Meet Our Team
Board of Directors
Casira Copes, President
Casira (she/they) first became involved with the BRC in 2021, designing graphics for Bi+ Health Awareness Month around the theme of Equity. An avid writer and non-profit professional, Casira works for the ACLU of Delaware as the Communications Director, advancing civil rights campaigns and issues that center justice and equity in the state. They are also on the board of OPEN (Organization for Polyamory and Ethical Non-monogamy) to help foster greater social acceptance and advance legal protections for non-monogamous people and families. When they’re not working, Casira enjoys traveling and connecting with queer communities across the globe, petting cats in different countries, photography, video games, and eating good food with good friends.
Garrett Katz, Treasurer
Garrett (they/them) joined the BRC in 2022. Joining the BRC for them was an opportunity to be more active in the bi+ community and to contribute time and energy to furthering the BRC towards our vision of an empowered, visible, and inclusive community for bi+ people. Outside the BRC, Garrett works as the Director of Executive Search at Work Renewed, a talent and team management solutions firm for social impact and community-focused organizations. Their favorite hobbies include cooking new recipes, playing board games, and spending time with their cat, Zora.
Noël S., Clerk
Jessica Haggett Silverman, Member at Large
Jessica, “Belle” to her friends, is a nonprofit professional passionate about leaving her communities better than she found them. Her career started in ecology, where she discovered her love for categorizing invertebrates. She has developed expertise in a broad range of nonprofit management at a variety of organizations, both big and small. She loves creepy crawlies, food, and music, and lives with her partner and her dog, Rosie. She loves hearing stories about how the BRC has impacted the bi+ community that has nourished her her whole life, and contributing her nonprofit know-how.
Jade Johnson-Brown, Member at Large
Brooke Lindley, Member at Large
Brooke Lindley has been part of the BRC since 2018. She is primarily responsible for email correspondences, sharing and building resources. Outside of the BRC, Brooke resides in Michigan and works in Nonprofit Organization leadership as well as, operates a small business. In 2021, Brooke was featured in the New York Times: The ‘Double Closet’: Why Some Bisexual People Struggle With Mental Health. Hobbies include streaming video games on Twitch, writing, playing ukulele and being a proud dog mom!
Christopher McKenzie, Member at Large
Christopher is a filmmaker, photographer, and lecturer in Film and Television at Boston University and Emerson College. After a lifetime of quiet bisexuality, he found in the Bisexual Resource Center an organization that he would have given anything to know about while growing up in Oklahoma. He joined the board in 2021 because he believes deeply in the BRC’s mission of building community and supporting bi+ individuals everywhere. As you might guess, he enjoys consuming media, but also loves road trips and playing his mandolin. Christopher uses the he series of pronouns and is a proud member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Bailey Merlin, Member at Large
Bailey (she/her) is the author of A Lot of People Live in This House, the co-host of the podcast Bisexual Killjoy, the founder of the growing global phenomenon Bi+ Book Gang, and a dedicated bi+ activist. She holds an MFA in fiction from Butler University and an SM in Media, Medicine, and Health from Harvard Medical School. Her writing and activism investigate the intersection of community and health, especially as it pertains to bi+ populations. When her Google Calendar allows, she loves to play video games and plan parties.
Julie Morgenlender, Member at Large
Julie has been involved in bi+ events and volunteer efforts for many years, and is excited to work on the BRC’s Board of Directors to further contribute to the bi+ community. She currently does freelance work, volunteers and advocates in the chronic illness community, and just published The Things We Don’t Say, An Anthology of Chronic Illness Truths, an anthology about living with chronic illness. She is also the former Director of Operations of the nonprofit Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis. In her free time, Julie enjoys dog sitting, reading books of almost any genre, and crocheting and knitting varied items in the colors of the many queer pride flags.
Helen Parshall, Member at Large
A self-described “professional bisexual,” Helen Parshall serves as the Digital Director at Lambda Legal. She is an avid writer and passionate social justice advocate, who uses digital media to bring visibility to marginalized communities. Before joining the team at Lambda Legal, Helen worked at AIDS United and the Human Rights Campaign, telling stories at the nexus of HIV, racial justice, transgender justice and bisexual visibility within the broader LGBTQ movement. From covering stories about the broken criminal justice system in Baltimore City to rebuilding homes for LGBTQ elders in Puerto Rico, Helen has always been driven by a desire to uplift others in the hopes of creating a better, more just world. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, holding a master’s in journalism degree with a focus in multi-platform journalism. In her free time, Helen can be found reading a book or watching Doctor Who curled up with her dog, Pippin.
Vincent Paz-Macareno, Member at Large
Vincent is a creative professional, advocate, and educator currently based in Los Angeles, CA. Through his work, he breaks barriers and champions equitable representation, racial justice, and LGBTQIA+ visibility for public and private organizations within the arts, entertainment, and advocacy sectors across the United States. Vincent holds a DEIB Certification from Harvard Business Publishing, and his advocacy work extends to producing diversity-forward programming,
facilitating violence prevention and response training, establishing community partnerships, and promoting literacy and technology access. He is proud to amplify his own visibility as a bisexual Latino man on stage and screen as an actor represented by Actors’ Equity Association. Across his entire body of work, he has lent his talents to a range of captivating live and filmed productions for entertainment giants like Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company, and Universal Pictures.
Eliot Tracz, Member at Large
Eliot (he/him) joined the board in 2023 and is excited to grow his bi+ community and help increase bi visibility. He is a law professor, author of multiple scholarly works regarding law and the LGBTQ community, and baseball enthusiast by day. The rest of the time he can be found exploring New England beaches with his wife and sons, enjoying coffee and a game of fetch with his yellow lab mix, or reading whatever he can get his hands on.