An Evening of Queer Joy:
Express Yourself
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Home Page | Agenda | Speakers | Queer Joy Fridays | Q & A
Speakers
José G. Arzate
José G. Arzate is part of SHC Technology & Digital Solutions (TDS) and is a Senior Manager, IT Inpatient Clinical Applications. José’s team manages the non-Epic clinical systems used in the delivery of acute care & also supports Nursing and SoM Clinical Research. José joined Stanford Health Care (SHC) September 2005 and worked in a diversity of operational departments including Guest Services and Social Work, Case Management, Palliative Care & Supportive Oncology. After a brief 16 month stent at Sutter Health, José returned to SHC in TDS where he celebrated 10 years of service August 2023. José has two sons, William (15) & Isaac (13). He and his coparent became a family through egg donor surrogacy. When José is not leading a dynamic team of clinical technology professionals, he volunteers with his family through Feeding San Diego and La Jolla Youth Baseball. José is also active with the Muirlands Middle School Foundation, La Jolla High School Foundation & La Jolla Friendly Visitors where he provides seniors companionship during the week. José’s community priorities also include Queer Youth Health & Housing Security, and most recently he joined the San Diego LGBT Center’s Stonewall Society to provide financial support for core Queer Youth Services. José loves being #1 fan for his sons at their sporting events & spending time at the ocean creating space for inner peace & stillness.
Anoushka Raj
I'm Anoushka Raj, currently a graduate student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, specializing in the interactions between humans and their environments. I use she/her pronouns and identify as queer and asexual. I grew up in Delhi, India and lived there all my life, before moving to California last year. I'm deeply passionate about how queer identities overlap with our political structures, and how moving beyond heternormativity can impact climate change. In my free time, I’m trying to read more books, go on whale-watching trips, and book Taylor Swift tickets.
Matthew Griffith
Matthew Griffith is the Assistant Director for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)––Strategy and Programs. In his role, Matthew works to advocate and develop JEDI practices, opportunities, and programs with and for Stanford School of Medicine staff. He comes to this work as a strategist and a facilitator, as he has significant training and experience in both project development/planning and intergroup dialogue.
Prior to Stanford, he worked in various professional positions centered on advancing and implementing diversity and equity initiatives for faculty, students, and staff throughout the University of California system, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Office of the President. As a scholar-practitioner, he actively writes, presents, and teaches on various issues at the intersection of DEI, including navigating institutional power dynamics, equity in leadership structures and policy, and free speech. Recently, he was a 2022 fellow at the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.
Born and raised in the city of Detroit, Michigan, he is a proud (and sometimes overzealous) alumnus of Detroit Public Schools and the University of Michigan. Matthew received his Ph.D. at UCLA in Higher Education and Organizational Change. In his off-time, Matthew enjoys terrible reality television, coffee, and laughter.
Finn Sadler
Finn Sadler (he/him/his) is a senior undergraduate working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Menlo College. He has been involved in various initiatives and projects related to blockchain, crypto, and the Web3 space such as co-founding the Menlo Blockchain Initiative, a student-led organization that educates and connects students with the blockchain industry, at Menlo College, and serving as the Product Technology & Design Lead for LearnDAO in 2022.
He has grown his expertise in blockchain during his three years at Edge, a mobile wallet used to buy, trade, and sell cryptocurrency with security and ease and has since transitioned this expertise to success as a Technical Product Support Intern at Ava Labs, a company that makes it simple to deploy high-performance solutions for Web3, led by innovations on Avalanche, one of the world’s leading blockchains.
However, his journey throughout college and the workforce has not been easy, particularly because of the lack of trans representation in the decentralized finance industry and higher education. Furthermore, managing attempts to access gender-affirming healthcare and a full college and work schedule has been an additional obstacle to future success, though this has not deterred Finn from continuing to persevere to achieve his life and career goals.
As a patient of Stanford Healthcare, Finn, through the assistance of his medical team at the Stanford LGBTQ+ clinic he has been successfully able to access gender-affirming care from doctors who deeply care for him as more than a patient, but as an individual. He is more than thrilled to be speaking on the trans experience, particularly the youth trans experience at an Evening of Queer Joy: Express Yourself, and believes sharing his complex journey throughout his transition will inspire other trans folks to pursue their own aspirations.
Nariko Nakachi
My name is Nariko Nakachi and I use she/they pronouns and identify as a bi nonbinary woman. I am of Andean and Lew Chew descent but born and raised in Southeast Los Angeles. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Public Health at Texas A&M University (gig’em aggies!) and my Master of Health Administration at the Mailman School of Public Health.
As a former CHIP and WIC recipient, I know firsthand how important support systems and health equity efforts are for low-income families. It is why I chose to pursue a career in children’s health. As an administrative fellow at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, I have had the opportunity to work on many projects advancing health equity, including the roll out of Phase 1: REaL and Phase 2: SOGI of We Ask Because We Care across Stanford Medicine and the HEAL Anti-Racism Seminar trainings for leadership.
In my free time I like to hang out with family and friends, being outside, and listening to a good podcast.
Tanza Solis
TANZA is a multidisciplinary artist who specializes in visual storytelling by way of figurative painting, graphic narrative and fiber arts. His artistic practice examines the nebulous contours of the subconscious. He is particularly drawn to explorations of gender, intimacy, precolonial history, and ancestral trauma; these explorations are necessarily informed by his experience as a queer, transgender man of the Filipino diaspora.
His work has been featured in Made in California at Brea Gallery and Kearny Street Workshop’s Emerging Artists’ Showcase. He matriculated from Stanford University with Interdisciplinary Honors in the Arts and was the recipient of the 2015 Raina Giese Award in Creative Painting. He currently lives in the SF Bay Area and works at California College of the Arts.
Mica Yang
Mica (she/her) is a PhD student in Bioengineering. She is a bisexual trans woman. She loves learning and making, and she's always looking for new ways to do both. When she grows up, she wants to be like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Panelists - “We’re New Here, We’re Queer, and We’re Getting Used to Stanford”
Jas Espinosa (they/them/their) '18 (BA), '19 (MA)
Facilitator
1st degree connection
Financial Manager, Associated Students of Stanford University & CEO, Stanford Student Enterprises
Jas Espinosa (they/them) is a Southern born and raised child of Mexican immigrants and eldest sibling. They self-identify as a xicanx non-binary queer relationship anarchist, in that order. Jas graduated from Stanford with a bachelor's in Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies and Psychology, as well as, a master's in Latin American Studies in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Currently, they serve Stanford students in their capacity as the Financial Manager of the Associated Students of Stanford University and CEO of Stanford Student Enterprises.
Blaz Bush (He/Blaz)
Executive Director, LGBTQ+ Health Program
With over a decade of LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare experience, Bláz Bush, (Bláz or He) M.Ed joined Stanford Medicine as the Executive Director for their LGBTQ+ Health Program in August 2022. Bláz’ previous role was at the University of Colorado School of Medicine where Bláz served as the Manager of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s Graduate Medical Education Program. Bláz developed customized training on DEI topics, facilitated restorative circles for students, faculty, and staff, and advised the GME residency programs on best practices for recruitment and retention of trainees. Previously, Bláz served as the Director of the LGBT Center at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and worked as Director of Care Coordination at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City. Bláz completed a Master’s in Education in Community Counseling at the University of Oklahoma, and received a Professional Certificate in Restorative Justice Facilitation from the University of San Diego in 2022.
(Bláz or He) (What's this?)
How to say my name: https://www.name-coach.com/blz-bush
Dr. Debra Kaysen PhD (she/her/hers)
Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health & Population Sciences)
Debra Kaysen received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri. She completed an internship at the University of Washington and continued there to complete an NIAAA-funded F32 to study the area of overlap between PTSD and alcohol use disorders. Dr. Kaysen joined the faculty at University of Washington in 2006 in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. While there she founded a program to develop and test more accessible interventions for individuals suffering from mental health symptoms following traumatic events. Dr. Kaysen joined the Stanford faculty in 2019.
Dr. Kaysen’s area of specialty both in research and clinical work is in treatment for those who have experienced traumatic events including treatment of PTSD and related disorders. She has conducted critical studies on treatment of PTSD and/or substance use across a variety of populations (sexual minority women, Native Americans, sexual assault survivors, torture survivors, active duty military), settings (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, primary care, rural settings), and modalities (telephone based, web-based). Other research conducted by Dr. Kaysen have focused on increasing our understanding of how PTSD and substance use may influence each other. Dr. Kaysen is a Past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (www.istss.org). Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Department of Defense, PCORI, and USAID.
Dr. Kaysen is currently involved in helping develop and implement coping strategies for healthcare workers dealing with mental health concerns related to COVID-19. Dr. Kaysen's clinical work has been featured on This American Life (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/682/ten-sessions).
Venice Nomof
Physician Assistant Studies
Student
My name is Venice Nomof and I'm a second-year physician assistant student. I use she/her pronouns and identify as a bisexual woman. I grew up in Modesto, CA and went to Dartmouth College for my undergraduate education. I am passionate about queer representation in healthcare and reducing healthcare inequality for those in the LGBTQ+ community.