staff directory block - Staff Directory Block
Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, is based in New York. Jessica specializes in gender, sexuality and human rights globally. At OutRight, she has supported the legal registration of LGBTIQ organizations globally, helped secure the mandate of the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and advanced the UN LGBTI Core Group. She has provided expert opinions to governments globally, regional human rights institutions, and UN mechanisms, including UNWomen where she serves as a member of the LGBTI Reference Group. Her writing has been cited by the Indian Supreme Court in its seminal judgment decriminalizing same-sex relations and featured in The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace and Security (2019). She is frequently quoted by the media, including by The New York Times and The Guardian. She is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs.
Maria Sjödin is the Deputy Executive Director of OutRight Action International, based in New York. Maria has over 20 years of experience advocating for LGBTIQ equality. Between 2005-2014 she was Executive Director of RSFL, Sweden’s largest LGBTIQ organization. While in this position Maria established RFSL's international program, played a key role in ensuring that the human rights of LGBTIQ people become ingrained in the Swedish government's agenda for development and foreign affairs, advocated for marriage equality (won in 2009) and the abolishment of forced sterilization of trans people as a requirement for legal gender recognition (outlawed in 2013). Maria has led leadership trainings for over 200 LGBTIQ activists from around the world on topics including strength-based coaching and appreciative inquiry. At OutRight, she leads the development and communications team, where she has diversified and increased the organization's funding, pioneered engagement with international businesses, and provided expert opinions to governments, UN agencies, and corporations.
Maria is frequently quoted by the media, including by outlets like Time magazine and Thomson Reuters.
Chandler Bazemore is the Senior Development Manager at OutRight Action International, based in New York. He joined OutRight Action International in 2019 to lead fundraising efforts in New York City. Chandler brings nearly 20 years of fundraising and development experience from different areas, including at-risk LGBT youth services, education enrichment, social justice, community organizing and environmental protection. He believes development and fundraising at its core is about relationship building and sharing the stories of the people and communities impacted by our work. Chandler has a passion for social justice, supportive services and organizations committed to improving people’s lives. Chandler is motivated and inspired by the creation of a world where all people are respected, supported and encouraged to live their true and authentic selves without reprimand, retaliation and interference. A world where access to opportunity and resources are shared freely by all and everyone has the opportunity to live up to their full potential.
Ms. Bishop is a human rights advocate and global health leader with professional experience in more than 20 countries. She is the Senior Research Advisor for OutRight Action International, and the author of its recent report, Vulnerability Amplified: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on LGBTIQ People. She previously authored OutRight’s groundbreaking report, Harmful Treatment: The Global Reach of So-Called Conversion Therapy, published in August 2019. From 2008 to 2017, she served on OutRight’s Board of Directors and was Board Co-Chair for three years. From 1989 to 2014, she worked for PATH, a non-profit global health organization. Her work there spanned a variety of leadership and technical roles in the areas of TB, HIV, and women’s health. Ms. Bishop is an Adjunct Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health and an invited member of the Civic Council for a Master’s program of the UW Jackson School of International Studies, representing perspectives on human rights for LGBTIQ people. She also is an elected member of the Advisory Committee of Seattle’s Women in Global Health initiative and is on the board of a community empowerment organization in Fiji called Rise Beyond the Reef. She holds Master’s Degrees in Social Work and Public Health, both from Columbia University.
Kennedy Carrillo is the Regional Sexual and Development expert of OutRight Action International, based in Belize. Kennedy is a graduate of the University of Louisville where she completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and the University of the West Indies where she completed a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. After serving as Executive Director of the National AIDS Commission of Belize for 4 years Kennedy went on to establish MC Consultancy: Sexual Health and Development where as lead consultant with a group of social consultants she has been providing technical support to organizations both nationally and regionally in: Research, Strategic Planning, Policy Development, Curriculum Development, Monitoring and Evaluation and Training in several aspects of Sexual Health and Development. Over the past years she has gained extensive experience working in the Caribbean region providing technical support to key entities such as the Pan Caribbean Partnership for HIV, CARICOM, UNAIDS, USAID, the Global Fund, Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition and CariFLAGS among others. Presently, Kennedy serves is the Caribbean Liaison Officer for the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Platform, of the Communities, Rights and Gender Special Initiative of the Global Fund.
Damon Clyde is the Senior Development Officer for Institutional Giving at OutRight Action International, based in Texas. He came to OutRight from the British Council, where he developed partnerships with donors based in the United States to support the Council’s international programs on social entrepreneurship, women’s and girls’ empowerment, youth civic engagement and LGBTIQ issues. Prior to that Damon worked at the EastWest Institute, a global nonprofit promoting peace and security. Damon started his international career as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan. While in the region, he also served as a consultant for the Asian Development Bank and UNHCR.
Damon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University.
Elise Colomer-Cheadle is Director of Corporate Engagement at OutRight Action International, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Elise has over 20 years experience working in the nonprofit industry connecting businesses to causes. Her past roles include Senior Director of Development overseeing institutional, special events and individual giving at SAGE, Associate Director & Director of Latin America Programs at the New York City Bar Association’s Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, and Business and Partnerships Officer at the United Nations Office for Project Services where she co-established and co-managed one of the UN’s first units for partnerships with the private sector.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Elise is bilingual in English and Spanish. She holds a Master of Science in Administration of International Organizations from Columbia University School of Social Work, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Tufts University. She lives with her wife Diane and three dogs, and her interests include baking and running.
Ging Cristobal is the Project Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific Islands at OutRight Action International, based in the Philippines. Ging Cristobal joined OutRight in 2008, bringing with her over 20 years of lesbian feminist activism. Ging has been a technical advisor of UNDP Being’s Asia regional project LGBT in Asia, she is one of the co-founders of the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, a coalition of LGBTIQ groups in Southeast Asia, former vice-chairperson of the Board of Amnesty International – Philippines, and one of the founders of the Lesbian Advocates Philippines (LeAP!), Inc. She also founded the Stop the Discrimination (STD) Coalition, a multisectoral network pushing forthe enactment of the comprehensive anti-discrimination bill. Ging has lobbied for laws to protect LGBT rights as one of the members and founders of the Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network (LAGABLAB), including the pending anti-discrimination law.
She is also a Buddhist by philosophy, 80’s music addict, dog lover, environmentalist, a videoke junkie, a proud fashion wreck.
Cäcille Ealy is the Development Associate for Individual Giving at OutRight Action International, based in New York. She joined the Outright team with five years of professional writing experience. A graduate of Parsons The New School for Design in New York City, she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a minor in writing. While still a student Cäcille write social justice articles for the LGBTQ lifestyle magazine, Kraven. After graduating, she began her career as a contributing food/wellness writer for New York Spirit Magazine and a blog/copywriter for Kanler Construction.
Originally from a small town in Indiana, she knows firsthand how difficult it can be growing up “different”. Because of that, she will forever be a fighter for a persons right’s and a champion for anyone in need.
Hala Hassan is the new Digital Communication Officer at OutRight Action International, based in New York. Prior to her work in the nonprofit world, Hala worked for a digital agency in both Beirut and Dubai, where she led different digital campaigns in the MENA region. Her illustrations have been published in Autostraddle, The Seventh Wave, and the Gulf Center for Human Rights and more, and she often contributes to projects grounded in art activism.
Originally from Lebanon, Hala has found a home in New York City and enjoys the local drag scene that has inspired a lot of her creative work. When she's not working, she's tinkering in the kitchen and discovering new ways to cook mushrooms.
Katie Hultquist is West Coast Director of OutRight Action International and is based in Seattle. With a career in the nonprofit sector spanning more than 20 years, Katie brings a deep understanding of nonprofit management and fundraising to OutRight. Prior to coming to OutRight, Katie served for eight years as the Northwest Regional Director at NPH USA (Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos), where she led the staff and Board in development efforts to support programs for vulnerable children in Latin America and the Caribbean. Katie also spent nine years as the Executive Director of Passages Northwest, a Seattle non-profit dedicated to building courage and leadership in girls through the outdoors and the arts. While based in Washington, DC Katie was the Assistant Development Director for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and the Director of Partnerships and Outreach for Ashoka’s Youth Venture.
Katie holds a Masters degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Seattle University and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Originally from San Francisco, Katie lives in Seattle with her wife and three children.
Paul Jansen is the Senior Advisor for Global Advocacy at Outright Action International. He joined OutRight in 2017 after working as an International Consultant on organisational and strategic reviews for organizations and networks working on LGBTIQ issues, HIV, and other topics. Before starting his consultancy company, he was the Program Director for Salzburg Global Seminar in the areas of education, nature and sustainability issues. He has also worked as organisational sustainability advisor in the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health, in Bangkok, Thailand. Prior to this, he was the country director of the Hivos office in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has been working in international development since 1998 in various development organisations, like Voluntary Service Overseas, after a career in the tourism industry for the Dutch Tourism Board in Cologne, Germany, and the Provincial Tourist Board in Utrecht, Netherlands.
Originally from the Netherlands, Paul holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from Utrecht University and a Bachelor’s degree in marketing management for the hospitality and tourism industry from the Maastricht Hoge Hotelschool.
Neish McLean is the Caribbean Program Officer at OutRight Action International, based in Jamaica. Neish joined OutRight after serving as OutRight's Religion Fellow in 2018. Neish is a Co-founder of TransWave Jamaica, Jamaica’s first and only organization solely dedicated to advocacy for trans people. Neish is also the Vice-Chair of the United Caribbean Trans Network (UCTRANS). Neish has extensive experience of delivering human rights workshops and trainings throughout the Caribbean and beyond. Neish holds a BSc in Psychology which helps in their work as a human rights defender while using their lived reality as a trans person to inform their advocacy. Neish also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Sports Management. Neish is a sports and fitness enthusiast.
Sahar Moazami, United Nations Program Officer at OutRight Action International, is based in New York. Sahar is a New York State bar admitted attorney with a focus on international human rights law. Sahar is a first generation Iranian-American born in London but primarily raised in New York. They attended Boston University for their undergraduate degree, majoring in Political Science and minoring in American and Persian history. Upon graduation, Sahar volunteered with the AmeriCorps FEMA Corps program, traveling the United States for 10 months aiding disaster survivors. After completing the 10 month service position Sahar returned to New York to attend Fordham Law School.
Sahar obtained her Juris Doctor from Fordham Law School in 2017. As a student at Fordham Law, they heavily engaged in student activism through leadership positions in a number of student groups including the Coalition of Concerned Students, the National Lawyers Guild, Advocates for Sexual Health and Rights, and Fordham OUTLaws. Sahar was also a member of the Stein Scholars for Public Interest Program and was a Crowley Scholar for International Human Rights.
Grace Poore is the Regional Program Coordinator for Asia at OutRight Action International and is based in Maryland. Grace manages collaborative partnership projects throughout Asia for LGBTIQ access to justice and LBT protections from domestic violence and family violence, conducts trainings on human rights documentation, and facilitates LBT engagement with UN mechanisms, specifically the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She coordinated OutRight’s research on violence against lesbians, bisexual women and gender variant people in Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka, and co-edited the 2014 regional report. She co-edited OutRight’s 2017 legal mapping report on criminalization of LGBT people in Indonesia. She previously worked in the U.S. movement to stop domestic violence. Her documentary films on domestic violence and surviving child sexual abuse have been screened in eighteen countries.
Grace holds a Master’s degree from Syracuse University, Newhouse School of Communications. She’s been published in several anthologies and online journals.
Em Rubey is the Executive Assistant at OutRight Action International, based in New York. They joined the OutRight team after earning their Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies from Colgate University. During their tenure at Colgate, Em worked tirelessly to support LGBTIQ students on campus through mentoring peers, advocating for gender neutral bathrooms, and fostering community across New York State schools by hosting the 2018 NY6 Spectrum Conference: Intersections in Queerness. Additionally, they assisted on research projects that support trans and gender nonconforming youth in New York City public schools.
Daina Ruduša is OutRight’s Senior Communications Manager responsible for media relations and raising the organization’s profile, based in New York. She joined the team in February 2019 after almost three years at ILGA-Europe, the foremost European-level LGBTIQ organization. She has also worked at leading international development organizations CARE International UK and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Daina first joined the LGBTIQ movement in her native Latvia in 2006, when the second Pride march was being organized and faced hateful and violent opposition. Thereafter Daina studied history of sexuality as part of her Bachelor’s degree in History and English at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, and earned her Master’s in Public International Law and Human Rights from the Riga Graduate School of Law in Latvia.
Originally from Latvia, Daina is a bit of a nomad at heart - moving to New York to join OutRight marks her 8th country of residence. She is a massive dog-lover, enthusiastic singer, and is fluent in English, Latvian and Russian.
Azza Sultan is the Program Advisor, Middle East and North Africa Regional Program at OutRight Action International, based in Washington DC. She came to OutRight in 2020 from Grindr, where she was the associate director of Grindr for Equality (G4E), the app's initiative to promotes justice, health, and safety for LGBTQ+ people around the globe for two and half years.
Azza is a Sudanese American queer activist. She has spent her career advocating for sexual orientation and gender identity issues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with a close focus on the Nile valley Area -- Egypt and Sudan -- since 2010, and is among the founders of prominent LGBTQI+ organizations there, such as Bedayaa organization and Mesahat Foundation for Sexual and Gender Diversity. Azza started her queer activism in 2007 using social media and blogging to publish queer poems and short stories to raise awareness around sexual orientation and gender identity issues (SOGI) and provide alternative literature and discourse for Queer, Lesbian ,and Bisexual Arabic-speaking women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Azza is a Co-founder and board member at the “Queer Women Network” (QWN), the first organization specialized in queer and trans women and gender non-conforming individuals’ issues in the Middle East and North Africa "MENA" region ,and a Co-founder and board member at the “North Africa Center for Strategic Partnerships” (NACSP), a regional organization that works to create a favorable environment for joint regional action and develop knowledge production on sexuality issues in the North Africa region.
Luiza Drummond Veado is OutRight's United Nations Program Officer based in New York. She is a Brazilian attorney with an International Human Rights Law LLM from the University of Essex. She worked at the Rapporteurship on Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for almost two years, where she developed thematic reports and worked on regional leading cases on LGBTI rights. Prior to this, she was a member of the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Essex and has worked at the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, the Center for Justice and International Law and the Minas Gerais State Human Rights Council and its Truth Commission. Luiza has also published several academic articles on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics; trained more than one hundred activists and government officials on international and regional non-discrimination standards, with a focus on LGBTI rights; and has coordinated an award-winning video campaign on violence against LGBTI persons in the Americas.
Yvonne Wamari is the Africa Program Officer at OutRight Action International, based in Kenya. Yvonne joined OutRight in 2019. She is a human rights defender from Nairobi, Kenya with nine years’ experience in advocacy, research and security management. She has worked with the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists and the Africa Centre for Open Governance (Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice). For the past six years Yvonne worked for National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders - Kenya as the Programme Officer- Advocacy, with a particular focus on human rights defenders. Yvonne is also a trained trainer, and has carried out various trainings to human rights defenders,journalists and others across Kenya on monitoring and documentation; advocacy strategies and physical and digital security management. She has worked closely with the LGBTIQ+ community and is part of the advocacy and legal strategy team in the campaign to repeal sections 162 and 165 of the Penal Code of Kenya.
Yvonne is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Human Rights from the University of Nairobi.
Kevin Wanzor is the Head of Operations at OutRight Action International, based in New York. Before joining Outright in November 2017, Kevin Wanzor worked in college access and student advocacy, on a team committed to teaching a shift from passive and impersonal communication to active, personal, agency and fluency-focused ways of expression. As Director of Operations/Chief of Staff, as well as a teacher, Kevin worked to support professionals, teams, jobseekers and students to tell better stories and to be their strongest advocates. Previously, he worked in global health PR, researching and assessing social and epidemiological studies related to HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases.
Kevin is as comfortable working in the office as he is performing on stage, where he spent his early career. His passion for working with marginalized populations and advocating for equality and parity is matched only by his passion for music and the performing arts. He has collaborated with several organizations to create an acting and singing program for foster care LGBT teens. He is an award-winning lyricist and playwright, and spent a number of years traveling the country as a performer. He is an alumnus of Syracuse University and the prestigious BMI Writing Program.
Meet Bob. Bob is the cofounder of “Unicorns For Humanity” and a proud member of the LGBTQI community. If it were up to him the world would be pink and covered with glitters. He’s very sweet and a huge supporter of OutRight Action International. So much, he even agreed to be their mascot. Some say, he’s the one making marriage equality in Belgium possible by persuading the political leaders with his glitter cookies and pancakes with strawberry jam. Learn about how Bob became our mascot.
