GEROD RODY – President and Founder
I’m Gerod Rody, who thought up and co-founded OUT4S, and I now serve as Board President. I’m often the face of the organization, in addition to performing data entry and anything else that needs doing. My day job is at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) as Marketing Project Manager, where I love all things that creatively share “brand” as an authentic story. I also graduated from BGI with an MBA in Sustainable Business in 2009, and met fellow graduate and OUT4S co-founder Julian O’Reilley there on our woodsy orientation.
Prior to BGI, I worked in various marketing and community engagement roles including time at gProjects, Meyer Wells and Organic Comfort Food Cafe, which I developed as the first organic restaurant in Pierce County. My undergrad studies at the Jackson School at the University of Washington, was in European Studies, focused on the intersection of identity and housing in Sweden. I maintain a healthy obsession with all things Swedish and am interested in running, great food, creativity and adventure.
I started up OUT4S initially to meet great people (and maybe get a date). Since then, the people I’ve met have become my family. Over the past 3 years, I’ve seen OUT4S evolve into the beginning of a movement that crosses all sorts of lines, threatening to connect the gays and the greens in ways no one thought possible and help redefine the oft-narrowly used term sustainability into something that creates equitable thriving human and natural ecosystems for all.
ELAN KEEHN – Vice President
I’m Elan Keehn, the Vice President for OUT for Sustainability. I am one of the faces behind the scenes, organizing our annual Eat Local and Earth Gay events, and working to develop a youth OUT4S chapter.
When not attending board meetings and OUT4S events, I work as a Nurse Practitioner/Naturopathic Doctor at the University of Washington Women’s Health Care Center and Bellingham Natural Family Medicine. My goal in medicine is to provide compassionate, integrative care, acting as a bridge between naturopathic and conventional medicine. On a similar note, I also strive to act as a bridge linking the LGBQT and environmental communities. In my past life I volunteered for several environmental non-profits, earned a BA in Environmental Science/Biology, and lived in Hawaii studying humpback whales, surfing, and saving native plants. I love climbing mountains, doing yoga, running, cooking, crafting, and participating in spontaneous dance parties.
I have been on the OUT4S board for nearly two years and it is a continual learning process. I initially sought out OUT4S because I was looking to volunteer with an organization that aligned with both my sexual identity and my values. It has been amazing to be involved in the growth of a small nonprofit as it interfaces with the beginning of a universal movement combining social rights and environmentalism/sustainability.
BART REYNOLDS – Treasurer
I’m Bart Reynolds and I’m both the Treasurer and first OUT4S board member with graying hair. My dream is to revolutionize urban transportation, improving life for all of us. In the meantime, my professional life is happily split between co-owning Poco Wine Room, a lovely little wine bar on Capitol Hill, and my longtime career as a telecommuting software developer for technology companies in Silicon Valley.
As a young man I graduated from Western Washington University and promptly left the state for a life of 20-something workaholism and suburban discontent. Despairing of a life spent alternating between cubicles, strip malls and freeways, I escaped back to Seattle in 1990; I haven’t budged since. In the years since then, my interest in sustainability has grown steadily into a passion.
One night in late 2009, I experienced a revelation. At a large sustainability event in Seattle, I looked around at the audience of hundreds of dedicated environmentalists and it seemed like I was the only gay person there. Although that certainly wasn’t true, it left me wondering why the LGBT community isn’t more visible in the broader sustainability movement. That’s when I first realized the importance of the OUT for Sustainability vision.
RYAN HAWKES – Secretary
I’m Ryan Hawkes and I’m the OUT4S board Secretary. Besides organizing killer events, I joined O4S to work with our partners to create inclusive concrete tools for healthy and sustainable lifestyles and build community around shared values.
I currently work at the Seattle Department of Transportation providing admin and communications support to the Director’s Office. My work gives me a broad understanding of transportation issues facing Seattle and the challenges we face. My previous community work has been in community gardening and urban farming – I founded a cooperative venture growing food on plots across the city. I’ve also assisted in research work with Sustainable Seattle including conducting interviews with local food businesses for the Local Food Multiplier Study. I see food and transportation as effective fulcrums in creating change and tipping us towards a more sustainable society.
When I’m not writing letters about potholes and bike lanes, I’m either in my local Crossfit gym or on my bike training for high-altitude triathlons. I live on a little urban farm/oasis in Rainier Beach, growing my own food and raising chickens. I’m motivated to work with OUT4S to be a catalyst for change in the LGBTQ community on both social and environmental issues and build a stronger community while doing so.
JULIAN O’REILLEY – Board Member and Co-Founder
I’m Julian O’Reilley, board member and co-founder of OUT4S. I spent 10 years in Philadelphia working in youth activism and community development before heeding the call of the more progressive West Coast. I then earned my MBA in Sustainable Business at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. I currently work as Operations Manager of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance helping to rebuild the local food system.
I’m passionate about anything DIY, riding bikes (including motorcycles), seasonal eating (especially things I grow), and dinner parties. When I’m not working, at a board meeting, or convincing people that it’s happy hour somewhere, I craft, cook, and attempt the occasional adventure sport outdoorsy thing to make my girlfriend happy.
I helped found OUT for Sustainability over tennis matches with Gerod in order to build a more queer-inclusive green community and continue to attempt to return the many balls he lobs my way as a Board Member.
CYNTHIA BUHR – Board Member
I’m Cynthia Buhr and I just recently joined the OUT4S board. My previous board experience has been with QLaw, the GLBT Bar Association of Washington, and the QLaw Foundation. I am currently an attorney at the Law Offices of Cynthia F. Buhr, PLLC, where I primarily practice family law. I have a particular interest in evolving laws that impact the LGBT community and speak frequently about LGBT legal issues and the new domestic partnership law.
Due to my work, I am more connected to movements for social sustainability; but through my work with OUT4S, I am quickly learning about the importance of environmental sustainability. Prior to going to law school, I graduated from Arizona State University where I majored in marketing and mass communication and for a short time I worked in the movie marketing research industry.
In my spare time, I enjoy movies, video games, comic books, music and online social networking– I’m a pop culture geek. I also can frequently be seen riding my bike around the city or drinking an iced coffee at a local café. I look forward to helping OUT4S in its efforts to realize and actualize the full potential of the interconnectedness between the LGBT community and sustainability movements.
MELANIE COERVER – Board Member
I’m Melanie Coerver, OUT4S board member. Before moving to Seattle, WA where I’m an Environmental Analyst for the Seattle Department of Transportation, I worked in a Florida Wildlife Refuge. One day, while lining a cage with newspaper, I read an article about the WTO protests. As a gay environmentalist who had always been interested in the “big picture”, I felt an irresistible calling to get out of Florida and see this mythical place where people cared enough about the global economy to take it to the streets. I arrived in Seattle months later: homeless, hungry, and completely starry-eyed. I never left.
I now have a home- with a garden, chickens, and a kitchen that shows an obsession with good food. I’m still starry-eyed, but after years of participating in radical reform groups my preference is for more polite, nuanced forms of activism. Now, my hobbies include reading literature and government reports; attending meetings; and devising policy and program ideas for saving the world.
MATT LANDERS – Board Member
I’m Matt Landers, one of the newest Out for Sustainability board members. I am the Public Policy and Communications Coordinator for the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), the largest LGBT and allied business chamber in the country, where I work to combine business development with social action and leadership in the LGBT and allied community.
Originally from Connecticut, I gradually moved West over the last decade (with a few detours to Spain), acquiring degrees in Geography from Macalester College in St. Paul and the University of Oregon. With my particular academic background, choosing where to live was a very deliberative process, but Seattle took the prize without too much competition. I moved here for both the natural and human environments, and I can’t get enough the Pacific Northwest. I love getting out to the mountains as often as possible, although I’ve recently been distracted by walking around and exploring more of my new city.
JOHN CARROLL – Board Member
Bio Coming Soon
Emeritus Board Members
CORY-JAMES CLOUSE – Board Member Emeritus
Cory James Clouse was one of our first volunteers, tabling at GreenFest in 2009. Since then he served as Treasurer, Secretary and founded the Finance Committee. He wrote our initial bylaws, incorporated us as a registered Charity and worked extensively to ensure our organizational sustainability.
ARIYAH DESOUZA – Board Member Emeritus
Ariyah DeSouza first met OUT4S at GreenFest Seattle in 2009! Over the next 2 years she served as Vice President and Treasurer. She wrote over a dozen articles, sewed napkins, led strategic planning, organized events and advocated for every greater definition of diversity (like not staying only in Seattle).
SCOTT LANSING – Board Member Emeritus
Scott Lansing moved to Seattle, googled “green gays,” found OUT4S and started volunteering. After helping with every single thing we did for months, it was only natural that he apply to the board. He has served as Secretary, helped organize events like Earth Gay 2010 and advocated for the highest integrity in every action we undertake.
