Soulforce Staff

Jeff Lutes
Executive Director

With 13 years of management experience, Jeff is responsible for directing the day to day operations and the "take it to the streets" style of activism which has become the hallmark of Soulforce, and it's young adult division, Soulforce Q. Jeff is also a licensed professional counselor in private practice, and 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. He and his husband of 11 years, Gary Stein, are the proud fathers of three adopted children. Gary and two of the children are deaf, so American Sign Language is the primary mode of communication in their home.
Haven Herrin
Director of Soulforce Q: Young Adult Activism

Haven Herrin grew up in Dallas, TX and went to school for painting and drawing in Richmond, VA. She has been working with Soulforce Q for three years and is always searching for a way to bring more art into her activism. People tell her she is so far from home, but Minneapolis is a great place for social justice and she's never to far from either coast. When not on a plane or a bus, doing a sit-in or canvassing, you can find her in a coffee shop writing letters to her friends and working on her mac.

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.
Jarrett Lucas
Director of Outreach for Soulforce Q

Jarrett Lucas was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He majored in visual media and writing at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. Upon graduation, he attended Drexel University where he studied computer engineering. A former Jehovah’s Witness, Jarrett now uses his experience and offers his knowledge as tools in the struggle for LGBT equality and social justice. He currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota and works as the Director of Outreach for the Young Adult division of Soulforce.
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.
Katie Higgins
Director of Operations for Soulforce Q

Katie was raised in Charleston, SC and earned her BA in Applied Anthropology from Appalachian State University. She has worked with a number of community development and environmental conservation non-profits and is now serving as the Director of Operations for Soulforce Young Adult Activism. Katie came to Soulforce by way of the 2006 Equality Ride, as a Rider, and will be a Co-Director in 2007. She relocated to Minneapolis, MN to join the Young Adult staff.
Alexey Bulokhov
Director of International Outreach: Soulforce Q

Alexey grew up in the Soviet Union and is honored to have the rare opportunity to be the change one wants to see in the world. Working as an International Liaison for Soulforce Q, he believes that philosophy and methodology of non-violence will further empower the emerging global LGBT movement. Alexey holds Communications degrees from Saint Lawrence University and College of New Rochelle. Prior to going fulltime into activism at the intersection of faith, gender, sexuality and social justice, he worked in fashion photography in New York. Alexey enjoys sushi, bicycles and commitment is not one of his phobias.

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