They are the solo author of Coming Out to the Streets: LGBTQ Youth Experiencing Homelessness and the co-author of Race and Sexuality. Dr. Robinson has also published in a variety of peer-reviewed journal articles. When not writing, teaching, or sleeping, Brandon enjoys hiking, running, watching all the tv, and being with friends.
They are the author of the books, Queer Carnival, Gay Rights at the Ballot Box and Cornyation: San Antonio’s Outrageous Fiesta Tradition. Amy likes to travel, kayak, do trapeze poorly, and go for walks with their dogs and foster kids.
Otis McCandless-Chapman (He/Him)
Otis is a Fellow with the Family, Housing, & Me project. He graduated with a MS-Sociology degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2022. Since graduating, he had the opportunity to conduct domestic social policy analysis with the Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC.
His research interests include social inequality, gender and sexuality, race/ethnic relations, and food insecurity commonly using an intersectional perspective to guide such work. Otis’s master’s thesis project, entitled “Are You What You Eat? Food, Identity, and Embodiment Among Gay Men”, explored the intersection between sexuality, foodways, and gender identity/embodiment among gay men.
In his free time Otis enjoys spending his time gardening, hiking, and cooking for his husband.
Dr. Javania Michelle has over 17 years of life experience in mentoring, planning small events, and program development, and her motto is ‘Empowering Through Experience.’ This motto has helped her in obtaining a wealth of knowledge to serve youth and adults. In her spare time, she loves to hang out with her wife and dog, travel, shop and try different foods.
Noor Jahlul (He/Him)
Noor is a sociology major from Houston, Texas. He is a McNair Scholar hoping to pursue a Ph.D. in sociology after graduating and studying environmental sociology, housing, and mobilities. In his free time, he likes reading, playing video games, collecting hot wheels, and watching F1.
Ryann Moos (She/Her)
Ryann is a sociology major and english minor from Houston, Texas. She is very passionate about social justice and global awareness. She enjoys reading, writing, and playing video games in her free time. She takes immense pride in her two cats, Tex and Monkey.
Anna is a senior urban studies and sociology major at Trinity University. She is from Houston, TX. She enjoys learning about architecture and people-centered urban planning and is passionate about community-based research. In her free time, she loves rock climbing with friends and reading!
(She/Her)
Katherine is a sociology major at Trinity University.
Stephanie Gutierrez (They/Them, She/Her)
Stephanie is a research assistant with a double major in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Education Society and Human Development-under a concentration in Community Leadership, Policy, and Social Justice. They are also pursuing a minor in Public Policy under the tracks of Health/Population and Social/Cultural/Family Policy. They grew up in the IE of SoCal until receiving a disparate amount of resources during her time in NorCal. Stephanie focuses their energy on marginalized communities she identifies with such as LGBTQ+, disability, Chicanx identities, formerly incarcerated, student parents, and climate justice. Her goals are to attend graduate school and become an administrator that focuses on implementing student-centered and community-engaged policy through participatory research in a class she teaches.
Fei Mu (She/Her)
Fei is studying health sciences and sociology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She is invested in community care and queer sexual health equity.
Shell Montes (She/They)
Shell is a Sustainability B.S. and Gender and Sexuality B.A. double majoring student at UC Riverside. She is applying to graduate school for a PhD in feminist studies, with goals of doing research that highlights queer perspectives in the midst of climate change. In her free time, she can be found anywhere with water (usually the ocean). She loves surfing, paddle-boarding, and being out in nature.
Laura Rodriguez Pinto (She/Her)
Laura is a transfer student at UCR majoring in Sustainability Studies. One interesting thing about her is that she loves to perform and has participated in forensics competitions, talent shows, theater productions and student films. Laura enjoys expressing herself creatively through writing, singing, dancing, and posting video skits for her 10 Instagram followers.
Paige Grow (She/Her)
Paige has an AA in Sociology from Riverside City College and is now perusing her BA in Gender and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Sociology at the University of California, Riverside. Paige loves to travel and also enjoys watercolor painting. She is excited to be on the project and help make a positive impact in the lives of LGBTQ+ youth.
Sean Nguyen (He/Him)
Sean is a current undergraduate at the University of California, Riverside studying Public Policy and Asian American Studies. He is well active within his community, currently serving as the School of Public Policy Senator at UC Riverside and a Public Affairs Intern with the Asian American Public Affairs Association. Through his personal experiences, he has found a passion for addressing social issues around race and ethnicity, LGBTQ+ rights, and higher education. Sean is currently applying for masters programs in Public Policy to further his professional goal of making a positive impact on the communities around him.