GSAFE (Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, Inc.) has changed its leadership structure after the 2023 departure of Ali Muldrow, who was the Co-Executive Director along with Brian Juchems, according to a press release sent out on April 10. In this release, they detail that GSAFE’s new Leadership Council will comprise five directors, who will each have specific focus areas within GSAFE, and Tyrone Creech, a Madison native who worked for over four years as a mentor with the organization, will be the Executive Director. According to GSAFE’s website, Creech graduated from East High School in 2007, studied at UW-Platteville, has a passion for sports, and wants to one day focus “his advocacy in the queer community on LGBTQIA+ young athletes, providing guidance through his experiences and hope to nurture their confidence and activism into their future lives.”

Brian Juchems, a transplant to Madison from rural Iowa who “developed and piloted GSAFE’s Gender Inclusive Schools Project, a multi-level approach that helps school districts create systemic change toward the health and well-being of transgender and non-binary students” will serve as the Senior Director of Education & Policy. Lane Hanson, who worked with GSAFE 10 years ago as part of a Social Work internship but who has recently shifted gears toward grant writing, will be the Director of Finance & Development. Sue Neeley, a first-generation American with Laotion parents, who has several years of experience working with children and youth, and was most recently an Assistant Director at Goodman Community Center, will be Director of Family Engagement and Advocacy. Katie Rickert, a former teacher at Sherman Middle School on Madison’s Northside, a queer woman, and Indian-adoptee who is “driven by the urgent need for LGBTQIA+ youth of color to see themselves represented in leadership and feel supported as they navigate their identities,” will be the Director of Youth Leadership & Advocacy.