STAFF

Bethany Lockhart, Program Coordinator

Bethany grew up in Long Beach, California. When she was 11, her mom came out to her after her parents' divorce and let her know that if she began dating again, it would be with a woman. Once her mom did start dating, Bethany realized it did not always feel easy to explain who 'that woman with your mom is' to her classmates and friends. Even though dialogue was open with her mom, Bethany wishes she had known about COLAGE when she was growing up so that she could have learned how to communicate with her classmates and start celebrating her family openly (which she happily does now!!!).

Bethany is brand new to the Bay Area and spent the last 10 years in sunny San Diego. She graduated from UCSD with degrees in Theatre, Dance, and Ethnic Studies. After college, Bethany continued her work in non-profit organizations with missions focusing on the performing arts and empowering youth through arts and/or education.

Bethany loves being an auntie to her beautiful niece and is excited for the upcoming arrival of #2! When she is not working with COLAGE, Bethany is training for her very first half-marathon, rearranging her Netflix queue, reading design blogs, and exploring her fabulous new city.

Monica Canfield-Lenfest, Volunteer Kids of Trans Program Coordinator

Monica grew up in Vermont and attended college in Boston before coming to the West Coast for an 8 month KOT fellowship with COLAGE. She will now continue in a volunteer capacity coordinating the KOT program and is also the new COLAGE Bay Area Chapter Coordinator. She discovered COLAGE while writing her thesis "She's My Father: The Social Experience of Children with Transgender Parents" and has been involved as a Family Week facilitator, COLAGE Boston co-coordinator, and the coordinator of the Kids of Trans program ever since. Monica was in high school when her father transitioned and is excited to have written a resource guide with COLAGE that she had wished was available then. Monica graduated from UMASS-Boston with a degree in Anthropology. Monica has presented about children of transgender parents at a number of conferences, including: Trans Politics, Social Change, and Justice at CLAGS, City University of New York; International Foundation for Gender Education's annual conference; Southern Comfort Conference; and Tiffany Club New England's First Event.

Beth Teper, Executive Director

Beth was ten when her mother came out as a lesbian and twelve when her best friend and many other 'friends' abandoned and harassed her after finding out about her mom. It wasn't until Beth was 24 that she found a community of other young people with families like hers.

Joining COLAGE over a decade ago, Beth has been an active participant and leader in the LGBT family movement ever since. Prior to being COLAGE's Executive Director, Beth served on the COLAGE Steering Committee and as chair of the COLAGE Board of Directors for almost seven years.

A San Francisco native and Oakland resident--Beth attended public schools in San Francisco and graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Sociology, Latin American Studies and Women's Studies.

Beth's career in community organizing began at age 9 - stuffing/sealing/stamping envelopes and selling buttons for the SF chapter of National Organization for Women. Since then, for over twenty years, Beth has worked for women's health and reproductive rights, an end to US military action and occupation, LGBT liberation and environmental sustainability. Beth brings a strong background in and passion for popular education, social, economic and environmental justice, and youth empowerment to her work with COLAGE.

Immediately preceding her tenure on COLAGE staff, Beth thrived as a leader of outdoor adventures and activism: leading wilderness expeditions, teaching environmental ethics, and sharing the wonders of food and nature with urban youth and families. The highest peak she's climbed is Mt. Whitney and the biggest waves she's rafted are on the Colorado in the Grand Canyon.

Beth loves to read, dance, travel, spend time with her sweetie Anna (and their dogs Lily & Sadie) and is currently obsessed with playing double-15 Dominoes.

Meredith Fenton, Program Director

Meredith first became involved with COLAGE when she interned in our office the summer after her mom came out as a lesbian. For the next three and a half years she served as a member of our National Board of Directors and Bay Area volunteer. Originally from Illinois, Meredith graduated from Wellesley College in 1998 where she played rugby, DJed for the campus radio station, served as the Director of On Campus Affairs (meaning she planned campus-wide concerts, parties and fairs), and worked with the Wellesley LGBT organization.

She brings to COLAGE a diverse array of experience working with youth. Prior to joining the staff at COLAGE, she acted as the Youth Services Coordinator at the Richmond Village Beacon, a community center based at a large public high school in San Francisco where she facilitated a diverse array of programs including a queer youth group, young women's programs, outdoor education trips, social justice advocacy groups, leadership trainings and more. She has enjoyed being a camp counselor, youth group facilitator, high school group teacher, camp songleader, and more. In her spare time, Meredith enjoys being involved with a San Francisco Performance Troupe called Burlesque-Esque, organizing with a Jewish activism group in the Bay Area, working with the 5JANETS collective, and being a fairy princess.

Jamon Franklin, Operations and Finance Manager

Jamon grew up in Cleveland, Ohio with one brother, one straight mom and two gay dads. From there she moved as far away as possible to Santa Cruz where she graduated in 2001 from UCSC with a degree in Women's Studies. During her time in San Francisco, she has volunteered with various social justice organizations in the Bay Area and enjoys riding bikes, hiking, reading and pretending that she likes the rain. After participating in the Felicia Park Rogers Summer Internship with COLAGE she signed on as our Operations Manager. In this capacity she will oversee COLAGE's bookkeeping and finances, office management, Human Resources, technology - basically serving as a "Jamon of all trades."

Jack Ryder, Development Manager

Jack Ryder was born in New Mexico, where he spent summers hiking and camping (hiking, camping, and horseback riding are still among his favorite activities). Raised in Phoenix, Arizona, he majored in Communication at Arizona State University, and worked 8 years in the corporate world as a marketing specialist for the financial services industry. As a way to nurture his creative aspirations he built a thriving interior design business building relationships with clients whom he challenged to do more to contribute to their communities... to support positive change, and empowerment, instead of oppression and bigotry.

He began working with youth development agencies in Arizona more than 14 years ago, after coming out to parents who were less than supportive. It was also then, that he became passionate about LGBT civil rights. He has been extremely active ever since - serving on boards, chairing fundraisers, producing events and building a solid network of relationships thereby linking philanthropically-minded individuals and a diverse plethora of organizations.

Jack is excited to have the privilege and opportunity to be a gay dad himself in the future, and in the meantime, is enjoying the multitude of children already in his life.

Sarah van Houten, Intern

Sarah van Houten is a proud bothie who found COLAGE this March while looking for a summer internship. Her parents were married for 25 years until they both realized their true sexual orientations and separated. They currently live in the San Francisco Bay area and remain good friends. Sarah will be a senior at St. Olaf College in Minnesota this fall and is majoring in psychology. She is very excited to be working at COLAGE this summer, as well as spending more time with her family.

Teresa Huang, Intern

Teresa Huang is a recent transplant from New England who's really excited to be in the Bay Area this summer working for COLAGE. She goes to Smith College, where she is immersed in women's and gender studies and other things queer, and she loves that COLAGE is constantly expanding her knowledge about LGBTQ issues, family-related and otherwise. She is interning with COLAGE through Hampshire College's Reproductive Rights Activist Service Corps.

Mary Novak, Intern

Mary Novak was raised in Maryland and has just completed her third year at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where she studies math and women's and gender studies. She is excited to be spending the summer living at home with her two moms in the Bay Area and interning with COLAGE.