Home » Our Staff

Our Staff

Adam 2012 Staff PhotoAdam Gregory Catanzarite, Director of Programs

Preferred pronouns: ve/they/them/their (neutral)

Born and raised in the bread-basket, Adam made their way to Vermont to plant new roots after receiving ves B.A. in Communications & Culture from Indiana University. Ve has served as an AmeriCorps VISTA, worked as an instructor with The Upward Bound Project and has been an animal/human rights advocate for several years. Some of Adam’s roles at Outright are to oversee Friday Night Group programming (for Burlington, Rutland, and Montpelier — with hopes of expanding this service to new parts of the state), put together Camp Outright (with the help of many wonderful folks), manage Outright’s HIV testing program and schedule fun social events throughout the year. Adam will also be working on finding new and creative ideas for programming within the youth space – so if you have ideas that you’d like to see, you should absolutely contact them! If you find them biking about town or strolling through the farmers market be sure to say hello.

Five Fun Facts – Adam…
1. is a vegan.
2. named their dog after a video game character.
3. enjoys foraging for wild edible berries.
4. sleeps in their boots from time to time.
5. fell in love with the sea at age 13 (and still is)!

Adam can be reached at adam[at]outrightvt.org

 

Melissa Murray, Executive Director

Preferred pronouns: she/her

Melissa Murray is a queer mama and a social justice activist. She has worked in a variety of social justice movements, including anti-violence, racial justice, reproductive health, and queer rights. In Ohio, she worked with LGBTQ students at the Ohio State University, and provided sober support to queer women in recovery. Melissa holds a BA in Women’s Studies and a Masters in Social Work, both from the Ohio State University. Outside of work, Melissa is an avid hiker and climber and loves exploring Vermont. Melissa is excited to bring her talents to Outright Vermont to work with and on behalf of queer youth.

Contact Melissa at ed[at]outrightvt.org

Five fun facts about Melissa:

  1. I have three hilarious daughters.
  2. I have climbed seven mountains in the last year and look forward to more mountain climbing this summer.
  3. I am terrified of bees. Know what that phobia is called? Melissophobia. 
  4. I can read a book in a day if I like it well enough (no matter how long it is). Favorite book? Probably Harry Potter (all of them).
  5. It would take me more than a month to listen to all the songs on my iPod. Best Album of all time? 69 Love Songs by the Magnetic Fields.

Dana Kaplan, Director of Education

Preferred pronouns: he/him/danadana

I am the newest member of the Outright family!  As the Director of Education, I seem to wear many hats… which suits me well as a person who likes to have lots of options! I got my graduate degree in Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies, and that lens of question-asker and relationship-builder  is definitely woven into how I approach the world.
A day in the life of Dana at Outright:
Some days I’m on the road traveling to middle and high schools to talk with students about ways to make it better in their schools. Sometimes I’m having those conversations with school faculty and administrators, as we dive into the world of what it looks like to be an awesome ally.
I also have the very cool responsibility of advising undeniably the most rad school groups across our state… our Vermont school-based QSA’s & GSA’s! Which means I also get to work closely with the fantastic group Advisors, too. Sometimes I get to be an event planner for things like the Vermont Queer & Allied Youth Summit (PROM!), and the Fall Conference. And other times I’m fine-tuning my administrative skills back here at the home base, making sure to field questions and provide support to community members and educators, track our trainings, make fun facebook and website posts, and just generally stay organized behind-the-scenes.
I believe in the power of peer-to-peer education, and want to make sure YOUR voices are infused  in everything we do. So come talk to me!

Five Fun Facts – Dana…
1. I have a twin brother (Yes, I am older. By 2.5 minutes. Yes, he is also queer)!
2. I like to ferment foods. If I ever started a business, I decided I’d call it “pickled pink”
3. I play in an indie pop band that’s toured internationally and released 4 albums, but I’ve never actually thought of myself as a musician.
4.  In my free time, I like to give hair cuts. I’m good at table tennis. I like to make my bed every morning. I’m told I’m a phenomenal driver… on both sides of the road! And, I can be a rule-follower, but I prefer to stretch them when I can.
5. I’d rather go up a mountain than go down it.

 

Dana can be reached at dana@outrightvt.org