Our Team & Community

Nadia is an intercultural facilitator from Mexico City with a background in human rights and feminist theologies. Nadia accompanies the family members of victims of violence, and also works with feminist women of faith and religious communities open to the LGBTIQA+ community as they mobilize against religious fundamentalisms and spiritual violence. She is passionate about learning, asking questions, reading, and thinking aloud with others.

 As Director of Ruckus and Operations, Meg provides administrative, logistical, and analytical support to the Soulforce team. They are an introvert who cherishes the behind the scenes element of this role in the organization. As a survivor of Spiritual Violence, they are passionate about all Soulforce has to offer. Meg received their Master of Social Work with a concentration in administration, planning and policy practice from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2017. 

Maura is a Cuban resolvedora and eternal immigrant who grew up steeped in Presbyterian church-led social work and Protestant liberation theology. She holds a BA in Anthropology & International Development Studies from Trent University in Canada and a Masters in International Development from the Graduate Institute of Geneva in Switzerland. Constrained by both international organizations and NGO structures and limitations, Maura shifted focus and finally found a place where her lifelong dedication to social work and liberation could flourish when she joined our team. At Soulforce, Maura serves as our Fundraising Manager, and is able to join her dedication to Global South internationalism and solidarity with a commitment to a truly decolonial theology.

Andrea Cappa, our Queer Latina logistical maestro with an academic background in International Business, Marketing, and a Master’s in International Development. Simultaneously, she shares her passion for language as an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Teacher with a mission to turn language barriers into mere speed bumps on the global communication highway. Her ability to seamlessly blend logistics with education showcases her versatility and adaptability. Beyond the workplace, Andrea finds joy in scuba diving, and exploring the depths of the ocean. Camping and gardening are her earthly delights, with a green thumb so impressive, even plants applaud. Andrea’s compassion extends to our furry friends, as a dog owner and sitter. In the grand tapestry of her life, Andrea’s passport is woven with vibrant threads of adventure, always ready for the next journey to unfold.

Bryony is an illustrator and designer with her MA in Modern History from King’s College London. Originally from Maryland, she attended college at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where a semester abroad in London turned into life as an immigrant when she met her husband. She believes in creating beauty where you can, and loves the chance to use her skills to support the work of Soulforce with detailed illustrations and thoughtful design.

Thekla Clemons is Soulforce’s incredible and diligent Office Manager, and has been with the organization for over a decade. Thekla enjoys fishing, gardening, photography, cooking, and knitting. She also loves being “Gigi” to her amazing grandchildren.

phoenix rahel (name only, no 3rd person pronouns*) is a Southern Black Queer femme from Selma, North Carolina. phoenix has worked in educational institutions as a youth serving professional since 2016, and recently became a full-time student at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. After phoenix’s thesis defense in December 2020, phoenix deemed it necessary to have more of a theological grounding to do the work phoenix aspires to do with Black Queer youth and their families. phoenix also works part-time as a Program Coordinator with Q Christian Fellowship, an organization dedicated to fostering spaces of radical belonging especially for queer Christian folks. Two of phoenix’s favorite things are karaoke and line dancing because they spark communal joy.

*if absolutely necessary, you may use she/her or they/them pronouns to refer to phoenix.

Belén Morales is a Queer Latine former church kid now Bible nerd, child of immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico and El Salvador. She is hella proud to hail from the great city of Oakland, CA, where she still lives. They dream of a world filled with revolutionary love and free of all oppression. 

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from Patten University (Oakland, CA) and a Master of Arts in Systematic and Philosophical Theology from the Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley, CA). Their research focused on the intersection between theology, race, gender, and sexuality.

For the last ten+ years, she has worked in the non-profit sector and is now a strategist specializing in board management and community-centered resource mobilization. In 2021, Belén started Root & Bloom Consulting where she co-creates liberatory practices with their clients to maximize their impact. 

One of Belén’s “a-ha!” moments in understanding her queerness was reading Mel White’s (Soulforce founder) memoir when she was in college. This helped her along her journey in fully accepting and celebrating both her queerness and her faith. 

Belén enjoys reading, cooking, dance parties with their friends, and spending time with their niblings.

Rev. Rhina Ramos is an ordained United Church of Christ minister leading Ministerio Latino, a Spanish speaking open and affirming congregation for LGTBQI Latinx immigrants founded as her call in 2011. Rhina was born in El Salvador and emigrated to the United States at age 14 in 1983. As an immigrant undocumented during the first 3 years in the United States, Rhina knows first hand the fear and pain of belonging to an invisible community. She graduated from Hofstra University Law School in 1995 and was a labor attorney for five years recouping thousands of dollars in unpaid wages for immigrant workers. In 2003, she obtained a Masters in Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. Pastor Rhina has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years as an activist, community organizer and manager. In November 2024, she published her first book “In my heart, a volcano” in Spanish about her family and memories of growing up in El Salvador during the 80’s and her journey north as undocumented immigrant – (For information about the book visit: 
En mi Corazón un Volcán Facebook Page )

Orion Johnstone (they/he) is a Transgender faggot living on Lenape land (Yonkers/NYC). They are devoted to the question: “Who and how might we be together most bravely and joyfully in light of our collective liberation?”, and learning from / working alongside Soulforce over the past several years has been transformative for them! They channel their love as a community minister, theatermaker, composer, and sex educator, and they are currently writing a musical about Jesus in which the whole cast is Queer and everybody plays Jesus at some point. They studied Theater at NYU Tisch, Justice Ministries at Auburn, and they were a part of the founding cohort of Alt*Div. You can learn more about them at www.orionjohnstone.com

Zayn Silva is a transgender Puerto Rican, exvangelical preacher, Associate Digital Minister, and Director of Communications for Middle Church. He is a human rights activist committed to justice, using storytelling and digital ministry to expand what faith can look like in public life.

Zayn is the founder of Transalike, a nonprofit reconnecting transgender and queer people to faith and community. He has spoken at the United Nations on women’s and girls’ equality and has been featured in USA Today and The New York Times. He advocates for LGBTQIA+ inclusion across the church, working to create spaces where people can live, worship, and belong fully as themselves.

Zayn also partners with Presbyterian churches across the Northeast, equipping leaders with tools for digital ministry, storytelling, and meaningful community engagement. He lives in New York City with his fiancée and enjoys documentaries, art, and reading.

Jai Davis (they/them) was born in Mobile, Alabama and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, two places that shaped their soul but could not fully hold the expansiveness of who they are today. Raised in the Black Church, Jai recalls a theological silence around sexuality, gender, and the body, messages about queerness were communicated not always in words, but in absence and fear. Yet, it is precisely at the intersections of what is feared faith, Blackness, and transness, that Jai has found their sacred calling.

Jai is a scholar, a Black trans theologian, and a storyteller committed to disrupting binary thinking and cultivating spiritual spaces where all bodies are seen as holy. Drawing inspiration from Gloria Anzaldúa’s call to “forsake ‘home’ comfort zones” in order to become, Jai embraces the courage it takes to live fully into the sacredness of their nonbinary, multidimensional self. Though home may sometimes feel like a foreign land, Jai affirms: I am only a stranger to those who refuse to see me as God created me, Black, trans, and sacred.

Jai earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Tuskegee University, a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School (2020), and a Master of Theology from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology (2023), where their thesis explored Black trans narratives within the Black Church by asking, “Can the Black Church go back to being Trans?” Their work continues to explore questions at the intersections of religion, gender, sexuality, race, and queer theory, both within the academy and the communities they love.

Jai is a PhD student at Vanderbilt University in the Religion Department. Prior to entering the PhD program at Vanderbilt, Jai served as a faith organizer and was a fellow with Pride in the Pews, where they curated conversations with faith-based communities on building LGBTQIA+ inclusive spaces. In addition to their academic and organizing work, Jai is a reader, writer, cook, hiker, sibling, friend, and lover of all things sacred.