Queer Changemakers of Central Mass
{ LuAnn Thibodeau}
What is a changemaker? Is it just someone who does good? Or is it more? To quote the University of Evansville- “simply put- a changemaker is someone who is taking creative action to solve a social problem”.
One of the people who personifies that description of a changemaker is Jacquelyn Ryan, a transgender woman who lives in Southbridge. Jacquelyn grew up in Sturbridge, in a strict Christian family. “It was hard growing up. I always knew that I was different”. She enjoyed spending time with her mother and doing traditional female activities more so than doing the typical male things like fishing, with her father. As she got a bit older, “I was in a very dark place, not fitting in”, and at fifteen years old, she wanted to kill herself. Thankfully, she sought out a therapist.
While working with the therapist, Jacquelyn started coming out to friends and dressing the way that she wanted to dress. That didn’t go over well with some people, and even though she confided in a guidance counselor at school, she said that school officials outed her to her parents. That started the proverbial ball rolling, as she began spending hours at the library, researching laws and also contacting the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Armed with the knowledge, Jacquelyn realized that “I can be an advocate”, and that is indeed what she has become.
She decided that she could make a difference by becoming involved in local politics, and at eighteen, she ran for and won a seat on the school board, becoming the first certified LGBT member. She feels that she won the election because she talked about the issues.
In 2016, she was an electoral college member for Hillary Clinton.
After moving to Southbridge, she was appointed to The Education and Human Services Council. And in addition to being elected to the school board, in her second year on the board, she was elected Chairwoman. Her involvement in the local government didn’t stop there, but she needed time to take a mental health break. “I was not okay and needed to take time for myself”. She feels that she came back a better person and a better public servant. Proof of that occurred when she ran for and won a seat on the town council. She served one term and then lost reelection but was part of the council that saw services being provided to the town residents by the local regional transit authority, WRTA, as well as record investments in roads and infrastructure for the town. And now, even though she doesn’t hold an elected office, it’s pretty safe to say that the world will continue to see the advocacy for all human rights by this dynamic young lady.
Another amazing young change maker is Fabian Barracks, the Cultural Development Officer for the city of Worcester. Fabian, a native of Jamaica, was appointed to the position in March of this year.
Growing up in Jamaica, Fabian said that he always loved the arts and theater. He was “captivated by the lights of the stage”. As he went through school, he loved being involved in anything that had to do with the arts, but there wasn’t a lot of opportunities. That would change after Fabian went to and graduated from The University of The West Indies. He studied cultural enterprises management as well as music and artist management. He interned at Caribbean Magazine, where he learned everything from how to apply makeup for artists as well as photography and rose to become the editor of the magazine.
“Dreaming big is an important start to every wild idea”, and one of Fabian’s bigger dreams came true at the young age of twenty-one. He wrote a play called Family Remedy, that dealt with issues that youth go through, in an effort to support youth and their families. Every year after that, he wrote and staged a new play. In 2019, (using some of the money that his mother had given him for tuition, which didn’t make her very happy, he said), he opened a theater in Jamaica, as a place for youth to meet on a daily basis. He became involved in all aspects of running that theater- one of only four functioning theaters in Jamaica- doing everything from selling tickets to makeup to producing the show, learning about the lights and acoustics, and more. He said that hundreds of thousands of youths have been empowered by what he calls “edutainment”- education through entertainment. And he wrote a production called Force Ripe, that was seen by people in all fourteen parishes in Jamaica.
But then, COVID hit. Not one to be easily deterred, Fabian became the founder of Balla, a digital media production platform. It currently has over 260,000 subscribers on YouTube, with over 3 million views. It “pushed the edge and was groundbreaking”, he said. Next came a film series called True Colors, an LGBTQ+ series that was funded through The European Union. Fabian said that his own story is reflected in True Colors, the story of exploring sexuality in high school in Jamaica, a country that restricts gender and sexual expression. Through the arts and creative advocacy, Fabian said that he hopes to see shifts in social norms, and a less toxic society that in his homeland doesn’t support the lifestyle of he and his partner.
When I inquired as to how he came to Worcester, he said that he had friends who live here and offered him and his partner (now husband) Jerome a place to live and support. He knew others who live in the US, including friends and Jerome’s mother in Florida and his mother, who lives in New York. He says that he is very close to his mother, whom he calls two or three times a day, but says that it’s a bit funny (and sad at the same time) that she still refers to Jerome as his “friend”. He and Jerome were married in December of 2021, but had their official ceremony at city hall on June 12, 2022.
As the Cultural Development Officer, Fabian is also the Executive Director of the Worcester Cultural Coalition. Projects that he is currently working on include defining a strategic plan for the next five years and refreshing of the cultural plan. I have a good feeling that we are going to see many positive changes as a result of the work of Fabian and his teams.
Another of the changemakers is Carlos Garcia. Carlos, who currently lives in Shrewsbury, was born to a then single, seventeen-year-old mother and lived in Worcester until he was five. His mom, who was on Section 8 at the time, thought it would be best to move to Shrewsbury so that Carlos could get a better education. He is the first of the family to graduate from high school, something that he is (and certainly should be) proud of doing. He said that it wasn’t always easy, as no one knew at home knew or had any experience in the ins and outs of applying to college, etc. But that didn’t deter him- he went on to and graduated from Assumption College (now University) in 2019, with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in political science.
Carlos first became interested in local politics when his high school government teacher assigned everyone to attend a local town meeting. He was completely absorbed and went to several subsequent meetings, even though that wasn’t part of the assignment. Young Carlos saw government as “a way to uplift and support people “, a definition that he embodies today. The first time he became a campaign volunteer was in 2016, for the Vote No on Question 2 (public funding for charter schools). He felt that the money should stay with the public schools, to allow for more opportunities for everyone. He was involved at the grass roots level- knocking on doors and talking to people. In 2017, he was a representative at the town meeting, and in 2023 at the age of twenty-six, he was elected to the Select Board. In his own words- he “is the first person of color and the first queer person” elected in Shrewsbury.
Carlos credits his family and their values of “caring about something greater than themselves”. His grandfather, who is also Carlos, was a boxer who focused a lot of his time and energy on helping kids at The Boys and Girls Club, an organization that he recently retired from after forty years. His dad, yes- he’s Carlos too- is a custodian at North High in Worcester and his mom now owns her own business. His parents worked very hard to buy their own home where they reside with their three daughters.
In his involvement with town politics, Carlos encourages young people to attend public meetings and to learn about the issues. He also invites them to send him a note or email about any concerns or questions that they might have. He wants them to be informed citizens, who will make good decisions.
In addition to being a part of town government, Carlos has been working as the Advance Coordinator for the Attorney General’s Office since December. He handles the logistics and more for meetings, prepares presentations, etc.
Through everything he does, one theme is constant. He wants last to “uplift community.” And if everything that he has done to date is any indication, he will be a role model for his younger siblings as well as so many others. And he certainly will be uplifting the community for many, many years to come.
And last but certainly not least, is the fourth of this wonderful group-Tanya Neslusan. Tanya is the executive director of Mass Equality, a Worcester based, statewide, grassroots organization whose mission is to ensure that everyone in our state of Massachusetts “can thrive from cradle to grave without discrimination and oppression based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression” (from their website, www.massequality.org ).
Tanya was born in Springfield and moved to the town of Wales as a young child. As she went through school, she began to question her sexual orientation. And she said that when she was in high school, going to a Catholic school actually helped, in that everyone was dressed the same way, so she didn’t have to worry about anyone questioning her.
Her affinity for helping others began when she became a volunteer advocate. After college, she worked her full time day job in the corporate world, and spent nights and weekends as an advocate.
Tanya was involved with a Pride organization, of which her young son also joined her. In fact, it was him who was the one that outed her to her mother. As Tanya tells the story- her mother came to visit and was going to take Tanya and her then six-year-old son out for breakfast. He came down from his room, all dressed and with his jacket zipped up to his neck. Thinking nothing of it, they went to the restaurant. When they were seated, he unzipped his jacket and showed his Pride t shirt. His grandmother asked where he got it, and that started the conversation. He said that he went with his mom every year to the parade and other events.
As he grew older, Tanya wondered if she was sending mixed signals to her son, in that she was a member of the corporate world, a world that often times didn’t believe in the ideals that she believed in. She realized that “it was worth taking a financial hit for who you see yourself as a person” because she wanted to “live life in a holistic manner”. Tanya left her job and began working full time in the advocacy arena.
Tanya believes that “everyone has gifts, and a role to play in society”. Well, her gifts and her passion for helping others are certainly among the best things that the world definitely needs.
She says that she does receive her fair share of hate mail, some aimed at her personally because of who she is. And while it isn’t pleasant, she feels sorry for the ignorance that prompts the issue. That’s why she is extremely passionate about educating folks. Currently, she is working on a new project for seniors- because she knows that grandparents will accept their grandchildren as they truly are and will always offer them the support they need. And by educating them that questioning sexual orientation and identity is a normal thing, and if the grandchild does discover that he/she is gay or lesbian or transgender, it’s something that the grandmother and/or grandfather can then help their child to understand. And through that education process, the grandparents can educate the parents that what their grandchild is saying is not a phase that they will grow out of- it’s truly who they are. Armed with this knowledge, grandparents can help to foster the understanding and encouragement that the parents need, while showing their child that they are accepted and loved for who they are. And what a great gift that is- all benefit from this gift that the families can now share.
Tanya summed it all up perfectly, when she said that “every day, she tries to teach one person. And if that person teaches one other person, and that pattern continues, the necessary change will be realized”. She is making change, one person at a time.
These four amazing changemakers gave me so much insight and inspiration into what they believe in. It was truly a pleasure to hear their stories as well as their love for others. And if there is anything that we can count on, I think that it’s safe to say that they will continue to be changemakers and work for the betterment of all. With folks like them, the future looks bright. And because of the honor I had in speaking with these four great people, I am already a better person, and I thank each of them for giving me that gift. I’m reminded of the lyrics of a song by Louis Armstrong- “and I think to myself, what a wonderful world”.