David Jurasek is a father, husband, Sensei, and Registered Psychotherapist working with boys and men for over 20 years. He’s worked within a clinical context in a communal setting and various men’s groups. However, despite his expertise and experience, David found himself continuing to struggle in intimate relationships, especially with his wife. Inspired by Martin Luther King’s words on the balance of power and love, David founded a community called Powerful and Loving. David’s life mission is building a village for men to rediscover and strengthen relationships that help them grow in Relational Leadership. David also mentors women seeking guidance on navigating relationships with men.

Laurin Mayeno is author of a banned children’s book. Laurin grew up in a mixed-race environment with no books to help her understand her mixed-race identity. As a mother, she felt doubly devastated when her nonbinary queer child had no resources to help them affirm who they were. Watching her child struggle with loneliness and isolation and being mistreated by other children and adults, Laurin wrote a story about a little boy wanting to dress up on Halloween as a princess. Shortly after “One of a Kind Like Me/Único como yo,” was on bookshelves and gaining popularity, it made the front page in Columbus County, North Carolina when the local newspaper reported the book was being banned by the school district for being age-inappropriate.

Juliane Bergmann has credentials as a technical writer, book coach, ghostwriter, and editor. And it’s through her written words we learned about her in a Huffington Post article titled: My Mom Would’ve Been Thrilled To Know I Was Queer. Instead, I Stayed Closeted For 25 Years. It turns out, Juliane’s story is less about being queer and more about finding herself as a human being. It’s about the messy, ugly path to self-discovery and the stories we tell ourselves about who we think we are supposed to be.

Stephanie Clarke is a most amazing woman. Her fiery red hair is a hint to her temperament as a speaker, facilitator, author, sacred ceremony hostess, Law of Attraction life coach, and a spiritual leader self-ordained as the Irreverent Reverend. As an Afrikaner wanting to help South Africa heal from its legacy of apartheid, Stephanie founded that country’s first multiracial church. She bravely shares that journey in her first book —The Misadventures of an Irreverent Reverend, A Spirited Guide for Rebels and Renegades. Her follow-up — The Sex Goddess, debunking the Mythology of God and Sex, is an autobiographical review of a woman awakening to both her sexual and feminine power. The book brings healing to the divide between sexuality and spirituality, God and flesh, and between human and the divine. Her conversation brings an attitude adjustment to women everywhere.

Lee Wind (he/him) is an Author and the Founder of the award-winning Blog I’M HERE. I’M QUEER. WHAT THE HELL DO I READ? Lee’s Blog has over 3 million page loads from over 100 countries! Lee holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard and writes stories to empower kids and teens to be their authentic selves and change the world. In 2022 we had Lee as our guest for PRIDE month and learned that he and his husband of more than 25 years have a grown daughter. Lee helps us unravel the idea of motherhood when a female is not part of the family picture, but a child is.