Podcasts
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage
Welcome to PFLAG Cape Cod’s Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage podcast series!
Launched in October 2020, this podcast program, produced by Huntington Northstar Productions of Hyannis, Massachusetts, in collaboration with PFLAG Cape Cod, explores the lives of LGBTQ+ people, their families, and allies, including members and supporters of PFLAG Cape Cod, who have dealt with issues of sexual identity/orientation, gender transition, and social acceptance.
Many episodes offer moving and intimate portraits of individuals wrestling with their sexual/gender identity, and the path they have taken toward wholeness and healthy self-acceptance. Other episodes profile the parents, family members, and allies of LGBTQ+ individuals on their own journeys toward understanding and acceptance of loved ones.
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage is intended both to educate listeners about the challenges facing those who identify as LGBTQ+, and to help anyone struggling with issues of orientation and sexual/gender identity to find the resources and social support they need to lead happy, fulfilling lives.
Launched in October 2020, this podcast program, produced by Huntington Northstar Productions of Hyannis, Massachusetts, in collaboration with PFLAG Cape Cod, explores the lives of LGBTQ+ people, their families, and allies, including members and supporters of PFLAG Cape Cod, who have dealt with issues of sexual identity/orientation, gender transition, and social acceptance.
Many episodes offer moving and intimate portraits of individuals wrestling with their sexual/gender identity, and the path they have taken toward wholeness and healthy self-acceptance. Other episodes profile the parents, family members, and allies of LGBTQ+ individuals on their own journeys toward understanding and acceptance of loved ones.
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage is intended both to educate listeners about the challenges facing those who identify as LGBTQ+, and to help anyone struggling with issues of orientation and sexual/gender identity to find the resources and social support they need to lead happy, fulfilling lives.
Rick Koonce (Host, Interviewer and Producer) is a former print and broadcast journalist and author or co-author of seven books. A former board member of PFLAG Cape Cod, Rick was a commentator on Public Radio’s popular business program, “Marketplace” for five years, and has conducted hundreds of interviews with people from every walk of life over the course of a 25-plus year long career in business and print and broadcast journalism.
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Click the image above to read this story which appeared in
the March/April 2021 issue of Boston Spirit magazine!
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Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage is available on many popular platforms and apps, including:
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Listen Notes
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New episodes will be released periodically and added that day to the list of podcasts below and to the platforms above. Sign up for our emails so you'll be one of the first to know when a new episode is released, or subscribe to any of the podcast platforms above to have the episodes sent to you!
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When listening to the podcasts on your favorite platform or app, please take a moment to give them a positive review to boost their visibility. We hope you enjoy listening to these podcasts and we encourage you to spread the word by letting others know about them!
Episode #40: Linda & Gloria Bailey-Davies
released November 15, 2024
In the prolonged and often contentious battle for marriage equality in the United States, it can truly be said that Gloria and Linda Bailey-Davies are pioneers.
Together now for over 50 years, the happily married Cape Cod couple, both former therapists, were among the seven couples who were litigants in the Massachusetts same-sex marriage case (Goodrich vs Department of Public Health) that led to the landmark legalization of same-sex marriage in the Bay State in 2004. Victory in that case helped create momentum for the eventual legalization of same-sex marriage throughout the U.S. in June of 2015.
In this moving and wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, recorded just before the 2024 presidential election, Linda and Gloria, who never imagined they’d become social activists, describe how they got involved as key players in one of the most important social movements of the last 50 years.
On a personal level, they also describe how they found each other, the role ping-pong played in their early relationship, what their journey toward committing themselves to one another has been like, and what they see as the secrets to anyone forming and sustaining a healthy and loving long-term relationship. (Run time: 47:45)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Linda and Gloria's interview.
released November 15, 2024
In the prolonged and often contentious battle for marriage equality in the United States, it can truly be said that Gloria and Linda Bailey-Davies are pioneers.
Together now for over 50 years, the happily married Cape Cod couple, both former therapists, were among the seven couples who were litigants in the Massachusetts same-sex marriage case (Goodrich vs Department of Public Health) that led to the landmark legalization of same-sex marriage in the Bay State in 2004. Victory in that case helped create momentum for the eventual legalization of same-sex marriage throughout the U.S. in June of 2015.
In this moving and wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, recorded just before the 2024 presidential election, Linda and Gloria, who never imagined they’d become social activists, describe how they got involved as key players in one of the most important social movements of the last 50 years.
On a personal level, they also describe how they found each other, the role ping-pong played in their early relationship, what their journey toward committing themselves to one another has been like, and what they see as the secrets to anyone forming and sustaining a healthy and loving long-term relationship. (Run time: 47:45)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Linda and Gloria's interview.
Episode #39: Sarah Messeck & Avery Condon
released August 2, 2024
Sarah Messeck and Avery Condon are a young couple very much in love. The two met at a Cape Cod Pride event in June 2022 and soon afterwards began dating. Eventually they plan to marry.
Sarah, an animal welfare advocate and horse riding enthusiast, identifies as a cisgender woman and uses the pronouns she and her. In the past, she had relationships with people of different genders.
Avery, who’s passionate about environmental and social justice issues, and was previously married to a woman, today identifies as transgender and non-binary and uses they and them pronouns.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Sarah and Avery talk in depth about their relationship – how they met, and the basis of their attraction to one another on many levels. They offer illuminating insights into how the dynamics of physical and emotional attraction, gender identity, and gender presentation operate for them in the context of a non-traditional relationship.
But that relationship is traditional in at least once sense, as the two plan to tie the marriage knot - most likely in the fall of 2025 - with both their families and friends lovingly looking on. (Run time: 41:31)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Sarah and Avery's interview.
released August 2, 2024
Sarah Messeck and Avery Condon are a young couple very much in love. The two met at a Cape Cod Pride event in June 2022 and soon afterwards began dating. Eventually they plan to marry.
Sarah, an animal welfare advocate and horse riding enthusiast, identifies as a cisgender woman and uses the pronouns she and her. In the past, she had relationships with people of different genders.
Avery, who’s passionate about environmental and social justice issues, and was previously married to a woman, today identifies as transgender and non-binary and uses they and them pronouns.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Sarah and Avery talk in depth about their relationship – how they met, and the basis of their attraction to one another on many levels. They offer illuminating insights into how the dynamics of physical and emotional attraction, gender identity, and gender presentation operate for them in the context of a non-traditional relationship.
But that relationship is traditional in at least once sense, as the two plan to tie the marriage knot - most likely in the fall of 2025 - with both their families and friends lovingly looking on. (Run time: 41:31)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Sarah and Avery's interview.
Episode #38: Jane Fleishman
released May 10, 2024
Dr. Jane Fleishman is an accomplished sexuality educator, writer, program developer, and researcher. In 2016, at the age of 62, she received her doctorate in Human Sexuality from the Widener University Center for Human Sexuality Studies after a successful career as a consultant for a large public mental health system.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Fleishman, author of The Stonewall Generation, delves deeply into the challenges LGBTQ+ seniors face as they navigate the passages of advancing age, and must deal with issues of health and wellness, self-esteem, companionship and intimacy, and continued sexual vitality and identity.
Fleishman has long believed that it’s important for members of the LGBTQ+ community to re-imagine their ideas about sexual vitality, beauty, and desirability, and to reject old but enduring myths about sexuality and aging.
“Wrinkles and gray hair are as beautiful as a face without wrinkles,” she says, adding, “I’m on a campaign to invite people to love their aging queer bodies and to upend the narrative that the only kind of beauty is associated with youth.” That, she says, is a binary way of looking at the world that doesn’t serve you, me or anybody else in the LGBTQ+ community.” (Run time: 38:09)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jane's interview.
released May 10, 2024
Dr. Jane Fleishman is an accomplished sexuality educator, writer, program developer, and researcher. In 2016, at the age of 62, she received her doctorate in Human Sexuality from the Widener University Center for Human Sexuality Studies after a successful career as a consultant for a large public mental health system.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Fleishman, author of The Stonewall Generation, delves deeply into the challenges LGBTQ+ seniors face as they navigate the passages of advancing age, and must deal with issues of health and wellness, self-esteem, companionship and intimacy, and continued sexual vitality and identity.
Fleishman has long believed that it’s important for members of the LGBTQ+ community to re-imagine their ideas about sexual vitality, beauty, and desirability, and to reject old but enduring myths about sexuality and aging.
“Wrinkles and gray hair are as beautiful as a face without wrinkles,” she says, adding, “I’m on a campaign to invite people to love their aging queer bodies and to upend the narrative that the only kind of beauty is associated with youth.” That, she says, is a binary way of looking at the world that doesn’t serve you, me or anybody else in the LGBTQ+ community.” (Run time: 38:09)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jane's interview.
Episode #37: Brett Smiley
released April 12, 2024
Brett Smiley is the married, gay mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. Elected to office in 2022 on his second try for the job, Smiley got his start in Rhode Island politics years before, serving as Chief Operating Officer for Providence and as Rhode Island’s Director of Administration, as well as Chief of Staff to former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo.
In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Brett talks about coming out as a gay man, and about being a political science and public policy nerd, even as a teenager, who developed an early passion for politics. He talks too about the mark he hopes to make on Providence as mayor, and about the high school teacher and coach who helped him believe in himself.
Finally, he talks about being an uncle to his nephews, his love of running, his recovery from alcoholism in his early 20’s, and about meeting his husband, Jim, a prominent real estate agent in Rhode Island, and now the city’s first First Gentleman. (Run time: 35:35)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Brett's interview.
released April 12, 2024
Brett Smiley is the married, gay mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. Elected to office in 2022 on his second try for the job, Smiley got his start in Rhode Island politics years before, serving as Chief Operating Officer for Providence and as Rhode Island’s Director of Administration, as well as Chief of Staff to former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo.
In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Brett talks about coming out as a gay man, and about being a political science and public policy nerd, even as a teenager, who developed an early passion for politics. He talks too about the mark he hopes to make on Providence as mayor, and about the high school teacher and coach who helped him believe in himself.
Finally, he talks about being an uncle to his nephews, his love of running, his recovery from alcoholism in his early 20’s, and about meeting his husband, Jim, a prominent real estate agent in Rhode Island, and now the city’s first First Gentleman. (Run time: 35:35)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Brett's interview.
Episode #36: Rick Miller
released March 22, 2024
Rick Miller is a psychotherapist who works extensively with gay men. Gay himself, he’s pioneered the use of mind/body experiential therapy to assist gay men and other members of the LGBTQ+ community in dealing with early life trauma. Through doing such work, Rick has helped many in the LGBTQ+ community discover inner strength, build personal resilience, enhance their self-esteem, and build strong and healthy relationships with others.
In this thought-provoking interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Rick talks about where his motivation to do this work comes from, about the challenges many gay men still face in today's world, and how personal therapy can help anyone overcome pain and find happiness and personal agency in the process. (Run time: 37:08)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Rick's interview.
released March 22, 2024
Rick Miller is a psychotherapist who works extensively with gay men. Gay himself, he’s pioneered the use of mind/body experiential therapy to assist gay men and other members of the LGBTQ+ community in dealing with early life trauma. Through doing such work, Rick has helped many in the LGBTQ+ community discover inner strength, build personal resilience, enhance their self-esteem, and build strong and healthy relationships with others.
In this thought-provoking interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Rick talks about where his motivation to do this work comes from, about the challenges many gay men still face in today's world, and how personal therapy can help anyone overcome pain and find happiness and personal agency in the process. (Run time: 37:08)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Rick's interview.
Episode #35: Mara Betti
released August 18, 2023
Mara Betti is a successful, 50-something architect, who works for one of the leading architectural firms in Boston. She’s also a Transwoman and biological father of two sons, ages 18 and 22.
In this deeply personal interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Mara talks emotionally about coming out and accepting herself as Trans; a journey that has taken her decades, and which has put tremendous strain on her heterosexual marriage to her wife – whom she met in college and still describes as “my best friend.”
Mara talks about the dark times she’s lived through and the steps she’s now taking, with the help of a therapist, to build a new identity, and to navigate a personal and social world she never imagined she’d be encountering at this stage of her life. And finally, she talks lovingly about her relationships with her two boys, with whom she wants to remain close, though she understands that this will take time, patience, and love on everyone’s parts. Especially, as her boys focus on discovering their own identities as young adults.
As this intimate interview reveals, Mara, like other Transgender people struggling to be themselves, displays tremendous resolve and resilience; qualities that indeed make her a compelling profile in LGBTQ+ courage. (Run time: 40:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Mara's interview.
released August 18, 2023
Mara Betti is a successful, 50-something architect, who works for one of the leading architectural firms in Boston. She’s also a Transwoman and biological father of two sons, ages 18 and 22.
In this deeply personal interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Mara talks emotionally about coming out and accepting herself as Trans; a journey that has taken her decades, and which has put tremendous strain on her heterosexual marriage to her wife – whom she met in college and still describes as “my best friend.”
Mara talks about the dark times she’s lived through and the steps she’s now taking, with the help of a therapist, to build a new identity, and to navigate a personal and social world she never imagined she’d be encountering at this stage of her life. And finally, she talks lovingly about her relationships with her two boys, with whom she wants to remain close, though she understands that this will take time, patience, and love on everyone’s parts. Especially, as her boys focus on discovering their own identities as young adults.
As this intimate interview reveals, Mara, like other Transgender people struggling to be themselves, displays tremendous resolve and resilience; qualities that indeed make her a compelling profile in LGBTQ+ courage. (Run time: 40:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Mara's interview.
Episode #34: Jake Wanamaker
released August 4, 2023
Assigned female at birth, Jake Wanamaker is a 2023 graduate of Nauset High School on Cape Cod who today identifies as a Transman. For Jake, the awareness that he was born into a body of the wrong-gender for him came early, when he was only a few years old. But he didn’t have the knowledge or vocabulary with which to understand the feelings and emotions deep within him.
So, he went online, at an early age, to learn more about the Transgender world and later found help from both a sensitive guidance counselor and a gifted therapist – who helped him better understand and claim his true gender identity.
In this intimate and revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, which took place just weeks before his scheduled top surgery in July of 2023, Jake talks about the struggles he endured as a child and adolescent, trying to come to terms with who he is.
He reveals the challenges he faced coming out to his parents, and how, with the help of friends, supportive and caring teachers, and healthcare professionals, he began to fully embrace his gender identity.
Jake also talks about the enthusiasm he feels today for the future…..his excitement about attending college in the fall… and his desire to pursue a career as a scientific illustrator, combining his deep interests in both art and nature. (Run time: 39:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jake's interview.
released August 4, 2023
Assigned female at birth, Jake Wanamaker is a 2023 graduate of Nauset High School on Cape Cod who today identifies as a Transman. For Jake, the awareness that he was born into a body of the wrong-gender for him came early, when he was only a few years old. But he didn’t have the knowledge or vocabulary with which to understand the feelings and emotions deep within him.
So, he went online, at an early age, to learn more about the Transgender world and later found help from both a sensitive guidance counselor and a gifted therapist – who helped him better understand and claim his true gender identity.
In this intimate and revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, which took place just weeks before his scheduled top surgery in July of 2023, Jake talks about the struggles he endured as a child and adolescent, trying to come to terms with who he is.
He reveals the challenges he faced coming out to his parents, and how, with the help of friends, supportive and caring teachers, and healthcare professionals, he began to fully embrace his gender identity.
Jake also talks about the enthusiasm he feels today for the future…..his excitement about attending college in the fall… and his desire to pursue a career as a scientific illustrator, combining his deep interests in both art and nature. (Run time: 39:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jake's interview.
Episode #33: Ann Burke
released June 30, 2023
Ann Burke is a registered nurse, counselor, and long-time advocate for Transgender people who live on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard.
She serves as a board member of the Cape and Islands Transgender Resource Fund, and also acts as a facilitator of Transgender social support meetings, held twice monthly on the Cape, under the auspices of Fenway Health in Boston.
In this insightful interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Ann, who is NOT Transgender herself, explains why she took on a role as a committed advocate for Transgender people. And, she shines a critical spotlight on the many challenges Transgender people face – be it in navigating the legal and healthcare systems of Massachusetts, or dealing with discrimination in housing and employment.
“When a Transgender person comes out, they often lose their entire support system”, says Ann. “This often includes a person’s family, partner, friends, neighbors, and job,” she says.
Despite that, Ann says, “I have found Transgender people to be incredibly resilient” in navigating legal, financial, and healthcare obstacles as well a world that is often hostile, intolerant, and ignorant about who they REALLY are. (Run time: 37:17)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Ann's interview.
released June 30, 2023
Ann Burke is a registered nurse, counselor, and long-time advocate for Transgender people who live on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard.
She serves as a board member of the Cape and Islands Transgender Resource Fund, and also acts as a facilitator of Transgender social support meetings, held twice monthly on the Cape, under the auspices of Fenway Health in Boston.
In this insightful interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Ann, who is NOT Transgender herself, explains why she took on a role as a committed advocate for Transgender people. And, she shines a critical spotlight on the many challenges Transgender people face – be it in navigating the legal and healthcare systems of Massachusetts, or dealing with discrimination in housing and employment.
“When a Transgender person comes out, they often lose their entire support system”, says Ann. “This often includes a person’s family, partner, friends, neighbors, and job,” she says.
Despite that, Ann says, “I have found Transgender people to be incredibly resilient” in navigating legal, financial, and healthcare obstacles as well a world that is often hostile, intolerant, and ignorant about who they REALLY are. (Run time: 37:17)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Ann's interview.
Episode #32: Rikki Bates
released June 16, 2023
Rikki Bates is a rock and roll drummer who has struggled for much of her life with gender dysphoria.
For years, like many Transgender people, she lived in a state of confusion and depression. Then, she managed to get gender affirming surgery which changed her life. In the process, she brought about precedent-settings changes in how Transgender healthcare is provided to people in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Rikki describes the bullying and psychological confusion she experienced as a child and adolescent, her struggles with depression as she entered adulthood, and the turn-around in her life that began to occur following multiple gender-affirming surgeries and intense personal therapy.
She also reveals the fascinating, step-by-step process of gender affirming surgery itself, the challenges of dating as a bisexual Transwoman, and her advice to others who think they may be Transgender. (Run time: 42:06)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Rikki's interview.
released June 16, 2023
Rikki Bates is a rock and roll drummer who has struggled for much of her life with gender dysphoria.
For years, like many Transgender people, she lived in a state of confusion and depression. Then, she managed to get gender affirming surgery which changed her life. In the process, she brought about precedent-settings changes in how Transgender healthcare is provided to people in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Rikki describes the bullying and psychological confusion she experienced as a child and adolescent, her struggles with depression as she entered adulthood, and the turn-around in her life that began to occur following multiple gender-affirming surgeries and intense personal therapy.
She also reveals the fascinating, step-by-step process of gender affirming surgery itself, the challenges of dating as a bisexual Transwoman, and her advice to others who think they may be Transgender. (Run time: 42:06)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Rikki's interview.
Episode #31: Zooey Zephyr
released June 2, 2023
Courageous leadership is often defined by four compelling traits: Confidence in oneself, commitment to one’s values and beliefs, the ability to persist, and a warrior spirit!
By those metrics, Transgender activist and first-time state legislator Zooey Zephyr is a rare leader with few peers in the social justice arena.
The first-ever Transgender member of the Montana state legislature, Zooey, a newcomer to politics in 2022, made national and international headlines in April 2023 when she stood in opposition to Montana state legislation that would prohibit gender-affirming healthcare for Transgender youth.
Her statements in support of Transgender people caused her to be banished from the statehouse floor, denied the opportunity to debate, and forced to operate, as a duly elected representative of her state, from a public bench in a hallway of the Montana statehouse.
In this moving interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Representative Zephyr talks about the furor her presence caused on the statehouse floor, the passion she brings to her advocacy of transgender people, and how her experience as a champion high school wrestler helped prepare her for the nasty rough and tumble world of partisan politics. (Run time: 41:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Zooey's interview.
released June 2, 2023
Courageous leadership is often defined by four compelling traits: Confidence in oneself, commitment to one’s values and beliefs, the ability to persist, and a warrior spirit!
By those metrics, Transgender activist and first-time state legislator Zooey Zephyr is a rare leader with few peers in the social justice arena.
The first-ever Transgender member of the Montana state legislature, Zooey, a newcomer to politics in 2022, made national and international headlines in April 2023 when she stood in opposition to Montana state legislation that would prohibit gender-affirming healthcare for Transgender youth.
Her statements in support of Transgender people caused her to be banished from the statehouse floor, denied the opportunity to debate, and forced to operate, as a duly elected representative of her state, from a public bench in a hallway of the Montana statehouse.
In this moving interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Representative Zephyr talks about the furor her presence caused on the statehouse floor, the passion she brings to her advocacy of transgender people, and how her experience as a champion high school wrestler helped prepare her for the nasty rough and tumble world of partisan politics. (Run time: 41:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Zooey's interview.
Episode #30: Felice Cohen
released October 7, 2022
At the age of 23, Felice Cohen was, like many other college graduates, hesitant about entering the real world, and at the same time, uncertain about her sexuality.
Focused on landing her first job as a writer, falling in love was the last thing on Felice’s mind. But fall in love she did -- with her boss, Sarah, a woman 34 years older than she.
It was a relationship that lasted 9 years. And for Felice, it was the first taste of true love and deep intimacy. But the affair took place in secrecy and ultimately ended in heartbreak.
Now, Felice has written a book about her experience called Half In: A Coming of Age Memoir of Forbidden Love. When it was released in late September, Felice’s book raced to the top of Amazon’s best seller lists in six categories.
As Felice tells PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce in this moving interview, writing this memoir proved a therapeutic experience that helped Felice to mend her hurting heart, and bring her deep love for Sarah out of the closet for the first time. (Run time: 30:40)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Felice's interview. (Audio will be available on Friday, October 7th.)
released October 7, 2022
At the age of 23, Felice Cohen was, like many other college graduates, hesitant about entering the real world, and at the same time, uncertain about her sexuality.
Focused on landing her first job as a writer, falling in love was the last thing on Felice’s mind. But fall in love she did -- with her boss, Sarah, a woman 34 years older than she.
It was a relationship that lasted 9 years. And for Felice, it was the first taste of true love and deep intimacy. But the affair took place in secrecy and ultimately ended in heartbreak.
Now, Felice has written a book about her experience called Half In: A Coming of Age Memoir of Forbidden Love. When it was released in late September, Felice’s book raced to the top of Amazon’s best seller lists in six categories.
As Felice tells PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce in this moving interview, writing this memoir proved a therapeutic experience that helped Felice to mend her hurting heart, and bring her deep love for Sarah out of the closet for the first time. (Run time: 30:40)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Felice's interview. (Audio will be available on Friday, October 7th.)
Episode #29: Jere Mahaffey
released September 2, 2022
Jere Mahaffey is a 35-year-old former Evangelical Christian. He’s also an out, married gay/ bisexual man who has retained many of the tenets of his early Christian faith, while leaving other elements of evangelical doctrine behind him.
As an adolescent, Jere was drawn initially to girls, and even had girlfriends while he was in junior high school. But eventually he discovered he found boys attractive as well.
Today, he and his partner, Jesse, have been together for nine years and married for four.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Jere talks about growing up in an Evangelical Christian household, about his love of God, his journey toward embracing his bisexual identity, and about being both Queer and Christian. (Run time: 39:20)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jere's interview.
released September 2, 2022
Jere Mahaffey is a 35-year-old former Evangelical Christian. He’s also an out, married gay/ bisexual man who has retained many of the tenets of his early Christian faith, while leaving other elements of evangelical doctrine behind him.
As an adolescent, Jere was drawn initially to girls, and even had girlfriends while he was in junior high school. But eventually he discovered he found boys attractive as well.
Today, he and his partner, Jesse, have been together for nine years and married for four.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Jere talks about growing up in an Evangelical Christian household, about his love of God, his journey toward embracing his bisexual identity, and about being both Queer and Christian. (Run time: 39:20)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jere's interview.
Episode #28: Interview with Connor Ryan
released August 19, 2022
Connor Ryan is an 18-year-old transgender male and 2022 graduate of Bourne High School in Bourne, Massachusetts. He’s also one of three recipients of the 2022 Anne Toran scholarship, an award given annually by PFLAG Cape Cod to high school seniors from the Cape and Islands in recognition of their courage and work on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights.
In this insightful interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Connor talks about the time during his high school career when he boldly confronted a school committee member at a school board meeting about her transphobic remarks on social media.
He also talks about his gender identity “journey of discovery” that has taken him, in his words, from “one end of the LGBTQ+ spectrum to the other.” Assigned female at birth, Connor thought, at one point in his life that he was a “demi-girl” – somewhat like a girl, but not entirely. He later determined he felt more like a “demi-boy” who identifies mostly with things masculine.
As he prepares now to go off to college, Connor describes himself as a trans man and says he’s focused these days on keeping a sense of humor about his gender identity, and learning to be his own best friend in the process! (Run time: 25:51)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Connor's interview.
released August 19, 2022
Connor Ryan is an 18-year-old transgender male and 2022 graduate of Bourne High School in Bourne, Massachusetts. He’s also one of three recipients of the 2022 Anne Toran scholarship, an award given annually by PFLAG Cape Cod to high school seniors from the Cape and Islands in recognition of their courage and work on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights.
In this insightful interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Connor talks about the time during his high school career when he boldly confronted a school committee member at a school board meeting about her transphobic remarks on social media.
He also talks about his gender identity “journey of discovery” that has taken him, in his words, from “one end of the LGBTQ+ spectrum to the other.” Assigned female at birth, Connor thought, at one point in his life that he was a “demi-girl” – somewhat like a girl, but not entirely. He later determined he felt more like a “demi-boy” who identifies mostly with things masculine.
As he prepares now to go off to college, Connor describes himself as a trans man and says he’s focused these days on keeping a sense of humor about his gender identity, and learning to be his own best friend in the process! (Run time: 25:51)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Connor's interview.
Episode #27: Interview with Lilith Rose
released June 24, 2022
Lilith Rose is a twenty-something individual who identifies as transgender and non-binary. At the time of this interview, they had also just been named executive director of PFLAG San Francisco.
Lilith grew up in what she describes as a toxic home environment. Born anatomically male, they first came out as gay before eventually discovering they are transgender.
Today, Lilith is committed to educating others about the LGBTQ+ world. A professional speaker and blogger, they speak frequently on topics of social justice and teenage mental illness before audiences of educators, students, faith leaders, and others.
In this wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Lilith talks about their own struggles with mental illness; with anxiety, ADHD, and depression. And all that came before confronting their challenges with sexual orientation and gender identity!
Lilith also talks about the challenges of coming out to friends and family as a transgender person…. developing healthy self-esteem and self-acceptance, and living and dating as a transgender person in what is still largely a sexually binary world, even in San Francisco.(Run time: 41:55)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Lilith's interview.
released June 24, 2022
Lilith Rose is a twenty-something individual who identifies as transgender and non-binary. At the time of this interview, they had also just been named executive director of PFLAG San Francisco.
Lilith grew up in what she describes as a toxic home environment. Born anatomically male, they first came out as gay before eventually discovering they are transgender.
Today, Lilith is committed to educating others about the LGBTQ+ world. A professional speaker and blogger, they speak frequently on topics of social justice and teenage mental illness before audiences of educators, students, faith leaders, and others.
In this wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Lilith talks about their own struggles with mental illness; with anxiety, ADHD, and depression. And all that came before confronting their challenges with sexual orientation and gender identity!
Lilith also talks about the challenges of coming out to friends and family as a transgender person…. developing healthy self-esteem and self-acceptance, and living and dating as a transgender person in what is still largely a sexually binary world, even in San Francisco.(Run time: 41:55)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Lilith's interview.
Episode #26: Interview with Jeff Mack
released May 13, 2022
In October 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally attacked and tied to a fence outside of Laramie, Wyoming. Five days later he died of deep wounds inflicted in one of the most vicious anti-gay attacks in American history.
In this wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Jeff Mack, a personal friend of Matt’s and today the Executive Vice President of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, talks movingly about Matt, his life, and the Foundation started by his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, just months after Matt’s gruesome death. (Run time: 36:07)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jeff's interview.
released May 13, 2022
In October 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally attacked and tied to a fence outside of Laramie, Wyoming. Five days later he died of deep wounds inflicted in one of the most vicious anti-gay attacks in American history.
In this wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Jeff Mack, a personal friend of Matt’s and today the Executive Vice President of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, talks movingly about Matt, his life, and the Foundation started by his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, just months after Matt’s gruesome death. (Run time: 36:07)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jeff's interview.
Episode #25: Interview with Alex Hagler
released April 22, 2022
Alex Hagler is a Latin and history teacher at a prestigious private school outside Boston. They’re also the recent co-founder of their school’s first Gay Straight Alliance.
GSAs (also known as Genders & Sexualities Alliances) operate in many school systems across the country today. As clubs, they’re intended to serve as safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in middle schools and high schools. Increasingly, however, they’re also serving as catalysts for social, racial, and gender justice.
In this interview, conducted just after they founded their school’s GSA Chapter, Alex talks with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce about the valuable role GSAs can play in schools today. Not just as safe places for young people to be affirmed in their sexual orientation and gender identity. But also as resources for educating entire communities about human sexuality, sexual orientation and gender diversity. (Run time: 37:33)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Alex's interview.
released April 22, 2022
Alex Hagler is a Latin and history teacher at a prestigious private school outside Boston. They’re also the recent co-founder of their school’s first Gay Straight Alliance.
GSAs (also known as Genders & Sexualities Alliances) operate in many school systems across the country today. As clubs, they’re intended to serve as safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in middle schools and high schools. Increasingly, however, they’re also serving as catalysts for social, racial, and gender justice.
In this interview, conducted just after they founded their school’s GSA Chapter, Alex talks with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce about the valuable role GSAs can play in schools today. Not just as safe places for young people to be affirmed in their sexual orientation and gender identity. But also as resources for educating entire communities about human sexuality, sexual orientation and gender diversity. (Run time: 37:33)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Alex's interview.
Episode #24: Interview with Kimberly Brooks Mazella
released March 11, 2022
Imagine being in a traditional heterosexual marriage for many years and then discovering that your husband or wife is gay or lesbian.
What would you think? How would you react? What would you do? And where would you go to get help and find understanding in dealing with your situation?
In the late 1980s, Kimberly Brooks Mazella found herself in this very situation, after being married to her husband Rob for less than three years.
Today, she is a McLean, VA based counselor and therapist who specializes in working with individuals and couples who find themselves in “mixed sexual orientation” marriages.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Kimberly describes the complicated psychological dynamics at play in mixed sexual orientation marriages. She explains the challenges for both the gay partner and the straight spouse in navigating these situations. And, she talks about why it’s so important that the pain and perspectives of both parties in such relationships be respected, acknowledged, and seen as valid in their own respective ways. (Run time: 43:21)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Kimberly's interview.
released March 11, 2022
Imagine being in a traditional heterosexual marriage for many years and then discovering that your husband or wife is gay or lesbian.
What would you think? How would you react? What would you do? And where would you go to get help and find understanding in dealing with your situation?
In the late 1980s, Kimberly Brooks Mazella found herself in this very situation, after being married to her husband Rob for less than three years.
Today, she is a McLean, VA based counselor and therapist who specializes in working with individuals and couples who find themselves in “mixed sexual orientation” marriages.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Kimberly describes the complicated psychological dynamics at play in mixed sexual orientation marriages. She explains the challenges for both the gay partner and the straight spouse in navigating these situations. And, she talks about why it’s so important that the pain and perspectives of both parties in such relationships be respected, acknowledged, and seen as valid in their own respective ways. (Run time: 43:21)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Kimberly's interview.
Episode #23: Interview with Lady Di
released February 25, 2022
“Vernon Diannah Porter” is probably not a name you readily recognize. But that’s because he’s much better known by his stage name and alter ego, “Lady Di”, host of the popular Friday evening radio show, Leggs Up and Dancing, on WOMR-FM in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Lady Di has been a popular fixture at WOMR for the last 22 years. Each week, she hosts her show from her home in Sandwich, Massachusetts, playing music -- mostly from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, -- all the while presiding over a one-person house party that she enthusiastically invites all her listeners to attend.
And her fans? They’re both numerous and diverse. Young and old, they include lots of members of Provincetown‘s LGBTQ+ community but also legions of loyal straight listeners, as well as veterans, active duty military, and fans who live as far away as Spain and Guam.
During her show, Lady Di makes her audience feel very much at home, calling listeners “Honey” and “Darling.” And more often than not, when on air, she can be heard singing along – often off key – with the likes of Connie Francis and Anne Murray, the latter of whom was a childhood friend back in their hometown of Spring Hill, Nova Scotia.
But Lady Di is much more than her on-air persona might imply. Besides being one of P’town’s most recognizable public figures, she’s also a life coach, a prodigious fundraiser for local causes, and a minister who’s officiated at over 900 straight and same-sex weddings.
In this wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Lady Di talks not only about the public personality all of her listeners know, but also about more private matters. How she was bullied and made fun of as a kid. Why she’s been described by others as “gender-gifted.” Why she finds such a strong sense of purpose in helping members of the LGBTQ+ community embrace their true identity…
And finally, about her battle with cancer. (Run time: 34:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Lady Di's interview.
released February 25, 2022
“Vernon Diannah Porter” is probably not a name you readily recognize. But that’s because he’s much better known by his stage name and alter ego, “Lady Di”, host of the popular Friday evening radio show, Leggs Up and Dancing, on WOMR-FM in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Lady Di has been a popular fixture at WOMR for the last 22 years. Each week, she hosts her show from her home in Sandwich, Massachusetts, playing music -- mostly from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, -- all the while presiding over a one-person house party that she enthusiastically invites all her listeners to attend.
And her fans? They’re both numerous and diverse. Young and old, they include lots of members of Provincetown‘s LGBTQ+ community but also legions of loyal straight listeners, as well as veterans, active duty military, and fans who live as far away as Spain and Guam.
During her show, Lady Di makes her audience feel very much at home, calling listeners “Honey” and “Darling.” And more often than not, when on air, she can be heard singing along – often off key – with the likes of Connie Francis and Anne Murray, the latter of whom was a childhood friend back in their hometown of Spring Hill, Nova Scotia.
But Lady Di is much more than her on-air persona might imply. Besides being one of P’town’s most recognizable public figures, she’s also a life coach, a prodigious fundraiser for local causes, and a minister who’s officiated at over 900 straight and same-sex weddings.
In this wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Lady Di talks not only about the public personality all of her listeners know, but also about more private matters. How she was bullied and made fun of as a kid. Why she’s been described by others as “gender-gifted.” Why she finds such a strong sense of purpose in helping members of the LGBTQ+ community embrace their true identity…
And finally, about her battle with cancer. (Run time: 34:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Lady Di's interview.
Episode #22: Interview with Jane Martin & Helen Malone
released February 11, 2022
Some life partners first spot each other from across a crowded room. But not Helen Malone. With a piece of birthday cake in hand, she literally bumped into her future wife, Jane Martin from behind, at a birthday party for a mutual friend back in 2002.
From the moment they met, the lives of both women changed rapidly.
And while their lives today on Cape Cod -- with three dogs -- seems like the picture of domestic bliss, their back stories include marriages by both women to former husbands….. three kids of Helen’s – one by artificial insemination …..Jane’s journey to becoming a parent, and even a child custody battle that, at one point in their relationship, tested Helen and Jane’s collective mettle.
In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Jane and Helen, together now for over 19 years, describe what they say are the secrets to creating and sustaining a loving, long-term lesbian marriage.
What matters most, they say, are good communication, patience, compromise, and the courage and confidence to be yourself. (Run time: 39:56)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jane & Helen's interview.
released February 11, 2022
Some life partners first spot each other from across a crowded room. But not Helen Malone. With a piece of birthday cake in hand, she literally bumped into her future wife, Jane Martin from behind, at a birthday party for a mutual friend back in 2002.
From the moment they met, the lives of both women changed rapidly.
And while their lives today on Cape Cod -- with three dogs -- seems like the picture of domestic bliss, their back stories include marriages by both women to former husbands….. three kids of Helen’s – one by artificial insemination …..Jane’s journey to becoming a parent, and even a child custody battle that, at one point in their relationship, tested Helen and Jane’s collective mettle.
In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Jane and Helen, together now for over 19 years, describe what they say are the secrets to creating and sustaining a loving, long-term lesbian marriage.
What matters most, they say, are good communication, patience, compromise, and the courage and confidence to be yourself. (Run time: 39:56)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Jane & Helen's interview.
Episode #21: Interview with Rev. Dr. Joan Beilstein
released January 28, 2022
Dr. Joan Beilstein is a lesbian Episcopal Priest and Rector of the Church of the Ascension in Silver Spring, Maryland. Today, though a senior, well-respected pastor in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC, there was a time when Joan was rejected by her own priest for being gay. And even after being ordained a priest herself in 1994, Joan struggled to find employment, because no one wanted to hire an openly lesbian priest.
In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Joan looks back on a storied career that has spanned nearly 30 years. And she talks movingly about how, for her, human sexuality, sexual orientation, gender identity, and spirituality are all beautifully and inextricably intertwined. (Run time: 35:14)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Joan's interview.
released January 28, 2022
Dr. Joan Beilstein is a lesbian Episcopal Priest and Rector of the Church of the Ascension in Silver Spring, Maryland. Today, though a senior, well-respected pastor in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC, there was a time when Joan was rejected by her own priest for being gay. And even after being ordained a priest herself in 1994, Joan struggled to find employment, because no one wanted to hire an openly lesbian priest.
In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Joan looks back on a storied career that has spanned nearly 30 years. And she talks movingly about how, for her, human sexuality, sexual orientation, gender identity, and spirituality are all beautifully and inextricably intertwined. (Run time: 35:14)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Joan's interview.
Episode #20: Interview with Hollis L.
released January 14, 2022
Hollis L. is a 25-year-old individual who identifies as both non-binary and transmasculine. That means that, though assigned a designation of female at birth, they don’t fully identify with being a person of either gender. But, in Hollis' case, it does mean they tend to embrace more of a “masculine” identity than a feminine one.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, the two explore the issue of gender identity in detail. As the interview reveals, agreeing on definitions of what constitutes “masculine” and “feminine” can be a struggle, and open to broad, subjective and personal interpretation.
The two also discuss the challenges of being non-binary at work, how to talk to one’s family about one’s gender identity, and what it means to be in a relationship with another person who also identifies as non-binary and transmasculine. (Run time: 40:10)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Hollis' interview.
released January 14, 2022
Hollis L. is a 25-year-old individual who identifies as both non-binary and transmasculine. That means that, though assigned a designation of female at birth, they don’t fully identify with being a person of either gender. But, in Hollis' case, it does mean they tend to embrace more of a “masculine” identity than a feminine one.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, the two explore the issue of gender identity in detail. As the interview reveals, agreeing on definitions of what constitutes “masculine” and “feminine” can be a struggle, and open to broad, subjective and personal interpretation.
The two also discuss the challenges of being non-binary at work, how to talk to one’s family about one’s gender identity, and what it means to be in a relationship with another person who also identifies as non-binary and transmasculine. (Run time: 40:10)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Hollis' interview.
Episode #19: Interview with David Bermudez & Bob Isadore
released September 24, 2021
David Bermudez and Bob Isadore are a same-sex couple who have been together for 47 years. David, a veteran of the Stonewall uprising of 1969, met Bob, in 1974, when the two were both living and working in New York City.
At the time, David was a Manhattan-based interior designer. Bob, was an assistant buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue who hailed from Queens. As they tell PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce in this insightful, wide-ranging interview, their relationship began with a bounced check, and a chance glance by David of Bob in a New York City phone booth. Soon afterwards, the two realized they’d both met someone very special.
And so began a decades-long relationship between a Portuguese Catholic from Fall River, Massachusetts who loves to cook, and a burly, Bronx-born Puerto Rican who loves Judy Garland, and has a passion for rhythm and blues. (Run time: 40:10)
Please use the audio player below to listen to David and Bob's interview.
released September 24, 2021
David Bermudez and Bob Isadore are a same-sex couple who have been together for 47 years. David, a veteran of the Stonewall uprising of 1969, met Bob, in 1974, when the two were both living and working in New York City.
At the time, David was a Manhattan-based interior designer. Bob, was an assistant buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue who hailed from Queens. As they tell PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce in this insightful, wide-ranging interview, their relationship began with a bounced check, and a chance glance by David of Bob in a New York City phone booth. Soon afterwards, the two realized they’d both met someone very special.
And so began a decades-long relationship between a Portuguese Catholic from Fall River, Massachusetts who loves to cook, and a burly, Bronx-born Puerto Rican who loves Judy Garland, and has a passion for rhythm and blues. (Run time: 40:10)
Please use the audio player below to listen to David and Bob's interview.
Episode #18: David Bermudez/Letter from President Obama
released September 24, 2021
David Bermudez's work on behalf of gay rights has continued since the days of the Stonewall uprising. Listen, as he tells PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, about the letter he received in the mail one day, acknowledging his decades of work on behalf of all gay and lesbian Americans. (Run time: 2:23)
Please use the audio player below to listen to this episode.
released September 24, 2021
David Bermudez's work on behalf of gay rights has continued since the days of the Stonewall uprising. Listen, as he tells PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, about the letter he received in the mail one day, acknowledging his decades of work on behalf of all gay and lesbian Americans. (Run time: 2:23)
Please use the audio player below to listen to this episode.
Episode #17: Interview with David Bermudez
released June 25, 2021
In the history of the gay rights movement, there are few moments as pivotal as the Stonewall uprising – a night in June 1969, when, confronted by a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, members of the LGBT community fought back against police injustice.
One of those present in the bar in the early morning hours of June 28th 1969 was David Burmudez. In this moving interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Bermudez, today a member of PFLAG Cape Cod along with his husband, Bob Isadore, describes the events of that fateful evening more than a half century ago. (Run time: 47:58)
Please use the audio player below to listen to David's interview.
released June 25, 2021
In the history of the gay rights movement, there are few moments as pivotal as the Stonewall uprising – a night in June 1969, when, confronted by a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, members of the LGBT community fought back against police injustice.
One of those present in the bar in the early morning hours of June 28th 1969 was David Burmudez. In this moving interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Bermudez, today a member of PFLAG Cape Cod along with his husband, Bob Isadore, describes the events of that fateful evening more than a half century ago. (Run time: 47:58)
Please use the audio player below to listen to David's interview.
Episode #16: Interview with Ryan R.
released May 21, 2021
Ryan R. is a 24-year-old non-binary lesbian. In Ryan’s case, that means that though they are lesbian and like to date women, they don’t identify with being called a girl or a woman. They also don’t embrace the attributes of traditional femininity, as our society typically defines them.
“Words like “girl” or “woman” don’t describe how I feel about myself,” Ryan tells PFLAG’s Rick Koonce in this wide-ranging interview. Ryan goes on to say that being non-binary means different things to different people. In their case, it has given them the freedom to pursue both personal relationships -- and their continuing discovery of self -- without feeling hemmed in by traditional gender roles and social expectations. (Run time 39:02)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Ryan's interview.
released May 21, 2021
Ryan R. is a 24-year-old non-binary lesbian. In Ryan’s case, that means that though they are lesbian and like to date women, they don’t identify with being called a girl or a woman. They also don’t embrace the attributes of traditional femininity, as our society typically defines them.
“Words like “girl” or “woman” don’t describe how I feel about myself,” Ryan tells PFLAG’s Rick Koonce in this wide-ranging interview. Ryan goes on to say that being non-binary means different things to different people. In their case, it has given them the freedom to pursue both personal relationships -- and their continuing discovery of self -- without feeling hemmed in by traditional gender roles and social expectations. (Run time 39:02)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Ryan's interview.
Episode #15: Interview with Nell Fields
released May 7, 2021
Nell Fields is a born-again Christian, social justice advocate, and a happily married lesbian who’s been with her wife Sarah for over 20 years. She’s also the minister of Waquoit Congregational church in East Falmouth, Massachusetts.
As she tells PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce in this compelling interview, her coming out story wasn’t easy. She and a one-time partner once faced discrimination by the Church.
For Nell, it was a moment of shock, hurt, and deep disappointment. But, in retrospect, that moment of exclusion -- of being the other -- proved a key turning point in Nell’s future pastoral career. In fact, it has shaped her progressive pastoral vision and inclusive ministry to people of all kinds ever since!
(Run time 31:13)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Nell's interview.
released May 7, 2021
Nell Fields is a born-again Christian, social justice advocate, and a happily married lesbian who’s been with her wife Sarah for over 20 years. She’s also the minister of Waquoit Congregational church in East Falmouth, Massachusetts.
As she tells PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce in this compelling interview, her coming out story wasn’t easy. She and a one-time partner once faced discrimination by the Church.
For Nell, it was a moment of shock, hurt, and deep disappointment. But, in retrospect, that moment of exclusion -- of being the other -- proved a key turning point in Nell’s future pastoral career. In fact, it has shaped her progressive pastoral vision and inclusive ministry to people of all kinds ever since!
(Run time 31:13)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Nell's interview.
Episode #14: Interview with Deer Sullivan
released April 23, 2021
Bisexuality. Even among members of the LGBTQ + community it’s a concept and reality that’s often not well understood, acknowledged, or appreciated. As a result, people who identify as bisexual sometimes feel marginalized and rejected, even by those who describe themselves as members of other sexual minorities.
In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Deer Sullivan, a bisexual educator and counselor, talks about the realities of being bisexual in a world that tends to see sexuality in “either/or” terms. With a blend of passion and humor, Deer says there are a lot more people in the “middle of the sexuality continuum” than we commonly imagine. (Run time 34:56)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Deer's interview.
released April 23, 2021
Bisexuality. Even among members of the LGBTQ + community it’s a concept and reality that’s often not well understood, acknowledged, or appreciated. As a result, people who identify as bisexual sometimes feel marginalized and rejected, even by those who describe themselves as members of other sexual minorities.
In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Deer Sullivan, a bisexual educator and counselor, talks about the realities of being bisexual in a world that tends to see sexuality in “either/or” terms. With a blend of passion and humor, Deer says there are a lot more people in the “middle of the sexuality continuum” than we commonly imagine. (Run time 34:56)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Deer's interview.
Episode #13: Interview with Dr. Maureen Osborne
released April 9, 2021
Dr. Maureen Osborne is a psychologist and gender therapist who has spent over two decades serving the needs of transgender clients.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Maureen talks, in depth, about her work with a variety of transgender men and women over the years. She describes the human anguish, confusion, and shame transgender people often experience, when they feel trapped in bodies that feel alien to them.
And, she offers both compassion and hope to anyone who either thinks they might be transgender, or who has embarked upon the difficult path of gender exploration and transition. (Run time 37:59)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Maureen's interview.
released April 9, 2021
Dr. Maureen Osborne is a psychologist and gender therapist who has spent over two decades serving the needs of transgender clients.
In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, Maureen talks, in depth, about her work with a variety of transgender men and women over the years. She describes the human anguish, confusion, and shame transgender people often experience, when they feel trapped in bodies that feel alien to them.
And, she offers both compassion and hope to anyone who either thinks they might be transgender, or who has embarked upon the difficult path of gender exploration and transition. (Run time 37:59)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Maureen's interview.
Episode #12: Interview with Ali Sands
released March 26, 2021
Ali Sands is an author and professional speaker who writes and speaks frequently on the topics of love, relationships, intimacy, and gender expression and identity. They’re topics she knows a lot about.
Married for 23 years to a straight man, and mother of two children, in 2002 Ali began a relationship with a new partner, who, at the time, inhabited a physically female body, but who soon told Ali that they were, in fact, transgender. Thereafter began an epic 10-year journey, as Ali accompanied her partner, who took the male name “Rhys”, as he embarked on the emotionally and physically painful transition to become a transgender man.
As Ali tells PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, in this moving and wide-ranging interview, the journey Ali took with her partner was one that taught her a great deal, not only about love, intimacy, and gender expression, but about perseverance, courage, her steadfast commitment to the love of her life, and, the simultaneous search for her own identity. (Run time 46:20)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Ali's interview.
released March 26, 2021
Ali Sands is an author and professional speaker who writes and speaks frequently on the topics of love, relationships, intimacy, and gender expression and identity. They’re topics she knows a lot about.
Married for 23 years to a straight man, and mother of two children, in 2002 Ali began a relationship with a new partner, who, at the time, inhabited a physically female body, but who soon told Ali that they were, in fact, transgender. Thereafter began an epic 10-year journey, as Ali accompanied her partner, who took the male name “Rhys”, as he embarked on the emotionally and physically painful transition to become a transgender man.
As Ali tells PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, in this moving and wide-ranging interview, the journey Ali took with her partner was one that taught her a great deal, not only about love, intimacy, and gender expression, but about perseverance, courage, her steadfast commitment to the love of her life, and, the simultaneous search for her own identity. (Run time 46:20)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Ali's interview.
Episode #11: Interview with Dirk Correia
released March 12, 2021
Dirk Correia is a twenty-something transgender male who identifies as nonbinary -- meaning that they don't identify with being either entirely male or female, as society typically understands those terms.
As Dirk explains to PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce in this illuminating interview, their journey to accepting themselves as nonbinary has been a long, and, at times, difficult process -- one that has required courage, grit, and a steadfast resolve and self-reliance to be something that society today doesn't yet fully understand, appreciate or embrace. (Run time 33:26)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Dirk's interview.
released March 12, 2021
Dirk Correia is a twenty-something transgender male who identifies as nonbinary -- meaning that they don't identify with being either entirely male or female, as society typically understands those terms.
As Dirk explains to PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce in this illuminating interview, their journey to accepting themselves as nonbinary has been a long, and, at times, difficult process -- one that has required courage, grit, and a steadfast resolve and self-reliance to be something that society today doesn't yet fully understand, appreciate or embrace. (Run time 33:26)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Dirk's interview.
Episode #10: Interview with Lori Duron
released February 26, 2021
Lori Duron is the mother of a gender creative son, and author of the book and blog, Raising My Rainbow, both of which describe her life as the parent of a gender variant child.
The guest speaker at PFLAG Cape Cod’s 2020 Annual Meeting, she tells Rick Koonce in this interview that she considers herself a “fierce Mama bear” who would do anything to safeguard the rights of her son CJ, and his brother Chase. (Run time 44:53)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Lori's interview.
released February 26, 2021
Lori Duron is the mother of a gender creative son, and author of the book and blog, Raising My Rainbow, both of which describe her life as the parent of a gender variant child.
The guest speaker at PFLAG Cape Cod’s 2020 Annual Meeting, she tells Rick Koonce in this interview that she considers herself a “fierce Mama bear” who would do anything to safeguard the rights of her son CJ, and his brother Chase. (Run time 44:53)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Lori's interview.
Episode #9: Interview with Rabbi Elias Lieberman
released February 12, 2021
Rabbi Elias Lieberman is a social justice advocate, the father of a bisexual daughter, and an ally of LGBTQ+ people everywhere. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, he explains his deep sense of commitment to LGBTQ+ rights. (Run time: 29:16)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Elias' interview.
released February 12, 2021
Rabbi Elias Lieberman is a social justice advocate, the father of a bisexual daughter, and an ally of LGBTQ+ people everywhere. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, he explains his deep sense of commitment to LGBTQ+ rights. (Run time: 29:16)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Elias' interview.
Episode #8: Interview with Joanne Hush
released January 29, 2021
Joanne Hush is the mother of a gay son and a lesbian daughter. Both came out to her decades ago, when prejudice against gay people was rampant. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she describes the challenges of “coming out” as the parent of gay children in the 1980s. (Run time: 27:35)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Joanne's interview.
released January 29, 2021
Joanne Hush is the mother of a gay son and a lesbian daughter. Both came out to her decades ago, when prejudice against gay people was rampant. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she describes the challenges of “coming out” as the parent of gay children in the 1980s. (Run time: 27:35)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Joanne's interview.
Episode #7: Interview with Alex
released January 15, 2021
From an early age, 36-year-old Alex knew that he was different. But, it would take him years to discover he was transgender. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, he describes his journey in pursuit of his authentic gender identity. He also talks about how his mother, Susan, (profiled in Episode #7) was always his ally. (Run time: 28:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Alex's interview.
released January 15, 2021
From an early age, 36-year-old Alex knew that he was different. But, it would take him years to discover he was transgender. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, he describes his journey in pursuit of his authentic gender identity. He also talks about how his mother, Susan, (profiled in Episode #7) was always his ally. (Run time: 28:52)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Alex's interview.
Episode #6: Interview with Susan Smith
released January 1, 2021
Susan Smith is the mother of a 36-year old transgender son, Alex (featured in Episode #7), whom she raised with her husband on a rural Pennsylvania farm. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she talks about how being the parent of a transgender child was a transformative life experience for her. (Run time 34:28)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Susan's interview.
released January 1, 2021
Susan Smith is the mother of a 36-year old transgender son, Alex (featured in Episode #7), whom she raised with her husband on a rural Pennsylvania farm. In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she talks about how being the parent of a transgender child was a transformative life experience for her. (Run time 34:28)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Susan's interview.
Episode #5: Interview with Max Archer
released December 18, 2020
Max Archer is a 38-year-old father of an adult daughter and three school age boys. He’s also a transgender man. Hear him describe his journey from female to male in this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce. (Run time: 33:02)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Max's interview.
released December 18, 2020
Max Archer is a 38-year-old father of an adult daughter and three school age boys. He’s also a transgender man. Hear him describe his journey from female to male in this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce. (Run time: 33:02)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Max's interview.
Episode #4: Interview with Robyn Keating
released December 4, 2020
Robyn Keating is a 26-year-old transgender woman, an attorney, and the child of Dina (profiled in Episode #3). In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she talks about the support her mother provided to her during her transition, and describes her life as a young transgender woman today. (Run time: 40:18)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Robyn's interview.
released December 4, 2020
Robyn Keating is a 26-year-old transgender woman, an attorney, and the child of Dina (profiled in Episode #3). In this interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she talks about the support her mother provided to her during her transition, and describes her life as a young transgender woman today. (Run time: 40:18)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Robyn's interview.
Episode #3: Interview with Dina Guarino
released November 20, 2020
Dina Guarino is the mother of a transgender woman (Robyn, profiled in Episode #4). In this lively and moving interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she describes the roller coaster of feelings that a parent experiences on learning a child is transgender. (Run time: 27:37)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Dina's interview.
released November 20, 2020
Dina Guarino is the mother of a transgender woman (Robyn, profiled in Episode #4). In this lively and moving interview with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce, she describes the roller coaster of feelings that a parent experiences on learning a child is transgender. (Run time: 27:37)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Dina's interview.
Episode #2: Interview with Paula Degree
released November 6, 2020
In her mid-sixties, and still a married man in a second marriage, Paula Degree realized, in a therapist’s office, that she was transgender. Listen as she tells her moving, deeply personal story about becoming a Trans Woman to PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce. (Run time: 29:43)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Paula's interview.
released November 6, 2020
In her mid-sixties, and still a married man in a second marriage, Paula Degree realized, in a therapist’s office, that she was transgender. Listen as she tells her moving, deeply personal story about becoming a Trans Woman to PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce. (Run time: 29:43)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Paula's interview.
Episode #1: Interview with Joey Morisset
released October 23, 2020
At the age of 18, Joey Morisset, winner of PFLAG Cape Cod’s 2020 Anne Toran Scholarship, is a young gay man who’s already found his voice as an advocate and champion for young LGBTQ+ Americans. Listen as he talks with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce about how he found courage to be himself in high school. (Run time: 25:36)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Joey's interview.
released October 23, 2020
At the age of 18, Joey Morisset, winner of PFLAG Cape Cod’s 2020 Anne Toran Scholarship, is a young gay man who’s already found his voice as an advocate and champion for young LGBTQ+ Americans. Listen as he talks with PFLAG Cape Cod’s Rick Koonce about how he found courage to be himself in high school. (Run time: 25:36)
Please use the audio player below to listen to Joey's interview.