BRCSJ STAFF

Sara Wasserman, PH.D.* BRCSJ Queer Educator & Local Community Organizer (She/hers) combines her professional experience as an educator, her lived experience as a Queer woman & loving parent, & her acumen as an activist, to bring a unique voice to our Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice. Sara’s loving & empathetic approach to community-building embodies our sacrosanct mission of never speaking for anyone, but instead with everyone.
Dr. Sara is a passionate early childhood teacher educator dedicated to creating inclusive pathways for access & equity for all marginalized identities, & especially those in the LGBTQIA community. She channeled her passion for advocacy into earning her Ph.D. in Teacher Education & Teacher Development with direct focus on the intersection of education & transformative leadership & how it can create systemic change. Sara also has a B.A. in Modern Jewish Studies, a B.S, in Psychology, & a M.S. in Early Childhood & Special Education. Her professional experience includes college instructor, pre-school director, early childhood teacher, & educational consultant. 
Sara utilizes her bountiful background knowledge & expansive experience to plan & orchestrate extraordinary events & powerful programs for the edification & enjoyment of our Beloved Community. She continues to challenge herself & everyone around her to work with loving kindness toward equity & equality for all those who visit our BRCSJ HQ & in the greater community as well. REach out to her at BRCSJQUEERED@GMAIL.COM

TERRY MCMILLIAN * BRCSJ INTERSECTIONAL COMMUNITY CONDUIT (HE/HIM) FEARLESSLY NAVIGATES THE INTERSECTIONAL & INCLUSIVE SPACE OF BEING QUEER & BLACK, SEEKING TO CREATE A SAFE & MEANINGFUL ENVIRONMENT HERE AT BRCSJ HQ & IN THE GREATER COMMUNITY. HAVING PERSEVERED OVER TRAUMA CAUSED BY THE DIFFICULTIES OF DOMESTIC ABUSE, TERRY’S LIFE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY BUT IT LED TO HIM ENDEAVORING TO EXPLORE THE WHOLENESS OF HIS OWN SELF & FINDING THE TRUTH OF WHO HE IS. HE NOW USES HIS EXPERIENCE TO EMPOWER OTHERS BY CO-FACILITATING OUR NEW BRCSJ INTERPERSONAL ANTI-VIOLENCE INITIATIVE & SUPPORT GROUP. FURTHER HAVING EXPERIENCED THE CHALLENGES OF FEELING DISCONNECTED IN CORPORATE AMERICA, TERRY HAS EMBRACED THE MANTRA THAT 40 IS THE NEW 20, FINDING NEW POWER, PURPOSE, & EVEN MORE QUEER JOY IN CHAMPIONING THE BELIEF THAT EVERYONE MATTERS & NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE LEFT BEHIND~ NOT ON A LARGE OR SMALL SCALE, NOT TO A LEADER OF A MOVEMENT, A WORKER IN AN OFFICE, A STUDENT IN A CLASSROOM, NOR ANY INDIVIDUAL IN ANY COMMUNITY. WITH A COMMITMENT TO FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING FOR ALL, HE ENDEAVORS TO CARVE OUT SAFE-SPACES WHEREIN INDIVIDUALS CAN FIND PRIDE IN THEIR UNIQUE & DIVERSE IDENTITIES & EXPERIENCES. FOR TERRY, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO NOW BE OF SERVICE BY INVITING OTHERS INTO HIS EXTRAORDINARY & EVER-EVOLVING JOURNEY & YOU CAN SHARE A MEANINGFUL MOMENT WITH HIM WHEN HE HOSTS OUR BRCSJ SAFE-SPACE on SAturdays (& MAYBE EVEN CATCH HIM GETTIN’ HIS GROOVE ON AS SEEN IN HIS VIRAL TIK TOK’S)!

Ruxandra Barb * BRCSJ Abortion Rights Advocate (she/hers) spent the first part of her life in a violent repressive dictatorship, where women & LGBTQIA+ folx had no agency over their own lives. She personally experienced what this meant in a devastating but ultimately restorative manner which inspired her to do the good works she does now. In that respect, she persevered & then committed her energy & spirit to unlearning that systemic social toxicity & dedicated herself to internalizing the fact that, as humans, we have intrinsic value irrespective of labels & those who try to constrict us with such.
Thanks to her experience, wisdom & intuition, some learned & some developed, Ruxandra, now in her third life quarter, embraces with great gusto the old crone feminine archetype, as caring mother to humans, animals & plants. She believes in the radical notion that all sentient beings deserve non-speciesist rights to life, liberty & property, & that all beings are sentient & indeed members of our Beloved BRCSJ Community!

Liz Begonis * BRCSJ Defender of the Right to Read & librarian-in-residence (she/hers) is ready to stamp out book bans & expose them for the villainous enterprises they really are! Like Barbara "Batgirl” Gordon before her, she works at a library by day~ the newly-named “book sanctuary”, Cranbury Public Library. Therein Liz is a true renaissance librarian~ she catalogs, runs Teen Services, manages & creates all content for social media, & hosts the Film Club. She strongly believes all libraries need to be welcoming & safe-spaces for all, & her favorite part of each day is fielding questions from kids & hearing them gush about their favorite graphic novels. Liz previously worked as a page at NYPL while majoring in Cinema Studies & Film Production at NYU Tisch. She is a member of the ALA's Rainbow Round Table & the Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table, including an appointment on both the Conventions & Libcomix Committees.
Liz's involvement with our Center began whilst doing outreach for her library's first Pride Month, & now sees her anchoring the BRCSJ DOTR & serving as duly appointed member on Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman’s National LGBTQIA Advisory Board (alongside Chief Activist Robt Martin & Community Outreach Coordinator Carol!). She’s looking forward to cataloging the BRCSJ's book collection into a true lending library, highlighting the intersectionality of disabilities & queerness in our wok here at BRCSJ HQ, & creating literary & film programs for all to enjoy & be empowered by.
An unsafe childhood & a disability at the age of 23 have shaped Liz’s nonjudgmental & “compassion first” approach. She knows the strength it takes to advocate for oneself & that the journey to doing so can be arduous. She promises that she will always listen to you, hear you, & be your advocate~ especially if you haven't arrived there yet. REACH OUT TO HER AT BRCSJbookDEFENDERS@GMAIL.COM

Mack Harsell * BRCSJ Intern Extraordinaire (they/them) will serve as the Center’s intern during their gap year as they transition from high school to college. As a Queer non-binary teen, they will bring a unique impactful & inspirational voice to help run our BRCSJ Queer Youth Brigade as well as serve as a bridge across many spectrums to facilitate imperative research in outreach to help us best represent our intersectional community members. Human rights has always been a passion for Mack & they plan on studying sociology & gender studies in college so this experience will be very meaningful for them as well. Mack was President of their high school’s GSA for three years, describing it as the most fulfilling experience of their high school career. It is incredibly important to them that young people are able to express themselves freely & be part of the conversations being had about the Queer Community. Mack has also had the privilege of being invited to both speak at & help plan community events for Transgender Day of Remembrance, Transgender Day of Visibility, & Pride Month at various venues for many different organizations.
Poetry is a powerful personal tool that Mack utilizes to express their feelings & thoughts. Many of their pieces have been published in literary arts magazines & often include themes of queerness in relation to the natural world. It has become an outlet to share the multitudes of their own representative identities & the joy that can be found through activism. You can find Mack’s work here under the name The Purple Poet, a reference to the symbolism of Lavender within the LGBTQIA+ community.

Sarah Moore * Queer Youth Advocate (she/her) first became acquainted with BRCSJ as an attendee at the Carol Watchler LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Conference hosted by the NJEA. Sarah had long wanted to undertake activism & advocacy work & meeting so many other educators who shared her passion led her to connect with the Center first as a volunteer for the Center’s powerful PRIDE Parade & After-Party. Sarah has also worked with NJ Pride & co-founded & developed her school’s first ever GSA. Sarah grew up in an environment militantly opposed to LGBTQIA+ rights & she quickly learned that her own queerness was something to hide, to keep as a closely guarded secret. When she entered high school, she met members of the GSA who were out & proud & she became dedicated to equity & advocacy.
Sarah draws from her lived experiences as a Queer woman as well as from her professional experience as a public school educator to uniquely meet the needs & interests of today’s Queer identifying youth & their allied peers. By overcoming her own fear of living in her identity with authenticity, Sarah realized that the lessons instilled in her as a child that each person is deeply & intrinsically worthy of love & respect, though it came from a toxic source, is applicable to all people regardless of what identifiers might apply to them. Today Sarah seeks to empower, enlighten, & encourage the next generation of activists & advocates of the LGBTQIA+ community to use their voices to speak out against injustice that they witness in their communities & to take purposeful action to create a safer & more accepting world for all.

Porshaé Peel * BRCSJ Safe-Space Hostess with the Mostest (she/they) is a proud native of New Jersey, embracing their Black & Queer identity, alongside their dedication to scientific inquiry through academic pursuit, often found themself navigating spaces where they stand as a unique presence. Porshaé’s paramount belief centers around fostering a safe environment where individuals can flourish & express their authentic selves. In this phase of their journey, their mission is to cultivate inclusive spaces where everyone can thrive & receive unwavering support. It is Porshaé’s earnest aspiration that by facilitating our BRCSJ Safe-Space, they can serve as a beacon of positivity & empowerment in someone's life.

Paige Osbourne * BRCSJ Trans Enby Justice Collective Lavender Rose (they/them) is a born performer, intuitive by trade, & a lover & fighter by nature. They spent their early years in suburban New Jersey then discovered themselves as a Queer, solo poly, agender adult in Philadelphia. Paige uses the lessons learned from relationships, grief, being blissfully Queer & wholly alive to inform their self-aware, always honest, & openly communicative style of community outreach. In their off-time, Paige is a practicing witch who reads tarot, makes ritual objects, & loves being bullied by their two black cats & watching objectively bad horror movies.

Frank Mahood * BRCSJ In-House Grafik Designer & Safe-Space Host (he/his) was one of the original members of the Gay Alliance of Princeton, representing the university staff in the student organization & attended the First International Gay Rights Conference in Edinburgh Scotland in 1974. He was a founding member of Gay People Princeton, serving on its executive board & as its first Vice-President. His graphic designs were used by GAP, GPP, & the New Jersey Lesbian & Gay Coalition.

Frank enjoyed a very successful fifty year career as a graphic artist, typographer, & book designer at several publishers across the country before joining Princeton University Press in 1968 where many of his book designs won awards at regional & national book shows.
In retirement he continues to utilize his mad skillz in design & photography for our Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice~ designing logos, posters & even T-shirts, as well as serving as one of the Safe-Space volunteers.  He is 40 years happily married to Chet Kabara & together they serve as fabulous queer icons for our community.

ROSE MASCOLL (BRCSJ QUEER YOUTH BRIGADIER)
"THE BRCSJ QUEER YOUTH BRIGADE IS SUCH A WONDERFUL THING FOR BOTH ME PERSONALLY AS A TRANS FEMME NAVIGATING MY PERSONAL JOURNEY BUT ALSO TO ALL OUR LGBTQIA YOUTH WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A SAFE-SPACE TO SHARE THEIR STORIES & TO MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER.
I INVITE EVERYONE TO JOIN US TO HELP THIS PROGRAM GROW FOR THE GREATER COMMUNITY BUT ALSO FOR THEMSELVES TO BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR CHOSEN FAMILY!"

CAROL WATCHLER (BRCSJ COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR) has been in this position since before the Center even opened & comes to us as a true pioneer in social justice education & absolute queer inspiration~
A FORMER NUN WHO TAUGHT SCIENCE IN THE COMMUNITY’S SCHOOLS, SHE LEFT TO JOIN HER LIFE WITH ANOTHER FORMER SISTER IN LOVING MUTUAL SUPPORT OF FEMINIST ACTIVISM & then Thirty seven years a public SCHOOLTEACHER WORKing ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY CONCERNS IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT & THE GREATER COMMUNITY, CArol is AN EARLY LEADER IN THE MOVEMENT as HER DEDICATION TO SAFE SPACES FOR LGBTQIA folx GOes BACK TO THE START OF THE NEA GLBT CAUCUS IN THE 80’S WHERE SHE WAS THE FIRST FEMALE CO-CHAIR. now she CONTINUES TO BE INVOLVED IN WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS FOR EDUCATORS & COMMUNITY GROUPS TO ENSURE SAFE & WELCOMING SCHOOLS FOR ALL. A PROUD & STRONG PADDLER ON THE MACHESTIC DRAGONS, the BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR DRAGON BOAT TEAM WHICH ENCOURAGEs & EMPOWERs PEOPLE TO FACE THEIR DRAGONS WITH AN INDOMITABLE SPIRIT, CArol is one of the original chosen mothers to oh-so-many of us as well as the very first Board Member here at our Bayard Rustin CEnter for Social Justice!

extraordinary EmeritI

Wesley Rowell (BRCSJ Advisor on Divine Intersectionality) is a seminarian at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he is passionate about the intersection of queerness, blackness, gender, spirituality, & social justice. Born & raised in Fayetteville North Carolina, Wesley then for twenty-five years called NYC his home, so another part of his multi-faceted identity is the liminal space between north & south. Wesley trained as a opera singer then spent many years in New York & other places pursuing a professional music career & as a classical musician in predominantly white Eurocentric places, he learned to navigate a terrain that was both subtly & blatantly racist (much like Bayard Rustin his own self!). In NYC, Wesley was an active member of the the famed Middle Collegiate Church, one of the most progressive & politically active congregations in the world, led by Rev Dr Jacqui Lewis & whilst there, he co-founded Queer Black Men in the Middle (QBMM), an organization that fostered the communion between queer Black men & spirituality. In fact, QBMM historically convened the first ever church worship service completely led by openly gay Black men. Wesley serves as full-time Lay Pastoral Associate at trinity church (rignt next door to BRCSJ HQ!) & is a may ‘23 graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary with concentrations in both Black Church Studies, & in Theology, Women & Gender where he won numerous awards & accolades for his preaching & scholarship. As a queer, Black, Christian man, he understands that identities some may think of as contradictory are in fact the very things that make us whole & complete. In his advisory role here at the Center, Wesley not only brings an understanding of the crucial role of intersectionality in today's racial, sexual, political & social landscapes, he has spent a lifetime bringing together people & communities in search of the common good.
We at the BRCSJ see ourselves as "angelic troublemakers" & we teach each other to love ourselves into action. Wesley adds, "In the words of that great theologian RuPaul~ "If you can't love yourself, how the hell you gonna’ love somebody else?”

Akhila Bandlora (BRCSJ campus conduit) is studying Psychology, Sociology, & Neuroscience at Princeton University. Right now, her academic work focuses on trans youth of color & their access to gender affirming care. Oftentimes, academics conduct research without situating the applications of that research in community work, so to rectify this, in her research, Akhila wants to be a student of everyone: professors, doctors, politicians, community organizers, other academics researchers, & most importantly, trans young people who are living this experience. Akhila is so excited to support all the amazing work BRCSJ is doing & also loves huge bodies of water, works as a barista, EMT, & farmer, & often craves lemon bars (in case you visit whilst she is hostin’ our safe-space)!

Marcus Lee (BRCSJ Chief Curator) is a Cotsen Postdoctoral LGBT Studies Fellow in the Department of African American Studies & the Society of Fellows at Princeton University. He earned a B.A. in Sociology at Morehouse College & a Ph.D. in Political Science with a certificate in Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of Chicago. His research concerns 20th century Black political history, social movements, & popular culture as well as the intersection of science & technology.
Marcus will be researching, accumulating, & organizing the first dedicated archive of Bayard Rustin’s good works to preserve his life & legacy both physically at BRCSJ HQ & virtually here on our website. At Princeton, he is pursuing a book project that examines the conditions under which Black gay/lesbian groups attained political “visibility” in the post-civil rights era. He has published work in the Du Bois Review & The Atlantic. Marcus is also an anime nerd, lay historian of R&B music, & amateur dog whisperer.