staff members

(she/her/they)

ayotunde.ikuku@tqyc.org

Ayotunde Ikuku is a Black, Queer, Trans-Woman who identifies as neurodivergent. She is proudly Nigerian-American and was raised in South Sacramento. 

She is currently pursuing a dual degree in Sociology & Ethnic Studies with a Queer lens. 

She is a founder of Sacramento's Trans Defense & Empowerment Program "S.P.I.C.E." (Street Pride Intersectional Community Empowerment) She is the Equity and Community Engagement Director at Trans Queer Youth Collective (TQYC) and has a passion for elevating & mentoring marginalized youth.

In 2019: she helped pioneer the FIRST Trans Job-Fair in Sacramento and was interviewed on the CAPRADIO podcast. That same year she co-wrote a chapter called "We Major: Black Trans Feminism Fights Back" and subsequently was published in “Black Feminist Sociology Perspectives and Praxis” by Zakiya Luna & Whitney Pirtle in 2021. She has been apart of various grassroots campaigns and organizing, and prioritizes intersectionality in her overall praxis. 

For enjoyment, she produces music, writes poetry, reads comics, plays video games and hangs out with her bird she raised.

Articles:

https://www.capradio.org/news/insight/2019/09/25/the-first-transgender-job-fair-in-sacramento-comes-to-sol-collective/

https://blackfeministsociology.com/

https://www.libertyproject.com/the-freedom-fighting-5-transgender-and-gnc-leaders-revolutionizing-advocacy-in-sacramento-2645559321.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/13/cops-out-of-pride-lgbt-police

(she/her/ella)

betsy.joslyn@tqyc.org

Betsy (ella/she/her) is a bilingual Administrative Coordinator. Her focuses include wealth redistribution and minority rights.

 Her experience in administration came from years volunteering and working with Mexican Consulates serving the Mexican community.. That is also where she explored her interest for protocol and etiquette. 

Her passions include crocheting, playing video games, reading fantasy books, napping, watching anime , and listening to music.  

(they/judah/Ase)

judah.joslyn@tqyc.org

(916) 835-3014

Doc JuDah is a Black, Agender, Queer, and disabled person born on the Ancestral homelands of the Kumeyaay People (San Diego) and raised on the ancestral homelands of the Nisenan and Miwok People (Sacramento). 

Their education has been completed at predominantly white institutions including earning a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Oregon State University and earning a Bachelor’s in Psychology and minor in Education from the University of California, Davis. 

They are currently working on becoming a certified full spectrum doula through BADT. They are the Founder of Speak Our United Liberation (SOUL) counseling. Their work focuses on creating affirming and healing spaces rooted in anti-capital, decolonized, and re-indigenized frameworks.

They are also an activist  focusing predominately on the intersections of Black liberation, Trans & Queer liberation, Disability rights, and environmental justice. With all work intersectional work being encompassed through a class struggle praxis. 

(they/he)

akello.sladen@tqyc.org

(916) 835-4637

 Akello Sladen has a vast lived experience of being a black, transmasc, non-binary person in small conservative town growing up. They have been involved in LGBTQ+ and foster care advocacy since 2004. They’ve had many roles as youth; Camp Counselor, Workshop Facilitator, and Youth Advisory Board Member for Gay Straight Alliance Network (2004 - 2011). SOGIE Advisory Board for DHS (2018 - 2020). They utilize professional & lived expertise to facilitate workshops specializing in 2SLGBTQIA+ topics and the foster care system. 

They're currently in the process expanding their higher education.

To refill their cup, they like to hang out with their family and spend time making memories with their loved ones