Mission

OUTWORDS captures, preserves, and shares the stories of LGBTQ+ elders, to build community and catalyze social change.

Further Resources

Vision

OUTWORDS envisions a world where

difference and diversity are respected and celebrated
everyone’s story is valued, and traditionally underrepresented stories are given prominence
the transformative power of sexual and gender authenticity is embraced
anti-LGBTQ+ fears, phobias, and traumas are acknowledged and healed

Board of Directors

Emma Colquitt

Board Secretary

For more than three decades, Emma Colquitt-Sayers has been a successful businesswoman specializing in medical technology in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She has also served on many non-profit boards including the Coalition for Aging LGBT, Leadership Texas Alumnae, and the Women’s Athletics Advisory Board for Florida State University.
Jennifer Dawson

Board Treasurer

Jennifer Dawson believes that philanthropy is activism, and has dedicated her career to bringing resources to the causes and communities she cares about. Currently she works as a consultant advising nonprofits on fundraising strategy and workplaces on how to be more inclusive of LGBTQ people. An East Coast native, she now resides in Echo Park with her partner and their beloved pup.
Scott Galea

Board Chair

Scott Galea is an experienced technology leader with a passion for helping others connect with and support their best ideas. Scott is a frequent mentor and speaker at start-up events, focusing on aiding go-to-market plans. He is delighted to bring this experience to support OUTWORDS' budget and advancement initiatives.
Alex Perez

Board Member

Alex B. Perez is an attorney with a private criminal defense practice in Southern California, Law Offices of Perez & Perez. He attended Stanford University, earning a bachelors degree in Political Science and a masters degree in Sociology, before graduating from USC Law School in 1994. He is also a Board member of Outfest LA.
Andrea Pino-Silva

Board Member

Washington DC-based Andrea Pino-Silva is a consultant, digital activist, and author of the book "We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out," basis of the award-winning documentary "The Hunting Ground." Andrea consults on Title IX issues, and develops educational programs around social justice movements.
Richard Tate

Board Member, Past Chair

Richard Tate is executive vice president at the California Wellness Foundation where he leads strategy development, public affairs, learning, and innovation. Richard is on the boards of Northern California Grantmakers and the Bay Area Surgical Mission. Richard Tate served as OUTWORDS Board Chair from 2017-2022.

Staff

Mason Funk

Founder / Executive Director

Mason Funk (he/him) grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from Stanford University. Prior to creating OUTWORDS, Mason produced and directed award-winning non-fiction films for the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Fox Sports, and other major networks.
Tom Bliss

Director of Operations

Bliss (he/she/they) is a queer, gender nonconforming, former club kid with a B.A. in Multimedia Performance: Life as a Art Form from Pitzer College. S/he exalts the power of authentic storytelling. Bliss previously ran intake for the Trauma Counseling Center and coordinated events at the Center for Healthy Sex, where they co-authored the award-winning Mirror of Intimacy: Daily Reflections on Emotional and Erotic Intelligence.
Dani Fish

Digital Archival Assistant

An LA native, Dani Fish (she/her) grew up surrounded by the film industry, working as an actress at a young age. After graduating from USC, her career goals expanded to both produce and act like Lucille Ball, her inspiration. As she gained more exposure to production, Dani learned that she had a knack for organization and research, leading to several jobs in Archival Production. As OUTWORDS’ Digital Archive Assistant, Dani has combined her new-found love for archives with social justice.
Betsy Kalin

Senior Producer

Betsy Kalin (she/her) is an Emmy-nominated director/producer/writer at Itchy Bee Productions. Her films ‘Vision 2030: Future of SoCal,’ ‘East LA Interchange,’ ‘Roof,’ ‘Chained!,’ and ‘Hearts Cracked Open’ have been honored with multiple awards. She is currently in development with the feature documentaries ‘Dreaming in Somali’ and ‘Phoenix: The Life and Death of Alice Herz.’
Rhea K. Mac

Grantwriter

Rhea K. Mac (she/her) is a service-driven Angeleno and social equity consultant committed to supporting systemic change to end homelessness and dismantle structural melanism (racism). Each chapter of Rhea's journey includes championing change towards creating a more equitable space for all Angelenos – especially for the youth and future generations from whom current generations are borrowing land, space, and time.
Jack MacCarthy

Communications Manager

Jack MacCarthy (he/they) is a non-binary human, writer, creatrix, Sundance alum, and life coach. Their debut Young Adult novel, Squad, was named a Barnes & Noble Most Anticipated LGBTQAP YA Book of 2019. Their plays have been performed all over the world and called "a lot of fun" by The New York Times.
Nix Mendy

Digital Archive Consultant

Nix Mendy (they/them) is a sonically-driven poet from New Orleans and a graduate from Simmons University's Archives Management program. Their interests include oral histories & traditions, folklore, and mythology, especially related to Southern, African, and LGBTQIA2S+ communities. They hope to inspire greater self-determination from historically marginalized people by challenging under- and misrepresentation in archives.
Lucy Mukerjee

Producer

Lucy Jane Mukerjee (she/her) is a film curator and inclusion activist. Being in conversation with queer community keeps Lucy both inspired and grounded. She and her partner Charlie are van-lifers in pursuit of a better quality of life.
Oladele “Sogo” Oluwasogo

Transcription Reviewer

Nigeria-born Oladele “Sogo” Oluwasogo (he/him) is a writer and documentary photographer who believes passionately in the power of the pen and the importance of enabling people to tell their own life stories. He is currently working on a photography project called ‘Identity’.
Astra Price

Editor / Technical Director

Astra Price (she/her) is a moving image specialist and an educator in digital media, having taught for over a decade at California Institute of the Arts. She has worked in the digital collections of such artists such as Bill Viola, Jane Geiser, Lewis Klahr, and Sylvère Lotringer. Her publications on preservation of time-based media can be found in Leonardo and the IIC Journal. In addition to working with other artists, Astra is also an artist and filmmaker with a focus in experimental documentaries.
Juan Raymundo Ramos

Assistant Editor / Tech Coordinator

Juan Raymundo Ramos (he/him) is an independent filmmaker in Los Angeles, with a B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts from Cal State Northridge. He is a strong believer in creating compelling stories that touch the hearts of various audiences. Juan has over 7 years of experience editing an array of projects such as narrative films, music videos, promotional content, and documentaries.

Production Team

Amy Bench

Director of Photography

Austin-based cinematographer and filmmaker Amy Bench has been twice nominated for the Kodak Excellence in Cinematography Award, and was recently named a “DP on the Rise” by Paste magazine. Her camera work has screened at many festivals including Berlin, SXSW, and Sundance.
Isabel Bethencourt

Director of Photography

Award-winning Los Angeles-born cinematographer Isabel Bethencourt shot the documentary short Grounded which premiered at the Margaret Meade Film Festival. Her work as a director and cinematographer has been published by The Wall Street Journal, GQ, and Teen Vogue.
Roberto Campos

Editor

Roberto Campos was born in Mexico City, grew up in the Chicago area, and is currently an LA-based editor of commercials, promos, non-fiction programs, music videos, and short films.
Scott Drucker

Director of Photography

Scott Drucker is a Chicago-based award-winning director and cinematographer. His documentary Who is Arthur Chu? premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2017. Scott has also created content for Vice, Hulu, ESPN, and Vocativ.
Connie M. Florez

Director of Photography

Indigenous Hawaiian director of photography Connie Florez has produced and filmed multiple award-winning documentaries and narrative films for PBS national broadcast, Netflix, Amazon and international distributions since 1998 with her company Hula Girl Productions.
Kate Kunath

Producer / Director of Photography

LA and NY-based cinematographer Kate Kunath made the documentary We Came To Sweat about the Starlite Lounge, an iconic, racially diverse pre-Stonewall queer club in Brooklyn. Kate also produces and directs short-form docs for the digital magazine Roads and Kingdoms.
Michelle McCabe

Director of Photography

After beginning her career in the world of fashion, celebrity, and lifestyle still photography, Michelle McCabe has been a cinematographer for more than 15 years. Her documentary work has taken her to China, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Malaysia, Ukraine, Cuba, Brasil, and countless other locations.
Howard Shack

Director of Photography

Emmy Award-winning director of photography Howard Shack has filmed all over the world for PBS, Discovery, and National Geographic. Over the course of his career, he has worked for many acclaimed documentary filmmakers including pioneer Albert Maysles, Academy Award-nominee Robert Stone, and Sundance Audience Award Winner Tom Shepard.
Janine Sides

Director of Photography

Cinematographer Janine Sides’ body of work consists of live-action film and TV, music videos, commercials, and documentaries. Her clients have included MTV, Instagram, Fox, Hyundai, Sesame Street, HBO, and Google, and she recently worked on two seasons of the USA Network drama series Queen of the South.
Goro Toshima

Director of Photography

Goro Toshima is an award-winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He won a best feature award at the SXSW Film Festival, and a best film nomination from the International Documentary Association. His work has been seen on PBS, HBO, and at the Sundance Film Festival.
Natalie Tsui

Director of Photography

Hong Kong native Natalie Tsui lives in New York. Her award-winning work, which revolves around identity, memory, and subjectivity, has screened at Frameline, the National Queer Arts Festival, and the Festival de Cannes.
Keith Wilson

Director of Photography

Keith Wilson is a San Francisco-based filmmaker whose films have screened at Sundance, the Berlinale, South by Southwest and the Museum of Modern Art. His documentary Deep Inside the Shaman's Den about the performance artist Frank Moore will premiere in 2020.

Language & Terminology

OUTWORDS uses the designation "queer" interchangeably with the acronyms LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, and all their variations. We like “queer” as a catch-all term that bows to the fluidity and complexity of sexual and gender identity. We also recognize the term’s history of derogatory usage, and witness the lasting pain it has caused for some LGBTQ folks.

For resources on LGBTQ terminology, see these helpful glossaries: PFLAG, GLAAD, Trans Student Educational Resources. We also are big fans of the Conscious Style Guide.

Non-Discrimination & Diversity Policy

OUTWORDS actively seeks candidates from diverse backgrounds and traditions, who vary by their race and ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, religion, and physical and mental abilities. In our workplace as well as in our interactions with outside individuals and groups, we seek to foster an environment where new, unpopular and/or controversial ideas are safely expressed; and we encourage the exchange of such views in a spirit of mutual respect.