LGBTQ-RAN welcomes nominations of persons to serve on its board of directors. We look for representation from the diversity of LGBTQ religious expressions. Use this form to submit a nomination for yourself or another person.
Marnie Warner (Chair) (she/her) retired in 2013 after forty years as a law librarian in a law firm, setting up prison libraries and as Law Library Coordinator for the Massachusetts Trial Court. During her career, she served as President of the New England Law Library Consortium and Secretary of the Massachusetts Library Association. A lifelong member of the United Church of Christ, Marnie served as Clerk of the Council at Church of the Covenant in Boston as well as Chair of the Deacons. Marnie was a member of the Campaign to Renew Covenant which raised $1.3 million dollars to stabilize and renovate the physical building and currently serves on the Covenant Building Preservation Project which continues to raise funds to maintain the church building what is now a National Historic Landmark. She participated in Massachusetts Conference of the U.C.C. as a member of the Committee on Ministry, the annual meeting program committee and as a delegate to two General Synods. One of four authors of the Open and Affirming Resolution, Marnie was a lead advocate at the 1985 General Synod which passed the ONA Resolution. Marnie received her B.A. from Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin and her Masters in Library Science from Simmons College in Boston, MA. Although not an archivist, Marnie’s library training involves the preservation of information both physically and digitally
Richard ("Rick") Peterson (Treasurer) (he/him) and his spouse, Rev. Wayne T. Bradley (MCC), have been extensively involved in Chicago’s LGBTQ community since the early 1980s. Rick served on the Board of Directors, as Board Chair and on the Board team serving as the Interim Executive Director of Howard Brown Health, the Midwest’s largest AIDS and LGBTQ service provider, in the late 1980s. He has also served the United Church of Christ (UCC) on multiple levels, including helping to shepherd the Open and Affirming process at his local church and in the Illinois Conference and serving on the national UCC’s Justice and Witness Board of Directors. Rick has been an active member of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Theological Seminary since he was initially elected in 1993, and he has recently finished his term as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Community Renewal Society, a Chicago faith-based organization that works with communities to address issues of racism and poverty. An Iowa native, Rick graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College with a BA in History. He holds a Masters in Health Care Administration (MHA) and a JD from Washington University in St. Louis. Rick recently retired as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons,where he served for nearly 30 years.
Dr. Joel L. Kushner (he/him) was appointed the Director of the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 2013. He also founded the HUC-JIR Institute for Judaism, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity in 2005. Dr. Kushner continues to consult with a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, locally and nationally and has lectured on LGBTQ education and inclusion across the country. Previously, he sat on the National Religious Leadership Roundtable of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Executive Board of California Faith for Equality and Nehirim. He has also consulted with the staff and boards of JQ International and A Wider Bridge. Dr. Kushner was trained in counseling, clinical and organizational psychology and holds graduate degrees in counseling and clinical psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Additionally, he holds certificates in Intensive Case Management and in Human Resources Management. In 2013, Dr. Kushner completed a half unit of CPE at Cedars-Sinai and in 2017 completed training as a Spiritual Director in the Morei Derekh program of the Yedidya Center for Jewish Spiritual Direction. Beginning in 2013, Dr. Kushner has successfully developed and produced a biennial event called, Jewish Wisdom & Wellness – A Festival of Learning that explores the themes of Judaism, health, and healing.
Rev. Elder Jim Mitulski (he/him) has been active in LGBT liberation since his early days in Dignity in Detroit and New York City in the 1970's. He was ordained in MCC in 1983, where he retains the title Elder, and also has ministerial standing in the Disciples of Christ/Christian Church, The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, where he is recognized as a Bishop, and the United Church of Christ. His pastorates have included MCC New York, MCC San Francisco, MCC in Guerneville CA, City of Angels, New Spirit Community Church at Pacific School of Religion, MCC of the Rockies in Denver, Cathedral of Hope UCC in Dallas. Congregational Church of Needham MA, and he now serves at Island United UCC in Foster City, CA C/He has been a senior denominational executive for MCC, staff member and adjunct faculty at the Pacific School of Religion (PSR), and was the Program Coordinator for the Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library. He has a BA in Religion from Columbia University, an M.Div. from Pacific School of Religion, was a Merrill Fellow at Harvard Divinity School and was awarded an honorary doctor of sacred theology from the Starr King School for the Ministry.
Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis (he/him) earned his PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Interdisciplinary Studies, focusing on sexuality, art, and religion. He earned a Master’s degree at Harvard University and a previous doctorate from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He currently is an assistant professor and director of the Social Transformation program at United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities. Justin’s previous work includes advocacy for LGBT rights in national non-profit organizations. He was the Community Education and Outreach Manager at the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) in Washington, D.C. and later served as the Director of Communications for Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. He is the author of Transgender: Ministry, Theology, and Communities of Faith, which was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in 2003, and is a contributor to the forthcoming Transgender: Four Views (Baker Academic Press, 2018). He has also contributed chapters to the Queer Bible Commentary and Take Back the Word: A Queer Reading of the Bible. An artist and photographer, Justin has had a lifelong passion for the arts.
Barbara Satin (she/her) is an 86 year old, transgender activist who has been deeply involved with LGBTQ initiatives, locally and nationally, particularly around issues of faith, aging and trans affirmation. She currently serves as Faith Work Director for the National LGBTQ Task Force from her home in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota. Barbara has served on the boards of numerous non-profits serving LGBTQ people in the area of philanthropy, community activism, HIV/AIDS services, LGBTQ housing and aging. An active member of the United Church of Christ, she was the first trans person to serve on the denomination's Executive Council and was involved in the Church's 2003 decision to affirm the inclusion of transgender people in the full life and ministry of the UCC. She was heavily involved in the development of Spirit on Lake, a 46 unit affordable rental project which opened in Minneapolis in 2013 and is focused on serving LGBT Seniors. In 2016, Barbara was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President's Faith-Based and Neighborhood Advisory Council, the first trans person to serve in that position. She recently was a prayer leader for the Biden-Harris Inaugural Prayer Service in January 2021.