Event

Leo Goldsmith (He/They)

Yale University / Out for Sustainability

Leo Goldsmith is a researcher, activist, current doctoral student at the Yale School of the Environment and is a board member for Out for Sustainability, a platform encouraging the co-creation of climate resilience and environmental justice by and for LGBTQ+ communities. The majority of his work and activism is focused, using a health-based lens, on the disproportionate impacts of climate change faced by the LGBTQ+ community mainly. They have published two notable articles and is the technical contributor for sexual and gender minorities in the US Fifth National Climate Assessment Human Health Chapter.

Natalia Villarán-Quiñones (She/Her)

Community Organizer, Puerto Rico

Natalia M. Villarán-Quiñones is a writer, cultural anthropologist, museum and antiracist educator, certified in Trauma Informed Teaching, and is also an artist. She identifies herself as a queer Afro-Caribbean/Afro-Boricua and intersectional ecowomanist based in Puerto Rico. Currently, she is a Community Organizer for QReady, a Social Media Manager for @queers4climatejustice, and author of the book Desamor y memorias de una Virgo. She was also a co-director of the documentary “Can’t Stop Change” which shares stories of queer and trans resistance in the face of escalating environmental conditions. On her website, she has links to some of her poetry, mini-documentaries, art and climate justice.

Allie Phillips-Shinn (She/Her)

Astrea Foundation

Allie Phillips-Shinn is currently based in Oklahoma City, where she is the Associate Director, US Fund for the public foundation Astraea that raises and distributes funds to initiatives mainly led by LGBTQ+ individuals and people of colour. Prior to this position, she was the former Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma, an organization advocating for a safe state for all LGBTQ+ persons, and was also the Deputy Director of the non-profit organization American Civil Liberties Union in Oklahoma that aims to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties in that state.

Beth Teper (all pronouns welcome, They/She)

BTeper Consulting

Beth Teper is a connector, coach and collaborator, whose upbringing and commitments are grounded in social and environmental justice. Beth currently works on community-driven climate change solutions, watershed education and cross-sector coalition building in Oakland, California / the traditional territory of the Lisjan Ohlone. Through COLAGE, a national organization of people with LGBTQ+ parent(s) or guardian(s), Beth has been a leader in the LGBTQ+ family justice and liberation movements. Beth recently supported the CEC’s inquiry into LGBTQ+ Intersections with Climate and Environmental Justice by surfacing existing platforms, actors and issues.

Diego de Leon Segovia (He/Him)

APCO & Out for Sustainability

Diego de Leon Segovia is a Senior Associate Director at APCO Worldwide, a global advisory and advocacy communications consultancy. Prior to this, he served as head of climate at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director for Foreign Affairs of the State of Jalisco (Mexico). He has also been a consultant in various organizations, including the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment and the Executive Office of the Secretary General. Alongside this work, he also runs the nonprofit, Queers X Climate, dedicated to enhancing the understanding of climate change and LGBTQ+ rights. Diego is also an active OUT for Sustainability board member, which focuses on climate resilience and environmental justice for LGBTQ+ communities, and has helped elevate the organization’s international profile in multilateral fora.

Emiliano Reyes (He/Him)

Youth Climate Activist, Young Roots

Emiliano Reyes Galindo is a youth climate activist and advisor. He has recently participated as a young negotiator for adaptation at the COP27 and the SB58 with the Mexican Delegation. He was selected as youth delegate for G20 in 2021 in the climate track. He currently works as a Climate Change Technical Advisor in International Cooperation. He is co-organizing Young Roots, a youth-led queer and Indigenous initiative advocating for intergenerational equity and climate justice in international climate politics.

Lilian Barraclough (She/They)

Climate Research Fellow, Inspiring Communities

Lilian Barraclough is based in Moncton, New Brunswick (also known as the Siknit district of Mi’kma’ki), and currently works as a Climate Fellow at Inspiring Communities. Through her climate fellowship, Lilian is exploring the intersections of queer liberation and climate justice in Atlantic Canada and published an article called, “Queering Climate Justice in Mi’kma’ki”. In 2021, Lilian ran as a candidate in the Nova Scotia provincial election where she intended to represent upcoming generations in light of the threatening climate realities in politics. Lilian also holds a Master of Environmental Studies degree and has published research exploring the experiences of politically active youth with climate grief.

Harlan Pruden (First Nation Cree - all pronouns welcome)

Co-Founder of Two-Spirit Dry Lab

Harlan Pruden is a registered member of the nehiyô/First Nations Cree Nation and is currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Harlan is an Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, which is a health-based program at British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, and is also the co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab, a research group solely focused on promoting best and wise practices and health outcomes for Two-Spirit peoples and communities. Harlan is also the Managing Editor of the TwoSpiritJournal.com, a platform dedicated to Two Spirit media and news. In the past, Harlan was appointed by President Obama’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS, where he provided recommendations and insight to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the White House.

Reilly Hirst (any pronouns)

PRIDE in Federal Service Advocacy Committee Co-Chair, Director of Education/Training (PRIDE FERG)

Reilly Hirst is a Financial Mitigation Specialist for the Hazard Mitigation Branch and joined FEMA in March 2021 in Public Assistance. Additionally, Reilly serves as the Director of Education/Training to the PRIDE FERG as well as a Steering Committee Member for the Equity Coalition of the Willing. In that role, Reilly has initiated multiple FEMA-wide panels.

Prior to joining FEMA, Reilly has worked as an analyst in various roles for UC Berkeley, RIT, and Planned Parenthood, among others. Mx. Hirst has been published by the Advocate, HIV+ Magazine, ImageOutWrite, upcoming in Sinister Wisdom, and was a food columnist for the Empty Closet (oldest continuous LGBTQ+ paper in the country). Mx. Hirst has also assisted in writing precedent-setting briefs regarding AIDS cases. Reilly holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Mills College, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Archetypal Archaeology from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been published in academic journals, national magazines, and books. Reilly is dedicated to the mission of FEMA and Mitigation and is thrilled to return “home” to Oakland. In Reilly’s “spare” time, Reilly contemplates philosophy, writes poetry, and gets out, like a lot.