Affirmation Purpose
(Mission) Statement
From the founding Affirmation Charter
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Affirmation does charter itself for the purpose and position herein stated, as a charitable, service, educational and religious oriented association:
As members and friends of the gay and lesbian community, it is our intention to work for the understanding and acceptance of gays and lesbians as full, equal and worthy persons within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and society, and to help them realize and affirm self-worth.
Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons is a welcoming community and welcomes all persons regardless of sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Affirmation supports and encourages its members by assisting them in dealing with the Church, their families, employers, work associates and social contacts. The association offers its members strength and support in solving personal problems through mutual acceptance and fellowship.
Chrysteil was born in Utah, & grew up in Utah & Northern California. Her relationship with Heavenly Father has always brought her comfort & strength. She was raised in the LDS church & loved her mission to Seoul, South Korea. She married in the Salt Lake temple & raised her young family in Utah county, where she studied psychology at Utah Valley University & BYU.
Chrysteil & her family moved to Washington State in 2001, where she currently lives. She is a Registered Behavioral Technician, working with children with special needs. She is also back in school to get her degree in Marriage & Family Therapy.
She is mother & step-mother to 4 amazing young adults. Being a mother is by far her most cherished title. Her second child is who brought her passion for support of LGBTQ youth, & their community.
James Nelson.
James is an emerging activist and educator of LGBTGI studies, focusing on gender, sexuality,
scripture, religion and history. Originally joining Affirmation Salt Lake City briefly around 2003,
he has come to be more active in the Seattle chapter of Affirmation. He moved to Seattle at the
end of 2006 to pursue education to obtain a degree as a naturopathic doctor hoping to serve the
Native American population.
John Rodriguez
Joined the LDS (Mormon) Church when he was 15 years old, was the first of his family, they all joined the LDS Church. He served a full time LDS mission in the Dominican Republic for two years, he was a leader in his mission and in his LDS Stake organizatio. He always knew and was aware about his sexual orientation and during his mission he understood that he had been created differently with a special purpose. He has traveled through more than 35 countries as a professional and leader. He has a strong testimony about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ despite being less active in the LDS Church. He is a full time LGBT and human rights activist and advocates for equal marriage and coordinates the Facebook groups "Mormons Building Equality", "Worldwide Gay Mormons" and is founders of "Dominican LGBTI Normalization non profit organization". he is also the founder and first President for Affirmation Dominican Republic and Affirmation Caribbean, he is helping the organization of Affirmation groups in Puerto Rico, Haiti, Curacao and other Caribbean islands as well as in Venezuela and Honduras.
Melinda Hannah
Melinda Hannah is portrait artist in Seattle, Washington seeking to reveal the innate beauty and dignity within each of us through art. Growing up Mormon, she was quite familiar with the Bermuda Triangle of Sex, Shame and Religion. Nevertheless, as she witnessed the discrimination of gays during the peak of the AIDS crisis in the 1990's, the artist came to tangibly feel the deep love God has for them. Came to believe that LGBTQs are born that way. Nothing changed her religious point of view like watching another friend die every few days, knowing that most of America didn't know what was going on. When the November 2015 Policy leaked, she was outraged to hear of the increase in suicide among LGBTQ’s, especially among our youth. she also knew that the shaming language of The Policy was NOT inspired by a loving God.
Brooke Wardle
BIOGRAPHY WILL BE UPDATED HERE
Joined the LDS church back in 1979 in GUNTERSVILLE,AL,was baptized in lake Guntersville which was a man made lake built by the TVA which some of his family helped dig. David was raised in the missionary Baptist church,was blessed by his Great grandma's church which was holiness and primitive Baptist king James version red letter edition only. David says that not Mormonism was a cooling off from the flames of hell which he has a good sense of humor. David graduated from a high school in Grant AL which was owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution. After high school David took a greyhound bus to Rexburg ID to Ricks colleges and majored in music,then moved to Seattle when he was 19. David has been active in several churches and organizations in Seattle including MCC,and studied and finished as a practitioner.
David Wood
When he came out as transgender in 2015, Chrysteil had never personally met another transgender person. Having been raised in the Mormon faith, Chrysteil had no reference for helping her son navigate his transition from female to male, but fiercely became an ally & began to learn everything she could. She turned to God & her answer was clear: "Don't judge, don't worry, don't be afraid. Just love him with all your heart! Overwhelm him with love. The rest will be okay." That began her passion to reach out to the LGBTQ community & it changed her life forever.
he has been serving in the United Center's for Spiritual Living . David is a founding member of Rainbow City Band since 1998,is a founding member of Affirmation.being the first of two to March in the Seattle Pride parade in 1983! David is a professional gospel pianist and has attended workshops,sang in the Total Experience Gospel Choir,the Choir of light and is passionate about gospel music being expressed in the Mormon church. David loves Gladys Knight and looks forward to meeting her . David describes himself a new age mormocostal . David is very knowledgeable in metaphysics and quataumphysics,is a avid meditator. David survived AIDS he came close to death back in Oct of 1988 and has had a healing in his mind,body,and spirit. Once you hear his music you will be a witness to the healing . He is told that he has a black woman in him and his divine spiritual mama was the Rev Dr Johnnie Coleman founder of Christ UNIVERSAL Temple on the Southside of Chicago. David is passionate about life,has a great.sense of humor and considered.a live wire.
Carla Picasso-Brown
Carla was born and spent the first 10 years of her life in Lima, Peru. Her family migrated to the US in search of better opportunities and settled in the State of Georgia where she lived until 2016 when their family moved to the State of Washington. She has been a mother for the last 24 years and considers this to be her greatest joy and the hardest job she’s ever done. She feels that it is a privilege to be “mom” to six wonderful human beings, three of whom are LGBTQIA. Her oldest son came out four years ago and on that day he changed the direction of her life completely, for the better. In this new journey she has expanded her knowledge of love, compassion, courage, and forgiveness. As a mother, she has fiercely taken up the struggles of her children as her own, she feels this has helped her become a vocal advocate for them in their medical needs, schools, church, and community. She is passionate about creating a world where the welfare of all our children is the number one priority, and that those who live with disabilities are treated with dignity and respect.
Her working career has been in Human Resources and translation (she is fluent in Spanish). Although in her 20s she started her studies in law and believed this would be her field of work, life experiences lead her to change her major to Psychology. She is working towards her Psychology degree and hopes to work with children and youth recovering from trauma. She previously headed the online Affirmation charter (an important group for her and her children) in Georgia, but her heart belonged to the Mama Dragons and the amazing women in this group. She is co-admin for Madres Dragones (Mama Dragons for Spanish speaking countries). When she is not playing chauffer to her children and being laundress extraordinaire she enjoys cooking dishes from a number of countries. She finds that offering a great meal to those she loves is the way she nurtures. She is an avid reader and enjoys books that help her learn about and understand humanity, and when in the mood a good thriller is her go to. The one thing she says she knows for sure is that love is love and that every person has the right to experience it.
Crysteil Lynn Hunter
ABOUT OUR LOCAL LEADERS
Membership Coordinator
Brooke Wardle
Events Coordinator
Secretary
Vice President
Executive Director
President
David Wood
Melinda Hannah
James Nelson
John Rodriguez
Chrysteil Lynn Hunter
Carla Picasso-Brown
Affinity Groups Coordinator
