Growing up Catholic and attending private, Catholic K-12 schools left Nick feeling isolated from others, distant from their queerness, and completely disconnected from any sense of faith. It wasn’t until Nick found true community through chosen LGBTQ+ family that they rediscovered the beauty and power of spirituality. In honor of Pride Month, Nick will share their journey of how queerness — the thing that created so much emotional and spiritual turmoil — became the very thing that saved their spirituality.

Nick was born and raised in Stockton, California, and lived and worked in San Diego for seven years before moving to Spokane in October 2015 to work at Eastern Washington University. They are passionate serving marginalized communities and using cultural humility to educate others on issues related to equity, inclusion, and justice. Although it took several years, Nick is proud to call Spokane home, and in their free time they enjoy audiobooks, competitive volleyball, and anything related to figure skating.