our July keynote speaker, Aaron Sachs, COLAGE Board of Directors co-chair, who will be sharing his personal story of being raised with lesbian moms in Berkeley, California and his
work as an adult on a national level through his leadership role at COLAGE.

Aaron Sachs – COLAGE Board of Directors Co-chair:
Aaron joined COLAGE in 2008 after marching with the New York chapter in NY Pride and working at Family Week in Provincetown. He became the Co-Chair of the board in 2010 and also currently chairs the Board’s Executive and Finance Committees. Born with the help of anonymous donor insemination, Aaron was raised by his two moms in Berkeley, CA. After his moms separated, one came-out as bisexual and was involved with a man until 2007. In 2004, Aaron was contacted by his donor, a single gay man, and the two remain in touch. In 2009, Aaron began donating sperm to a lesbian friend of his and now is the proud donor-dad of a 14 month old daughter who lives with her mother in Southern California. 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.

Outside of COLAGE, 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. In addition to Aaron’s academic work on hip-hop, particularly breakdance movies from the 1980s, he has published non-fiction narratives about growing up as a COLAGEr, and was recently featured in interviews on sperm donor dads in Details Magazine and on CNN Television.

COLAGE Mission:
COLAGE is a national movement of children, youth, and adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) parent/s. They build community and work toward social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education, and advocacy.

Watch the 15-minute video, Family Time, chronicling 20 years of COLAGE and LGBTQ family movement history.

COLAGE Resources:
For a wide variety of resources, video’s called “Story Wall” and to check out COLAGE’s book store, please visit the COLAGE website at www.colage.org.

COLAGE will also be back in Provincetown this Summer from July 29-August 3 for its signature Family Week Programing. Registration information can be found on the COLAGE website.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of Santa Cruz County meets the second Tuesday of every month from 7-9 pm at First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz at 900 High Street in Santa Cruz.

Contact us at pflagscc@gmail.com, www.pflagscc.org, or call (831) 427-4016

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce that our Tuesday, June 12th meeting will feature the TRIANGLE SPEAKERS!

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join us for a Triangle Speakers panel presentation with a Q & A to follow.

The Triangle Speakers of Santa Cruz County train community members to become speakers who then sit on panels to speak from their own personal experiences in order to dispel myths and stereotypes of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer and Questioning community. Each panel consists of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied individual. They host panels across Santa Cruz County (as well as neighboring cities) in middle schools, high schools, colleges & universities, businesses, and many other organizations.

The Triangle Speakers hope, that through their panels, they may:

1. Educate the community by sharing their personal experiences

2. Provide information to dispel myths and stereotypes about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people

3. Actively pursue a sensitive and meaningful process to increase our cultural competency

4. Train gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and allied community members to become speakers

For more information on becoming a Triangle Speaker, or inviting the Triangle Speakers to speak to your group or community organization:

call: 831.425.5422 ext.106
email: triangle@trianglespeakers.org
or visit their website at: www.trianglespeakers.org

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to feature
Rabbi Paula Marcus at our May 8th meeting

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join us for an engaging conversation with Rabbi Paula Marcus as she asks: “Have you felt like there is no place for you or your family in a religious community? Have you had to work to create a welcoming environment in your own religious community?”

Rabbi Paula Marcus will be sharing personal LGBT family stories as well as her experiences in working with Twice Blessed, Temple Beth El’s outreach to LGBT Jews celebrating gay pride through holiday gatherings, panel discussions and support for gay Jews and their families, and Out In Our Faith, a coalition of more than 23 open and affirming places of worship in Santa Cruz County working to foster a positive and welcoming environment to all people.

Rabbi and Congregational Cantor Paula Marcus has served Temple Beth El in Aptos since 1979, first as a teacher in the religious school and the preschool, then as a co-principal of the religious school, then as a congregational cantor, and as of May 2004, as a Rabbi. She was ordained as a Rabbi in May, 2004 by the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles. She has apprenticed with cantors in the U.S. and Israel, and she received her BA in Judaic studies from SUNY at Binghamton. She also has a Masters Degree in Rabinic studies from the Academy of Jewish Religion. She demonstrates her commitment to exploring Jewish prayer and learning as rabbi, cantor, worship service leader, and teacher. Rabbi Paula sees Jewish practice as an ongoing, joyous celebration of God and ourselves. Rabbi Paula is involved in all aspects of the congregation.

For more information about Temple Beth El, Twice Blessed and Out In Our Faith, visit www.tbeaptos.org. To reach Rabbi Marcus, call (831) 479-3444 or email pmarcus@tbeaptos.org.

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to feature Dr. Jennifer Hastings, MD at the April 10th meeting

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together to hear from Dr. Jennifer Hastings and her important work at Planned Parenthood. The first hour of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our April keynote speaker, Dr. Hastings.

Jennifer Hastings, MD is a family practitioner and lead physician at the Westside Planned Parenthood in Santa Cruz and comes to transgender health with a passion for creating new and needed services. Jen started a Transgender Health Care Program in 2005, and has been actively involved in Transgender Health Care Services for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and with Planned Parenthoods around the country. Jen is on the Medical Advisory Board of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health as well as the Steering Committee for the Bay Area Child and Adolescent Gender Center, and has been working on increasing access and services for trans youth with Gender Spectrum.

2012 Gender Spectrum Family Conference
July 13 – 15, 2012 in Berkeley, California

The Gender Spectrum Family Conference is a celebration of gender inclusiveness for all children and teens. Along with engaging workshops for adults, we also offer specific programming for teens, and our fabulous Kids and Tween Camps for younger children. Please note: workshops and camps begin Saturday morning (July 14th), but conference festivities start Friday evening (July 13th) with a social event for teens and a pool party for younger kids and their families.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Hastings to PFLAG Santa Cruz County!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

STRANGE

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together to hear from the queer youth group, STRANGE, as they share their voices with PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays). The first hour is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our March keynote speaker, STRANGE.

STRANGE is a youth driven program which strives to serve and empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth of Santa Cruz County and their straight and adult allies. STRANGE is the County’s longest running LGBTQ youth program and is currently housed at Youth Services of Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center.

STRANGE currently has two programs

STRANGE Support Group:

The STRANGE support group offers a safe and supportive space for LGBTQ youth to meet new people and talk about what’s important. The group is facilitated by a licensed therapist experienced in working with queer youth. The group meets every Monday from 4:00 to 5:30 pm at Inner Light Ministries in Aptos.

STRANGE Activists:

STRANGE Activists meet to collaborate and create original events for queer youth in Santa Cruz County. The group brings together youth who want to make a difference in their community, and together they create, plan, and implement their ideas. If you would like to see something happen for queer youth in your community then you should bring your ideas and together we will co-create it! The meetings are held on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at the Diversity Center from 4:00 to 5:30 pm.

For more information about STRANGE, please email queeryouth@diversitycenter.org or text (831) 296-2429.

Come hear from these amazing kids what they wish all parents and friends knew about them.

PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce their first speaker of 2012!

Reverend Deborah L. Johnson
From Inner Light Ministries

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together for the first PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) meeting to be held in the area in several years. The first hour is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our January keynote speaker, Rev. Deborah L. Johnson.

Rev. Deborah L. Johnson is the founding minister and president of Inner Light Ministries, an Omnifaith outreach ministry dedicated to teaching the practical application of Universal Spiritual Principles to all of life’s circumstances. She is also the founder and president of The Motivational Institute, an organizational development consulting firm specializing in cultural diversity serving the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to community based organizations. She is a dynamic public speaker, known for her ability to bring clarity to complex and emotionally charged issues.

A life-long social justice activist, Rev. Deborah is the successful co-litigant in two landmark cases in California – one set precedent for the inclusion of sexual orientation in the state’s Civil Rights Bill, the other defeated the challenge to legalizing domestic partnerships. A voice for compassion, equality, and reconciliation, her primary focus has been on coalition building, conflict resolution, public policy development, and cultural sensitivity awareness. She holds a vision of Oneness, beyond creed and doctrine, and feels particularly called to heal the sense of separation between those adhering to conservative and progressive ideologies.

As an advocate for continual and lifelong learning, Rev. Deborah is a faculty member at several institutes of higher learning: UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Business Executive Leadership Diversity Training Institute; Pacific School of Religion; Holmes Institute of Consciousness Studies; and the Agape University of Transformational Studies and Leadership. She is also an Advisory Council member in the Women’s Studies Department at Brandeis University. She holds a BA in economics from USC, an MBA from UCLA, and a ministerial degree from the Holmes Institute.