Soulforce Staff

Jeff Lutes
Executive Director

Jeff is a psychotherapist in private practice, an activist, and father of three adopted chidren that lives in Austin, Texas. He has served as the Executive Director of Soulforce since 2006 and conceived the ideas for the 2009 Anti-Heterosexism Conference, Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights, The Ex-Gay Survivor Conference, and the American Family Outing. He is the author of the Soulforce booklet, "What The Science Says - and Doesn't Say - about Homosexuality: Research-based Answers To Ten Of The Most Commonly Asked Questions About Gay Men, Lesbian Women, And Their Families." Jeff has directed treatment programs in both hospital and community mental health settings. His clinical expertise is in helping couples to improve the quality of their relationships and, for those with children, the effectiveness of their parenting skills. He is a member of the American Counseling Association, the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling, Counselors for Social Justice, and the Council on Contemporary Families. Jeff's husband of 11 years, Gary Stein, and two of their three children are deaf, so American Sign Language is the primary mode of communication in their home.
   

Gary Nixon
Director of Business

Gary is Co-Founder of Soulforce and has been with the organization before conception doing what has been needed from behind the scenes. He spends many hours each day managing donations and expenses, and filling orders for those who have requested one of Soulforce's print or video resources. Working as a team, he and Mel have celebrated 28 years of life together and are looking forward to the next 28.

"My wish for Soulforce is that eventually we are no longer needed, that we will have been accepted into the human family like the rest of the population and now we can get down to business to do what really needs to be done."
Marianne DeLeon
Development Director

Prior to joining Soulforce, Marianne served as the Development Director for the Resource Center of Dallas and Equality Texas, two organizations dedicated to the LGBT equality movement. She was responsible for directing the fund development programs of both organizations, including grant writing, events, and donor development. Marianne is Cuban American and a native of St. Petersburg, Florida. She moved to Houston, Texas with her parents at a young age. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Arts from Southern Methodist University. She worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova for two years on women's reproductive rights and raised funds to support women's healthcare initiatives. Prior to joining the equality movement, Marianne worked as a Resource Development Specialist with the International Rescue Committee, which advocates on behalf of the displaced, addressing the root causes of violence and standing up for the world's most vulnerable populations. She has nearly 9 years of experience in fund development in a variety of nonprofit settings.
   
Bill Carpenter
Director of National Actions

Bill grew up in Memphis, TN where in his early teens, he witnessed much of the civil rights movement, including nonviolent demonstrations and marches led by Dr. King, Rev. James Lawson and his brother Phil and other of his present day heroes. After graduating from the University of Alabama, he worked in business and marketing in retailing and real estate. Coming out as a 40 year old, he shifted his attention from a traditional business career to a life of service. Presently, Bill is an active student of Truth principles, active at his Unity church and as a trainer in welcoming diversity and in principles of nonviolence. Bill says one of his greatest Soulforce experiences was early in Soulforce history at the UMC convention in Cleveland, OH in 2000 hearing two of his s/heroes Bob and Jeanie Graetz tell about the "second time their house was firebombed" while living in Montgomery, Alabama.

Today, I call upon every LGBT person to reach deep within and connect with the joyous truth of who you are and declare, once and for all, I will not accept being treated as a 2nd class person or citizen of my country. Today, I stand with all oppressed peoples of the earth and declare: I am whole and worthy and loved – just as I am!
Kara Speltz
Executive Assistant

Kara has been involved with Soulforce since prior to the first action in Lynchburg, in 1999. She comes out of a Catholic Worker background and has been a peace and justice activist for over forty years. She was involved in the Catholic left draft board and corporation actions of the late 60's and early 70s, houses of hospitality, anti-racist work, prison work, and union organizing. In 2002, she traveled to Iraq just days after war started and then again two years later. As Executive Assistant her responsibilities involve being a "jill-of-all trades," so to speak; from making airline and hotel reservations, aiding in research for Mel's books, writing and/or editing pieces for publication, to making sure that Soulforce mail gets responded to.
Carlos Perez de Alejo
Communications Director

Carlos grew up in Miami, Fl, where he cut his teeth on direct action at an anti-corporate globalization protest in 2001. Since then he has played an active role as an organizer in various social justice movements, ranging from immigrant rights to anti-war struggles. In 2006 he moved to Austin, Texas for graduate school, where he received his MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas. Pleased to be out of graduate school, he now spends his time organizing local actions in Austin, reading, writing, and riding his bike. A staunch believer in the old labor notion that "An injury to one is an injury to all," he is excited to be a part of the Soulforce team in the struggle for LGBT freedom.
   
   
Caitlin MacIntyre
Equality Ride Director

Caitlin is from a small town in New Jersey where she grew up with her fabulous gay dads and her wonderful ally mom. She left home to attend college at Rice University in Houston, TX where she began doing campus activism and work with Soulforce and other LGBTQ organizations. After participating in the Equality Ride in 2008 as the media director, Caitlin decided to leave school to find her bliss and relocate to Austin to serve as a director of the 2010 Soulforce Q Equality Ride. She looks forward to once again playing a part in a project that empowers, transforms, and excites a new generation of young adult activists and works towards liberation for all people.
Andi Gentile
Grassroots Organizer - Young Adult Activism (Soulforce Q)

Andi hails from New York City, and is a recent New York-to-Austin, Texas convert. Since her high school years, she has been dedicated to social justice work, particularly activism within the LGBTQ movement. Andi earned her BA in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Psychology from Wesleyan University in May, 2008. There she focused her academic pursuits on feminist and queer theory, and has striven to find innovative ways to put theory into action. Andi has continued to be drawn to LGBTQ activism; outside of Soulforce she has had the opportunity to organize with the impressive and inspiring young people at Texas GSA Network and Out Youth. When not concentrating on her passion for change, she fancies herself a cook, writer, and globetrotter—but she’s always looking for new things to add to the list.
Asher Kolieboi
Grassroots Organizer - Young Adult Activism (Soulforce Q)

Asher is Liberian-American and was raised in Saint Louis, Missouri. Since high school, he has worked for social and economic justice with a special focus on race, gender, and sexuality. Throughout his undergraduate career Asher worked with multiple student and community groups and used his contagious energy and efficient event planning skills to stimulate conversation about intersecting oppressions. During his last semester of college, Asher organized IncludeME, a successful campaign aimed to amend the university's constitution to ensure gender equality for students, faculty and staff. In the same semester, Asher was also crowned Mr. Pride on the Prairie for his sizzling dance moves at the spring drag show. In May 2009 Asher earned his BA in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia and relocated to Austin, Texas to join the Soulforce team.

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