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Tyrone
Executive Director
Tyrone (He/Him) comes from one of the longest standing black families in Madison, going back four full generations. Graduating from East High School in 2007, Tyrone went on to UW-Platteville to focus on his successful post high school athletics, where he discovered himself and came out at the age of 21. He returned to Madison shortly after, determined to explore and experience the new community he now found himself to be a part of. He joined the Madison Minotaurs, an LGBT rugby team which he played on every year, allowing him to not only make a name for himself, but also interact with many different sorts of people that called the queer community their home. When he was 27, he finally decided to experience life outside of the states, living in Australia for the better of two years working closely with the LGBTQIA+ community and experiencing a different way of life. Upon returning to Madison, he’s gone back to pursuing higher education at MATC, focusing on a Communications degree with emphasis on LGBTQIA+. Tyrone has worked with GSAFE as an adult mentor for over four years, being a staple at the Leadership Training Institute camp that is held every year. Since sports have been a part of his life for so long, he dreams of one day focusing his advocacy in the queer community on LGBTQIA+ young athletes, providing guidance through his experiences and hope to nurture their confidence and activism into their future lives. No matter the occasion, Tyrone brings his leadership, confidence, and loveable personality to the table in hopes of positively influencing everyone he connects with.
Brian (Brian J.)
Senior Director of Education & Policy
Brian J. (He/Him) has been at the forefront of fostering inclusive schools in Wisconsin for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth since 1998 when he migrated to Madison from rural Iowa where he had previously worked as a residence hall director for Luther College. Brian J. co-founded and grew GSAFE’s annual Leadership Training Institute into a 4-day summer camp for high school students across Wisconsin to develop their skills as activists, allies, and agents of change. In 2002 Brian J formally joined GSAFE’s staff and has served as lead trainer, where he has regularly provided engaging professional development for tens of thousands of K-12 educators with an approachable and playful Midwest sensibility. In 2005 Brian J. partnered with Madison students to successfully pass the state’s first district-level transgender-inclusive nondiscrimination policy and has since worked with dozens of districts to take similar steps. Throughout 2016-2017, with the support of the Wisconsin Partnership Program and Gender Spectrum, Brian J. developed and piloted GSAFE’s Gender Inclusive Schools Project, a multi-level approach that helps school districts create systemic change towards the health and well-being of transgender and non-binary students. A frequent collaborator with Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction, Brian J remains a sought-after trainer and consultant for Wisconsin’s K-12 school.
Rae
Senior Manager of Social Media & Communications
Rae (she/her) was born and raised in Baltimore and moved to Madison after graduate school in 2009 with her MFA in Photography. At GSAFE Rae contributes with day to day office needs social media and planning and organizing of two major fundraisers. Celebration of leadership and the Trick or Trot 5K Walk/ Run. In 2017 she was able to lend her photo stills and produced a photo project with GSAFE called Captured. In 2023 she again will start a new photo series for GSAFE called Athletic Ability (Ability- power or capacity to do)
The photo series will be a collection of portraits of Wisconsin LGBTQ+ High School Athletes. In the hopes to bring light and speak against the the anti trans athlete bills taking place all over the country.
When at home you can find Rae hanging out with her daughter and partner. For self care she enjoys walking in the woods, writing poetry and mediation. Spirituality and connecting to the Universe is very important to Rae.
Lane
Director of Finance & Development
Hello GSAFE community! My name is Lane (she/they) and I am excited to join GSAFE in the role of Grants and Compliance Manager. My GSAFE journey began 10 years ago when I worked with the organization during my Social Work internship experience. Since that time, I have continued to stay involved with GSAFE events and also served on the Board of Directors. After my internship I worked at UW Madison coordinating a service learning program for undergraduate students. I recently switched career paths in order to focus more on grant writing and administrative work, which brought me back to GSAFE. I am also the proud parent of two thriving young adults who have benefited from GSAFE programming. I look forward to further supporting GSAFE's mission and vision!
Sue
Director of Family Engagement and Advocacy
Sue (she/her) is passionate about serving children, youth, and families. She is a former Assistant Director for programs Pre-K-5th at another non-profit in Madison, WI. She is also a former "momtrepreneur" owning her own small program and traveling to schools and centers in Madison and the surrounding area to teach dance, yoga, and mindfulness to children and youth. All of the work Sue has done, since graduating from Winona State University in 2006, has been centered around children, youth, and families.
Sue is a first generation American. Her parents left Laos and stayed in a refugee camp in Thailand during the Secret War in Laos. They were later able to immigrate to the United States with most of their family. Sue speaks Lao fluently and enjoys cooking and sharing Asian cuisine with her family and friends. She is a proud wife and a mother to 2 beautiful children and 2 lovely dogs. When Sue is not working or volunteering, she enjoys walking in the woods, dancing, martial arts, playing games, and singing karaoke.
Yante
Director of Youth Programming
Yante (He/Him) is a Black Openly Trans, change agent from the North side of Milwaukee. He spent his last 3 years as a Trainer & Consultant with Youth Leadership Institute in California and prior to that was a former Community organizer and Trans liberation and justice advocate of Diverse & Resilient.
He brings a wealth of lived experience as an out, queer, Trans man, cultural competency as a Black grassroot organizer and principled care to every space he takes up. He remains a dedicated member of his community, working tirelessly to abolish carceral systems for Black people, Trans folks, youth and their Kin. Yante has a background in uplifting and & supporting Trans folks, youth based communities and advocacy work.
His dignity based work led him to acquire skills like Transformative justice and community mobilization and so much more. He hopes to continue to co-conspiring in the dreaming of new worlds without white supremacy, adultism ,poverty, transphobia and more.
Micah
Community Engagement Coordinator
Micah (He/They) is excited to join the GSAFE team as our Community Engagement Coordinator! Prior to joining on as a full-time staff member, he collaborated as a Development Intern with Lane, our Director of Finance & Development, co-authoring our 2025 Vision Report. This offering celebrates GSAFE's nearly three decades of work creating just schools for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin with invaluable insights from donors, educators, and program participants. Additionally, as we continue to remain steadfast to responding to the evolving needs of our community, the report orients stakeholders to the ways we're expanding programming that's grounded in their priorities and desires.
GSAFE's commitment to centering the voices and insights of those closest to a lived experience is closely aligned with Micah's values. In particular, his experiences as an educator in Nashville working with students of color and LGBTQ+ students highlighted the value of inclusive, culturally-competent pedagogy informed by close collaboration with caregivers and students themselves. This experience, along with his academic studies in Education Policy & Advocacy, empower him to build relationships with diverse youth across Wisconsin and center their voices in GSAFE's initiatives.