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Staff

The Cantú Queer Center is nothing without the hard work and dedication of our staff, interns, and volunteers. Scroll down to read more about our team! 

 

 

 

    delfin w. bautista, MSW, MDiv.

  • Director

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    Sign: Virgo Sun 🌞; Scorpio Moon🌙; Libra Rising🌟

    Pronouns: They/Elles/delfín

    email: dewbauti@ucsc.edu

    delfín is a social worker, writer, activist theologian, and diversity educator.  Originally from Hialeah, FL, delfín is of Cuban and Salvadoran heritage.  delfín has a Master in Divinity from Yale University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania.  A queer and trans Latinx diva of faith and spirit, delfín is passionate about intersectional justice and resilience, especially around the experiences of queer and trans people of color.  Currently, delfín is part of the faculty and planning teams for Campus Pride's Advisor Academy and Camp Pride and is involved with different LGBTQIA2S+ faith based organizations including DignityUSA, Soulforce, Queer Christian Fellowship, and enfleshed.  delfín enjoys cooking, eating, writing, cartoons, coloring, theologizing, spending time with their beloved, and queerly queering where no queer has queered before. 

    • Sam Fonseca-Vallejo

  • Graphic Design and Social Media Intern

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    Pronouns:  they/them

     

     

    • Alysha Galotta

  • Graphic Design and Social Media Intern

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    Pronouns:  any/all pronouns

     

    • Gabi Garcia

  • Graphic Design and Social Media Intern

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    Pronouns: she/they

     

    • Mango Iraheta

  • Programs and Advocacy Intern

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    Pronouns:  they/them

     

    • Elliot-Elyjah Mcwhinnie

  • Programs and Advocacy Intern

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    Pronouns: he/they

     

    • Tamia Moradi

  • Programs and Advocacy Intern

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    Pronouns: they/she

    • Malena Ronga

  • Operations Intern

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    Sign: Capricorn Sun 🌞; Gemini Moon🌙; Capricorn Rising🌟

    Pronouns: She/They

    Hey :) My name is Malena and I am a fourth year here at UCSC! I am majoring in both community studies and psychology. I'm originally from Palmdale, CA, but I am currently living in Santa Cruz. I love astrology and meeting people's pets, so feel free to share pet stories and pictures with me!!

    • Chloe Simson

  • Trans Education Specialist

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    Pronouns: They/Them

    Email: casimson@ucsc.edu

    Chloe is a trans and neurodivergent leader in the queer community. Brought up in Southern California (Tongva and Chumash lands), they received a BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Soka University of America. Before relocating to Santa Cruz, they were a queer community organizer and activist in San Francisco and the previous Director of the Queer & Trans Resource Center at San Francisco State University, where they also pursued their MA in Sexuality Studies. Their academic research has focused on trans and non-binary identity, drag, disability justice, and queer archival history, always with a focus on intersectional experience. Outside of work, Chloe enjoys hiking, environmental restoration, cooking and eating vegan food, and making ceramics.

    • Des Velázquez

  • Program Coordinator

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    Sign: Gemini Sun / Taurus Moon / Sagittarius Rising

    Pronouns: he/they

    Email: dvelazq8@ucsc.edu

    Des is a scholar-practitioner whose work, research, and advocacy centers on trans and queer people in higher education, with an emphasis on the thriving of trans and queer folks who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. He was born and raised on the ancestral and contemporary lands of the Muwekma Ohlone. He later completed a B.A. in Latin American Studies & History at Smith College in Massachusetts (2019) and an M.A. in Higher Education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (2023). Shortly after graduating from Smith, Des spent nearly three years in the nonprofit sector providing career development advising and programming for first-generation and low-income Bay Area college students. At U-M, Des served as the Research, Assessment, and Advocacy Lead at the Spectrum Center and a Research Assistant in the Campus Abolition Research Lab. Currently, Des is also an Executive Board Member of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals and a member of the Graduate Students & New Professionals Editorial Board for ACPA's publication About Campus. Des loves writing, cooking, curating Spotify playlists, watching anime, going to concerts, and collecting earrings!