Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Advisory Council

Charles A. | he/they

Embracing my identity as a queer Black Filipino, I've journeyed from self-doubt due to colonial mentality to healing through grace and reconnecting with my roots. Raised by a resilient immigrant mother facing abuse, my coming out resulted in experiencing homelessness. These trials deepened my insight into the moral complexities and the impact of tough choices on loved ones. I dedicated my early career to supporting HIV-impacted, resource-deprived communities, transitioning from volunteer work to state-level advocacy before changing my path due to burnout. Today, I'm a Prosci-certified change practitioner within the financial industry; I focus on continuous improvement cultures and lean management.

I want to build bridges between queer people of Abrahamic faiths and have my faith unlearn dominance. Believing in kindness towards oneself as a foundation for extending love to others, I champion love and fierce resilience for a world where we embody the dynamic goodness our faith calls us.

Lindsey Holt | he/she/they

Lindsey enjoys discovering ways to make a harmony out of differences among diverse groups of people. Pulling from personal experience as well as professional experience as a DEI consultant, Lindsey’s core desire for every new engagement is fostering belonging. They believe that creating communities of belonging is a critical part of meaningful relationship, and a keystone of God’s call for the Church. Because of this, Lindsey approaches every idea with an eye towards who is being overlooked and seeks to create space for everyone to share their own experiences. On occasion, Lindsey also enjoys speaking and writing on the intersection of faith and LGBTQ experience.

Morgan Hummel | she/her

Morgan is located in Phoenix where she loves spending time with her wife, child and family. On the weekends, you can find her watching a soccer game or trying to find a new coffee shop.

She’s a former pastor and currently a DEI training & design specialist with a few ventures in between. She also has her graduate degree in Sociology with an emphasis in education.

Above all, she tries to keep life about kindness, love and creativity. We are all human by birth, and the rest is history.

Lin Melone | she/her

Lin Melone, (she/her), is a covenant member of the Church of the Sojourners in San Francisco, an intentional Christian community. Lin identifies as cis/gay/queer and is the mom of a grown son from a 25-year mixed-orientation marriage. Lin's professional background is in education and children's ministry, and she is the author of "Welcoming Rainbow Kids" in Faith Forward: A Dialogue on Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity (Czinos and Bray, eds., Wood Lake Publishing, 2013). Lin has presented at conferences such as Revoice, E3, and Weaving Our Gifts, as well as at prior QCF conferences. Lin has served on the QCF Side B Advisory since its beginning at the 2017 GCN/QCF conference in Denver.

Terence Mayo | he/him

Rev. Terence L. Mayo (he/him) is a Black queer public theologian, educator, and social impact strategist that strives to co-create change through social justice, community-based education, and racial equity. He brings a unique perspective to his multi-genre spanning work while centering Black diasporic ways of being, knowing, and belief. He currently serves as the Director of Community Ministry for the Center for Youth Ministry Training.

As a sought-after speaker, Rev. Mayo has shared his expertise on various topics, including Black LGBTQIA+ youth, DEI, education-community partnerships, public theology & social change, and trauma-informed strategies. He holds degrees in Business Administration, Secondary Education, and Religion.

Kelli Mechelke | she/her

I grew up going to church in a small town in Indiana in the late 80s. We were taught it was a sin to be queer. Then my dad came out as gay.

Since then, I have been on a journey for the last 25 years as my heart and mind have changed towards the queer community because of my relationship with my dad and best friend. I have undergone a personal transformation from judgment to acceptance and finally to advocate.

The question I consistently come back to as a writer and thinker is, “How do I/we love better?” I am currently writing my first book, a memoir, about my transformation and changing my mind.

My son came out as gay a year ago and now I have the amazing opportunity to offer him the acceptance and encouragement my dad never had.

However, none of these changes in my life would have occurred without continuous dialogue with trusted friends about places where I was judgmental, had blind spots, and couldn’t see past my own heteronormativity. My desire is for all Christians to do their emotional work to see where we’ve been wrong and to say I’m sorry.

Lamont A Wells | he/him/his

Rev. Lamont Anthony Wells (he, him, his) is the Executive Director, Network of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Colleges and Universities (NECU). NECU is an association of 27 colleges and universities of the ELCA. Wells also serves as Strategic Advisor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Wartburg Theological Seminary, and is the immediate past National President of the African Descent Lutheran Association (ADLA).

Cassandra Whisenant | she/her

Cassandra Whisenant (she/her) is an English doctoral student at West Virginia University working at the intersection of Latinx identity, gender, and adolescence. A military brat from Harpers Ferry, WV, she grew up all over the world- from Houston, TX, to Budapest, Hungary, to rural Alice Springs, Australia.

Cassandra is a post-homeschool exvangelical who still embraces Veggie Tales as high culture. With a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in children’s literature, Cassandra believes in the power of education. In her free time, she volunteers at The Trevor Project, travels, drinks black coffee, and burns baked goods made from box mix.

Matthew White | he/him

Matthew White (he/him) is an advocate, author, and facilitator dedicated to teaching self-liberation and leading with kindness. For over a decade, he has trained, organized, facilitated, and coached unions, change organizations, and individuals to bring equity and transformation to their spaces. Matthew is the author of “The Owl Who Didn’t Who,” a children’s book focusing on the power of understanding our “why” and illustrating his lessons learned from community organizing. Matthew is an Education Coordinator for AFSCME, focusing on creating pathways for education, equity, and engagement for union members across the United States. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and minored in music at the University of La Verne, attended the Savannah College of Art and Design for his Masters in Arts Administration, and is now pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion.

Shani Wilson | she/her

Shani Wilson is a Physician Associate with 10 years of internal medicine experience, specializing in LGBTQ+ health and addiction medicine. Community activism and engagement have been especially important to Shani; she is passionate about giving a voice to the underserved people. She uses her experiences working in medicine to lecture and teach on the intersectionality of social justice and medicine, which she uses in her everyday life to serve the people of the 46th ward of Chicago as their Public Safety Director. She recently served as Rochester Black Pride's inaugural Board Vice President and continues to put her skills to use advocating for Physician Associates as the current President of the LBGT PA Caucus, one of the oldest Caucuses in the Physician Associate profession.

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