Team

Executive Director

Mark Bowman (he/him, mark@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) has been involved in the development of LGBTQ-RAN since its founding in 2001. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology. He first became active in Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns in the late 1970s. He was instrumental in the formation of the Reconciling Congregation Program (United Methodist) and the magazine Open Hands and headed these programs for fifteen years. He played a key leadership role in initiating several cooperative ventures in the ecumenical "Welcoming Church" Movement, including the historic, massive Witness Our Welcome (WOW) Conference in 2000.

Archivist

Jamie Myre (they/she, jamie@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) is an archivist, historian, and museum professional living in the Washington, D.C. area. They received master’s degrees in History and Library & Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, where they studied American LGBTQ+ religious history, archives and digital curation, and museum scholarship. Her current research explores ways in which religious traditions and expressions have informed the emergence and construction of trans* identities. Jamie is a former LGBTQ-RAN intern and is grateful to return to the team as Archivist!

Communications Consultant

Joe Ward (he/him, joe@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) is a communications consultant and visual artist based in New York City. For more than 15 years, Joe has worked with nonprofit organizations and cultural institutions to build projects and campaigns to advance justice and equality for marginalized communities. In addition to LGBTQ-RAN, Joe works with diverse clients on communications and justice arts initiatives, and collaborates with artists and activists on exhibition projects.

European Public Historian

Dr. Rachael Stockdale (she/her, rachael@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) grew up in a small coastal town in the north of Ireland and works as a Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast. Upon completing her doctoral studies, she completed a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Kyoto, Japan, followed by a postdoctoral position at University College Cork. Rachael has been active in peacebuilding and volunteering in international efforts of solidarity, including extensive experience as a Council of Europe Human Rights Education trainer and facilitator across the EU and Eastern Partnership countries. Rachael led the pioneering European-wide research project “Rainbow Index of Christian Churches in Europe” both in 2020 and again in 2025 for the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups. With a passion for interfaith activism, Rachael was honoured to be selected as a Fellow for Faith For Our Planet, as well as a Young Leader for Women Deliver. Most recently, Rachael was selected for the 2026 Fundamentals of LGBTQI+ Movement Building Program, organised by the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School. Rachael speaks English, Spanish, French, a little Arabic and signs fluently in British Sign Language.

Web Developer

Angie Gustafson (she/her, angie@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) is a web developer, writer, and community organizer who lives in the beautiful Sogn Valley of southeast Minnesota. She has a passion for connecting people to information, resources, and each other. Before becoming a web developer, Angie worked for over 14 years as a librarian. She has a BA from Luther College in Decorah, IA and an MLIS from St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, MN.

Administrative Assistant

Ellen Huffman (she/her, ellen@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) is an ordained Disciples of Christ minister from Northeast Ohio. She has an M.Div. from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis and an M.A. in Tibetan Buddhism and Sanskrit from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Ellen has a background in non-profit work and community organizing, with an emphasis on accompaniment work in the Global South. In addition to LGBTQ-RAN, she works as the Administrative Clerk for the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ.

Financial Accountant

Penny Junco (she/her, penny@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) spent 40-plus years as a degreed accountant in the corporate worlds of the banking, food, gas & oil, and allied packaging industries. Her career success came from being able to work with all levels of a business, from President to CFO to Accounting Clerk, to help develop financial information that they understand and educates and links everyone in the importance of their performance to the financial success of the business. During what spare time she had in her career work and in retirement, she has shared her business and accounting knowledge and business system savvy with non/not-for-profit organizations, helping educate them on their financial structure and reporting to enhance decisions-making that favorably impacts their operations and finances.

Research Assistants

Nicole Malte Collins (she/her, nicole@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) is a PhD student at Brown University, where she studies trans converts to Judaism in the contemporary United States. She started and helps run LGBTQ RAN’s Queer Religion Boston research project. She holds an MTS from Harvard Divinity School and a BA from Carleton College.

Lenny Beach (she/her, lenny@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) is a video and installation artist based in Chicago IL. Her work explores identity, spirituality, and the intersections of personal and collective histories. She graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art with a degree in Video and Sound.

Diane E. Curtis (she/her, diane@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org) is finishing a Master’s in Library and Information Science at San Jose State University, focusing on reparative description in the archival collections of marginalized communities. She holds a B.A. (Hons) in the History of Ideas from Kennesaw State University, and a Master of Theological Studies from Emory University, Candler School of Theology. Diane lives on a 2-acre hobby farm in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains with her spouse, mom, and several chickens and enjoys knitting, baking, and helping to run her local Queer & Ally Book Club.