Grantmaking Panel

Adrian Parra

Hey folks! My name is Adrian Parra, I’m a non-binary, multi-racial and bi-coastal queer and pup parent. In this work, my goal is to create highly collaborative and playful spaces for mutual support, co-learning and collective strategizing in the pursuit of trans youth power.

In my current professional role as National Association Program Manager at GSA Network, I work alongside the National Association of GSA Networks to Gather, Support and Act with trans queer and two spirit youth, moving towards queer liberation and joy together.

Previous to this role, I served as the Executive Director of Youth OUTright, building and growing a small trans youth organization in Asheville NC from January 2018 through May 2024. During my tenure at Youth OUTright we centered young people’s self-determination and partnered with them to transform the organization into something in deeper alignment with youth movements towards social justice.

Working with Queer Mobilization Fund this year as a grant committee member brings me a lot of joy! Having been a grantee during my time at Youth OUTright, it feels right to be able to offer some service back to the network that helped sustain my work.

Outside of work… I like to be outside! My dog DandyLion and I are often adventuring into the wilderness with my nesting partner and co-pup-parent. We love exploring the world around us, learning about our plant friends, and watching for birds. I have a fondness for trilliums, palo santo, and cortados. I practice movement as a tool to know myself, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I am fascinated by light & shadow, studied photography in school and can really nerd out about optics and color if provoked.

Domenico Ruggerio

Domenico Ruggerio (he/they) is a transformative leader and social justice educator. They serve as executive director of We Are Family, a South Carolina nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ youth in the region. Raised in the Philippines and on Long Island, they earned a master’s degree in humanistic/multicultural education at SUNY New Paltz, and a B.A. in sociology and anthropology at Colgate University. Domenico is also one of the co-founders and facilitators of the Transformative Teaching Collective, a predominantly female, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC-owned cooperative that provides social justice education and consultation to non-profit organizations, university faculty and student groups, government organizations, k-12 teachers, volunteer groups, and faith-based organizations. They are formally certified in social justice mediation from the Social Justice Mediation Institute, UMass Amherst, and has skills in multipartial mediation, facilitation, and conflict resolution.

F. C. A.

F. C. A. is a nonbinary Black person based in the Southeast. They have worked with a handful of organizations local to their LGBTQ+ community in various roles such as facilitating peer support groups, collaborating with other LGBTQ+ community members to help tackle pressing issues impacting their livelihoods and speaking publically about the current challenges affecting LGBTQ+ youth.

Additional information has been omitted to preserve safety and anonymity.

FreeQuency|Mwende

Photo by Juicebox Burton

www.freequencyspeaks.com – story|teller, cultural & donor organizer, chaos collagist, youth worker & performance artist, FreeQuency is a gender renegade shoga Kenyan e|immigrant who is often read as masculine off center, femme adjacent, an AunTea and|or a prettyboi. FreeQuency’s anti-disciplinary work interrogates and occupies the in between and beyond while exploring the nuances and stark contradictions of existence under racialized capitalism. They are a touring artist, a coach, facilitator and consultant at FreeQuency Serves Consulting, and work in the Department of Racial Justice and Movement Building at the National Performance Network as well as the Leader of Youth Liberation and Learning at LOUD: The New Orleans Queer Youth Theater.

MJ Gray

MJ (they|them) is a birthworker, yoga instructor, holistic health advocate, somatic & embodiment coach, and parent! Their center is rooted in love, liberation, reproductive and social justice. They were running the operations of the Richmond Doula Project for the last three years then shifted their work to center accessible wellness for reproductive, BIPOC, and queer communities through their business, Bright Embody Wellness, and other collaborations. When MJ isn’t parenting (very rare sighting lol), they’re whipping up body care products, playing in herbs, taking a walk, belly laughing, or dancing while cooking in the kitchen!

KD Randle

KD Randle (KD/they) is a returning generational farmer who came into land work after years of youth organizing as a student, teacher, and coach between Jackson, MS and New Orleans, LA. Their journey is rooted in remembrance and reconnection of their Black southern agrarian roots that continue to uncover stories of sustainability, creativity, and resilience. This passion has inspired them to create Home Grown Farms, a small rural farm that is still blooming into its first form. Some of KD’s favorite things are: thrifting, being a TT, cooking with their mama, a good dance party, and a “power nap”.