Spiritual Pride Project has been possible through the efforts of those who volunteer their time. If you are interested in joining the staff of SPP as a camp leader or camp counselor please apply through the application form. Thank you.
Brianna is planning to graduate with a BFA in Studio Art: Painting. She has been working in ministry of some form or fashion since 2001. And was a youth director for an ELCA congregation for 3 years. Brianna loves to play video games, throw a frisbee, practice yoga, watch her dog leap into the river, lay in the sun, and hang out with her family. She currently lives in west Austin with her husband Matt, dog Jack, and cat Buddy.
Natalie graduated from Texas Lutheran University in May 2010 with a journalism degree. Since then she has been helping people succeed online; working for a software company called Volusion. She is passionate about creativity, equality and community. Her goal in life is to find enjoyment in everything she does, whether it's dancing to Justin Bieber, dressing in costumes for an entire month or working with SPP.
Olivia−Beth has a Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas. In her free time she volunteers for the Lutherans Concerned North America Board and spends too much time on Facebook. She has been working with the Spiritual Pride Project in Curriculum Planning from the beginning. She has been out as a Pansexual Christian for several years and finds this project to be a great way for students to learn to understand themselves, sexuality and gender identities. She lives with her puppy Cody in Austin, TX. She can't wait for April!
Kristina is currently working on a earning a degree in Social Work. She is also currently working with adolescents and children at a juvenile center and children's shelter. She practices daily meditation and prayer with the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to explore and express themselves spiritually. She is grateful to be in a relationship with her partner, Rickie.
Rickie is currently attending Austin Community College studying social work, and she is currently working at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Rickie joined the Spiritual Pride Project with the belief that spirituality is an important part of everyone's lives. Also, that having a higher power, whatever it may be, is necessary. She enjoys yoga, meditation, painting and spending time with her partner, Kristina.
Austin is a senior Dramatic Media major at Texas Lutheran University and has been involved with outdoor ministry and the camping experience for 7 years as staff. When not spending countless hours rigging a light plot, building set pieces, or figuring out where that funny beeping noise is coming from, he enjoys spending time on the Guadalupe and Comal rivers, playing sand volleyball, and spending time with family and friends around a BBQ. Austin is super excited to continue the mission and work of the Spiritual Pride Project!
Kim, SPP's Communications Coordinator is a native Austinite and life-long Lutheran. In the past eight years of exploration away from Texas, she has graduated with a Religion degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, split six summers between Cross Trails Ministry in Kerrville, TX and Rainbow Trail in Hillside, CO as a backpack guide and staff person, and served at an adolescent treatment facility as a Lutheran Volunteer Corps member in Oakland, CA. She has spent two seasons in outdoor education in the Catskills, and served two years as an Americorps VISTA in West Virginia and New York City, where she is currently pursuing a Master's of Social Work at Hunter College and living with her partner, Julie, and puppy, Stella. She is passionate about social justice and excited about life.
Rev. Alycia Erickson is the Pastor of Faith Formation for Metropolitan Community Church of Austin. She has been active in the movement for full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities for many years. She and her partner, Judy, live in North Austin with their three sons, three dogs, and cat.
Rev. Lori Ruge-Jones has been working for full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the church for two decades. She is privileged to serve as pastor of Living Word Lutheran Church, ELCA, in Buda, TX, which is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, and has as its focus inclusion of LGBT persons in all aspects of ministry. She is also a biblical storyteller, a passion she shares with the congregation and her family. She enjoys playing piano, being a band mom for her two children, and is on a never-ending search for an "all ice cream, all the time" healthy eating plan.