Co-Chair
 Rose Beeson
Rose Beeson is passionate about grassroots community organizing, analyzing power dynamics, and creating change from the bottom up. Her previous LC/NA experience includes being a Regional Coordinator (2006–2008) and serving as Secretary to the Board (2008–2010). She is on the Goodsoil Legislative Team and was previously on the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Covenant Circle. Rose is beginning her second year of seminary in the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. In her non-“official gay Lutheran” life, Rose works as the Manager of Technology Development at the University of San Francisco’s School of Education; volunteers with Rebuilding Together, an organization that “rehabilitates homes for low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities”; and enjoys hanging out with the seminary community.
Co-Chair
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Len Weiser was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2002 as the Regional Director of the then Northeast Region. In 2004 he was elected as Secretary and in 2006 was elected to serve as Co-Chair of the Board with Jeannine Janson. Len also served on the Philadelphia ONE VOICE committee and has led talks at local congregations about the RIC process and what it means to be a welcoming congregation. Len has his Master of Science in Nursing in Executive Leadership, is licensed as a registered nurse and a nursing home administrator. He currently works in executive administration for a large continuing care retirement community in Pennsylvania focusing on the Assisted Living and Skilled/Long Term Care areas. Len was a voting member to every ELCA churchwide assembly from 1989 to 2005. Len is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Assembly of Men in Nursing and the Gerontological Nurse Association. He is also certified as an End-of-Life Care trainer and a foster parent in the state of Pennsylvania. Len is the proud parent of an 13-year-old little boy that he adopted in August 2005 after providing foster care since 2003. In 2008 Len married his life partner, Kent, in San Francisco. Len and Kent have adopted two more children, Douglas (age 11) and Shane (age 12) and they live outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and are members of St John's Lutheran in Folcroft, Pennsylvania.
Vice-Chair of Development
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Secretary
 Karen Jolly
Karen Jolly was introduced to LC/NA some 20 years ago when her daughter came out and suggested she look at the mission of LC/NA. She and her husband, Paul, worked in their home congregation, Central Lutheran in Portland, Oregon, for over five years before it became a Reconciling in Christ congregation in 2003. At the Lutherans Concerned Assembly in 2004, Karen and Paul were elected Regional Coordinators for Region 1. During that time they attended synod assemblies in every synod in their region, met individually with every bishop in the region, and attended four LC/NA and three churchwide assemblies, in addition to adding numerous RIC congregations and four new chapters. After six years as a Regional Coordinator, Karen was elected Secretary to the Board. Karen is retired from teaching at Portland Community College and has taken volunteer work seriously. Karen rings hand bells in an auditioned choir, Bells of the Cascades, which performs regularly in the northwest, sponsors a ringing event on a cruise every two years, and has rung with several groups in the Portland area. Karen enjoys the time she can find to relax in the mountain cabin in eastern Oregon.
Treasurer
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Jim Morrell is passionate about the work of LC/NA and is excited to bring his professional and financial skills to the Board. The opportunities to share his personal story and meet with people at congregations around the Southwest Washington and Oregon synods have been inspiring. He has had the opportunity to serve as a voting member to the Oregon Synod Assembly in 2005, when the synod voted to become a Reconciling in Christ Synod, and shared his story again on the floor at the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Following graduation from Seattle Lutheran High School, Jim attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, earning a BA in Economics, and then continued his education by receiving his MBA from the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He is a native of the Pacific Northwest, growing up in Seattle, now living just outside of Portland in Vancouver, Washington, with his partner, Chris, and their four-legged kid, Winston (a King Charles Cavalier). They are members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Vancouver. By day, Jim is an executive for a community credit union; by night he officiates women’s college basketball, and, whenever they can get away, enjoys travelling the world with Chris.
Director of Communications
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Adam holds a Master of Arts in Religion from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Kennesaw State University. He is currently enrolled at the University of Tampa pursing his Masters of Business Administration. Adam works full time as an Entertainment Manager for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay where he oversees the daily entertainment operations in the park. He most recently served on the Board of Directors for M.A.D. Theatre of Tampa as Vice President of Operations and has been nominated and served on various committees and boards of both local and national non-profit organizations. He and his partner, Jeremiah, attend First United Church of Tampa.
Director of International Programs
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Philip W. Moeller, a Senior Institutional and Social Specialist, works on institutional and governance issues for the World Bank. He initially started working at the chapter level of LC/NA but currently serves on the Board as the Director of International Programs of LC/NA. In carrying out this work he provides liaison with such international advocacy groups as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in New York on behalf of LC/NA. Philip also lectures at various colleges on globalization and development. He lives in Washington DC in a townhouse he restored that was initially built in the 1870s by Madison Davis. In addition to restoration, he is an avid gardener and enjoys cooking for friends.
Co-Director of Committee for Working at the Intersection of Oppressions
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Co-Director of Committee for Working at the Intersection of Oppressions
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The Rev Darryl Kiehl is pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Birmingham, Alabama, and a Licensed Professional Counselor (Ph.D. Georgia State University). In addition to LC/NA’s Board, he is on the Board of Lunches for Learning, Honduras, and actively helping form Birmingham Faith in Action, a community organizing network. He has served on the Synod Council, Mutual Ministry Committee, and Support Team (conflict resolution), and on the boards of AID Atlanta, Lutheran Ministries of Georgia, and Lutheran Community Food Ministry. He was active in counseling and public speaking on LGBT issues in Atlanta. His congregation recently hosted the “Building an Inclusive Church Workshop,” and he took the lead in starting the first LC/NA chapter in Alabama. Interests include running, meditation, antique cars, boats, and travel trailers.
Bisexual Representative
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Olivia-Beth Horak feels blessed and is excited to volunteer for LC/NA as Bisexual Representative. She is a candidate for Master of Science in Social Work (Clinical Concentration) at The University of Texas at Austin. She works for the American Cancer Society as a Cancer Information Specialist. She is very active in the Lutheran Church and around issues of social justice. She was the National Advocate for Diversity and Services Learning for Lutheran Student Movement, presented and assisted on an educational series related to A Better Understanding: A look into the Transgender Community for Austin AIDS Services, and helped on the curriculum planning team, fundraised and was a small group leader for Spiritual Pride Project, the first LGBTQ Christian camp of the Southwest. Olivia is a member of Living Word Lutheran Church in Buda, Texas. She enjoys Seido Karate, playing her guitar, and spending as much time as possible with her friends.
Canadian Representative
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Everett Freeman is a Certified General Accountant and has been employed in a multi-hospital/multi-corporation for 25 years. He was born in a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, where he has lived all his life. He became involved with Lutherans Concerned in 2007 and became Treasurer of Lutherans Concerned in Canada the same year. This year, he was elected to serve as the Canadian Representative to Lutherans Concerned/North America. “Becoming involved with LC/NA is very important to me as living in a small town doesn't present as many opportunities for supportive fellowship as would living in a bigger city.” He has been a member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fort Frances, Ontario, for over 50 years. He attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s national convention in 2009 as a steward while also representing Lutherans Concerned. He has been involved in music for over 40 years, singing in church and community choirs and playing violin and hand bells. He also works in the penalty box for high school and Junior A hockey teams.
Transgender Representative
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Nicole Garcia began her life as Michael. In 2003, Nicole started her transition from male to female. Nicole has completed her transition and is a strong, confident Latina. Nicole's transition was featured in the winter edition of the Concord. Nicole is a member of the LC/NA Multicultural Relations Committee, the Secretary of the LC/Colorado Chapter, and is the Convener of the St Paul Lutheran Church (Denver, Colorado) RIC Committee. Nicole has served as a Voting Member at the Rocky Mountain Synod Assembly and at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, and is looking forward to serving at the 2011 Churchwide Assembly in Orlando.
Youth Representative
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Rachel "Rae" Nelson is a third-year student at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst Illinois, studying Political-Religious Justice Studies. She has been involved with LC/NA since the fall of 2007 as a member of the Youth, Young Adult, and Family (YoYaFam) Committee and has worked toward the goal of full inclusion for all people in the church through her involvement with the Lutheran Youth Organization (churchwide and synodical), synod council and assemblies, and churchwide assemblies. She is an organizer on her campus for queer rights both secularly and in faith communities. Rae is the daughter of an ELCA pastor and, while still a member of St John’s ELCA in Akron, New York, has been church-hopping in Chicagoland for the past two years.
Chaplain to the Board
(not a voting member of the Board)
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The Rev Rachel Thorson Mithelman serves as Senior Pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Iowa, a downtown congregation passionate about the arts and social ministry. Ordained in 1983, Pastor Mithelman has served congregations in Minnesota, California, and Wisconsin; often as the first female pastor called to those settings. Long an advocate for full inclusion in the church, Pastor Mithelman assisted Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in becoming a Reconciling in Christ congregation in 2003. She is active in community efforts to reduce and eradicate hunger, domestic violence, and the stigma attached to mental illness. Pastor Mithelman and her husband, Pastor Jack Mithelman, have two adult children, and she enjoys gardening, biking, and traveling.
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