The work of Lambda Archives would not be possible without the countless hours and dedication of the people who pour their passion into collecting, preserving, and sharing our local LGBTQ+ history.
Contributors
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Dana Wiegand (she/they) works as the Archivist at Lambda Archives of San Diego. Dana earned a MLIS degree through Syracuse University and is passionate about increasing the availability and accessibility of LGBTQIA+ history and resources. Dana also holds a BA in History, and focused on the history of oppressed peoples during their undergraduate studies. They are dedicated to putting the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ persons at the forefront of historical and social discourse, and consider it an honor to preserve the history of our community. In their spare time Dana enjoys reading, museums, going to the beach, and hanging out with their dogs and partner.
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Ryan Ednacot (they/she/he) works as an Archives Assistant for the grant project, “Addressing Harm as an Archival Imperative,” funded by the Society of American Archivists Foundation Board (2021-2022). Ryan is a community activist and artist, and a master’s student in the LGBT studies program at SDSU, where their main area of focus is on the barriers faced by Trans and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) individuals within social and legal institutions. As a diasporic Filipinx, Queer, and Trans person, their non-academic work revolves around the lived experiences of liminal subjectivities and the nuances surrounding embodying multiplicitous identities. In her spare time, Ryan enjoys doing drag, rapping, and wood-working.
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Murphy Hernandez (they/them) works as Youth Programs Manager for Lambda Archives. Murphy has over ten years of experience in non-profit programming, volunteer work, and art & design for social impact. Murphy has dual AAs in arts & humanities and liberal arts and is currently continuing their degree in Sociology part-time. Murphy is passionate about serving the LGBTQ+ community and Disability community; as well as serving youth/young adults experiencing medical trauma, relationship trauma, and housing instability. In their free time, Murphy enjoys spending time with their partner, dog, and friends, as well as making sustainable fashion and other crafts, cooking, reading (esp. comics), exploring San Diego's art, picnic-ing, playing softball with AFCSL, and volunteering.
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Trent Lozano-Osier (he/him) has been providing accounting services for 8 years including serving as a bookkeeper for Lambda Archives and other non-profits in the greater San Diego area. A 20-year Navy Veteran, he retired in 2013 with honorable service and several awards. During his career, he was deployed to Iraq and the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Trent completed an Associate’s Degree from the University of Phoenix in 2006 and at Mesa Community College with an Accounting Degree in 2016. His 20 years in the Navy has brought valuable administrative skills and discipline.
When not crunching the numbers, Trent enjoys gardening with his husband, spending time with friends and family, and playing on a softball team called Wicked, which is part of the AFCSL (America’s Finest City Softball League). Trent also loves to play board games. |
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Chris Mok (he & they) works as an Executive Assistant (Archives) for Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins in partnership with Lambda Archives. Chris graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA degree. He is an out and proud trans, nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, pansexual Taiwanese/Cantonese queerdo (queer+weirdo). They enjoy reading, creating food, painting, and connecting with people. Their business, Chris Mok Creations, strives to nourish and heal people through shared meals and community engagement gatherings from art shows and photo shoots to maker's markets. He was a co-facilitator for the PFLAG San Diego County AAPI monthly support group from 2021-2022. Since 2019, he has served as one of the founding leaders of the San Diego Queer Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American (QAPIMEDA) Coalition, committed to serving the intersectional initiatives of the LGBTQIA & APIMED community.
For 15 years, he has performed as a drag king named Hung Real Lo (he/Mr./Sir)! |
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Ash Plaziak (they/them) is a Grant Writing Intern. In 2022, Ash graduated with a B.A. in writing and literature from California State University of San Marcos, and has a passion for serving the LGBTQ+ community through their love for writing. While volunteering with San Diego Pride, they became dedicated to learning and sharing as many stories as they can from the beautiful people within their community. They believe that the first step in becoming a great advocate is to be a great listener. In their free time, they can be found painting on the beach, re-reading their favorite novel, The Sun Also Rises, or traveling.
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August Sarmiento (he/they) is an intern from San Diego Mesa College, working with the Archivist for a Museum Studies class in the Fall of 2022. They graduated from Mesa College in 2017 with an associate in Liberal Arts, with an emphasis in Graphic Design and are currently working on their associates in Art History and a certificate in Museum Studies. They are a second generation American, both of their parents immigrating to the United States in the 80’s from Central America during the civil war. Born with Spina Bifida, they are passionate about advocating for disabled rights in all communities and are looking to support Central American voices in San Diego.
They are a casual illustrator, the focus of their work surrounding the female form and bringing a positive view of bodies that do not fit the beauty standard. They are a nonbinary, Salvadorean/Nicaraguan disabled lesbian and they hope that their contribution to the Archives will open interest in the lives of children of immigrant parents and the struggles of finding your voice in a still overwhelmingly white narrative. With a loving, but firm hand, they hope to continue the discussions around decolonization and valid criticisms against the white, queer community to allow positive, inclusive change. |
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Zachary Shattuck (he/him/his) is the Outreach Coordinator at Lambda Archives for 2023. Zachary graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Umass Amherst in 2017, and has always had a fascination with history. He is interested in particular with using the stories of the LGBTQ community to find and inspire Pride for everyone in it. In his spare time, he enjoys line dancing with the San Diego Coasters, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and spending time with his pets Mattachine and Marley.
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Board of Directors
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Nicole Verdes (she/they) is devoted to serving arts and culture organizations as an administrator and advocate. In her time as Board President of Lambda Archives, she has been successful in using her passion for social justice, arts and culture, and cultural preservation to create policies that center equity and access. In addition to her role at Lambda Archives, she has served on the Executive Committee of the San Diego LGBT Community Centers’ Young Professionals Council, Board Treasurer for Volunteer With Cheli, and a member of the Steering Committee for Rising Arts Leaders San Diego. She has presented on topics such as Youth Archival Futures at the ALMS Conference in Berlin and has served on a grant panel for the California Arts Council.
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Mark Maddox (he/him/his), Board Vice President. Born and raised in rural Washington, Mark moved to San Diego in August 2013 by way of five years in Seattle. He moved here with his partner for their grad school journey and quickly fell in love with the city and engaged with the community – San Diego is now home.
Mark spent over a decade working in the service industry with nearly nine years in corporate retail. This work led him to explore value-aligned volunteer opportunities like PFLAG in Seattle, Trevor Project quickly after moving to San Diego, joining the board of Lambda Archives of San Diego, and making a long-term volunteer commitment to San Diego Pride. His initial ticket taking volunteer shift at Pride evolved to other volunteer roles including administrative support, parade assistant manager, parade manager, individual giving liaison, and festival manager. Mark credits the leadership development opportunities of The San Diego LGBT Community Center’s Young Professionals Council Academy, of which he is a 2018 graduate, and the Pride Leadership program for investing in him and his personal and professional growth. This growth allowed Mark to transition to supervising college students at Birch Aquarium at Scripps, directing the volunteer program at a pillar organization like Mama’s Kitchen, and now serving as San Diego Pride’s inaugural Director of Programs. Mark is grateful for chosen family, his supportive partner, the power of community, and his rescue chihuahua. |
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Brianna Mirabile (she/her/hers) is the Board Treasurer of Lambda Archives. She is the Accounting Manager at the Museum of Us (formerly the San Diego Museum of Man) in Balboa Park and also serves on the Board of Directors for Girls Rising, a local mentoring program. Prior to moving to San Diego from Massachusetts in 2017, she held positions at YWCA Cambridge and African Community Education (ACE). She holds a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA), concentrating in Non-Profit Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women and Gender Studies, both from Clark University in Worcester, MA. Brianna is passionate about racial and social justice as well as making museums and archives more accessible. In her free time she enjoys painting, baking, and spending time with her pit-bull, Bernie.
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Isabel Cordova (She/Her) was born and raised in Flint, Michigan (Unceded Lands of the Sauk/Chippewah Tribes). She began the study of archaeology and anthropology at the University of Michigan and archaeological collections at the Cranbrook Institute of Science. She continued the archaeological track at California State University Northridge (Unceded Lands of the Tongva) and interned at the Fowler Museum at the University of California Los Angeles, where she turned her passion for archaeology into a career. Upon relocating to the San Diego area (Unceded Lands of the Kumeyaay), Isabel has worked closely with cultural resource management professionals and other archaeologists, the tribal community, and museums to protect the cultural resources of Southern California prior to development throughout the region. Isabel is also passionate about LGBTQ and racial justice and sits on the local Human Rights Campaign board and is the Vice-Chair of the Society for California Archaeology’s Coalition for Diversity in California Archaeology. To attempt a work/life balance, Isabel enjoys hiking in San Diego’s backcountry, reading historical fiction, and lying by any pool available.
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Anna Culbertson, MA, MSLIS, (she/her/hers) is Assistant Head of Special Collections and University Archives at San Diego State University. She co-directed the CalHumanities funded project Out on the Left Coast: The Story of San Diego Pride and curates a collection of zines that document LGBTQ+ voices and experiences, among others. Anna joined the Board of Directors in 2017 and consults on archival best practices including collection development, conservation, and access.
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Gibrán Güido (he/him/his) was born in San Diego and raised in San Ysidro, California. He is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Literature at the University of California, San Diego. He completed his M.A. program in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies at San Diego State University. Currently, Gibrán is co-editing with Dr. Adelaida R. Del Castillo the forthcoming anthology titled, Fathers, Fathering and Fatherhood: Queer Chicano Desire and Belonging. Gibrán is also the co-editor of the anthology Queer in Aztlán: Chicano Male Recollections of Consciousness and Coming Out.
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India Pierce (she/her) is an educator, organizer, and racial justice and equity advocate. She is fierce and passionate about creating a socially responsible, anti-racist, and equity-driven world. She has spent a decade working with organizations to strengthen their policies and practices related to race, equity, sexual orientation, and gender. India serves as the LGBTQIA+ equity specialist at MiraCosta College; the co-founder of Moxie Consultancy Collective, a queer women of color owned and led global consultancy; as well as the owner of Omi Picnics, a luxury picnic company that takes the classic picnic that we all know and love and kicks it up a notch. A future-oriented, strategic thinker with a powerful voice; India is completing a PhD in Ethnic Studies at UCSD and is excited to serve on the Lambda Archives board.
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Hank Ramírez (he/him/his), Hank Ramírez (he/him), an Indigenx Chicanx person, is a native of Southern California (Alta California). He moved to San Diego (unceded Kumeyaay land) to finish his education and has lived in San Diego (unceded Kumeyaay land) for over 40 years during which time he has been actively involved in the local LGBTQQIA2S+ community. Hank worked in LGBTQQIA2S+ non-profit organizations such as the San Diego AIDS Project, Being Alive, the AIDS Foundation and the Center as well as for St. Vincent de Paul Villages. He also served on the Boards of Directors of Dignity/San Diego, the San Diego Men’s Chorus, Mama’s Kitchen, and the Center. He retired in January 2018 after working 20 years for the County of San Diego overseeing funding and community services provided through the Ryan White CARE Act and the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs, as well as other community services, and assisted in the resurrection of the County’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies Association employee resource group prior to his retirement. Hank has lived in Normal Heights (unceded Kumeyaay land) since 1991 with his husband of over 30 years and their 4 feline babies.
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Jae Red Rose (they/them | She/Hers) moved to San Diego during the summer of 2017. Since that time, they have started their transition and developed a fervent passion for activism. Jae serves on the Board of Directors for The T-Spot and Lambda Archives as well as the planning committees for San Diego Trans Pride, She Fest and the Won’t be Erased March. She is a group facilitator at The LGBT Community Center and The Hillcrest Youth Center, and a youth coordinator at San Diego Pride.
They are passionate about accessibility, intersectional social justice, and being a positive role model for all of our community. |
Board Emeritus
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Chuck Kaminski and his husband Jeffrey Shorn arrived in San Diego in 1975 as architects, life partners and an out couple. Chuck joined the Lambda Board in 2013 because of his passion for history and, most importantly, our regions LGBTQ+ history. In 2015 Chuck was a vocal advocate for saving and preserving the Bernie Michels-Thom Carey House on El Cajon Boulevard. In 2016, his activism was on saving the Truax House, San Diego’s first AIDs hospice named after one of the city’s pioneering AIDS activists and community leaders, Dr. Brad Truax. More recently his efforts have been focused on Lambda Archives where Chuck is Board Member Emeritus and at the San Diego History Center where his and Jeffrey’s enthusiasm helped raise funds for San Diego’s important and significant pioneering LGBTQ+ exhibit.
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