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  OUT cast 11/22/2021

  OUT cast Maine

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, November 22 to hear a fascinating interview with Latinx Episcopal priest and healer Virginia Marie Rincon on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred hosted by OUT Cast collective members Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern. Virginia Marie Rincon, a graduate of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, is the first Latina ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine. While in Maine, she founded the non-profit organization Tengo Voz and devoted her ministry to the Hispanic community. Now living in southern California, she is a dispersed member of the St. Hildegard Religious Community based in Austin, Texas. As she explains, “My indigenous roots are Mestizo, and in my community I’m known as a curandera, a title given to those who practice traditional healing medicine within the Mexican tradition.”

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  OUT cast 11/29/2021

  OUT cast Maine

  Join us Monday, November 29 from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. on OUT Cast. December 1st is World AIDS Day and in tribute we will be broadcasting PART 1 of a recent episode of Ren Morrill’s THE THREE LETTER PODCAST. Ren’s guest this year is Eric Marcus who’s current season of the podcast series Making Gay History is an audio memoir of his coming of age during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City. PART 2 of the interview will air on Monday, December 6th. Ren Morrill (Host) Ren is The Three Letter Podcast’s creator and host. He is a Maine native with a life long passion for HIV. He works for Frannie Peabody Center in Portland, Maine as the prevention program coordinator. He also serves as the co-chair of Pride Portland’s HIV Advisory Board. Eric Marcus Eric Marcus is the author of a dozen books, including, Why Suicide?, Breaking the Surface, the #1 New York Times best selling autobiography of Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis, and two additions of Making Gay History. Making Gay History has been turned into a currently running podcast series of the same name based on the radio recordings Eric made for the original book. Eric is also the co-producer of Those Who We’re There, a podcast drawn from the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust testimonies. Lastly, he is the founder and chair of the Stonewall 50 consortium. Community note! Frannie Peabody Center will be hosting multiple events, including a candlelight vigil on December 1st, in addition to viewings of AIDS Quilt panels and free HIV testing during select time slots from December 1st - 5th. Go to: peabodycenter.org/worldaidsday for more information.

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  OUT cast 8/30/2021

  OUT cast Maine

  Tune in to OUT Cast Monday, August 30th when guest host Dale McCormick interviews Sharon Thompson, director of the Lesbian Home Movie Project of Orland, Maine. Dale McCormick Dale is a lover of justice and a player of music. Dale co-founded and was the first president of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, the precursor to EqualityMaine, I n 1984. She was the first open lesbian State Senator elected in the US and became Maine’s first female Constitutional Officer when she was elected State Treasurer in 1996. Dale is a carpenter, cellist has three daughters, and lives on an urban farm in Augusta. Sharon Thompson Sharon Thompson directs Lesbian Home Movie Project (LHMP), Orland, Maine. She co-edited Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality with Ann Snitow and Christine Stansell and wrote Going All the Way: Teenage Girls' Tales of Sex, Romance & Pregnancy. Her articles and stories have appeared in a wide variety of publications.

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  OUT cast Maine 12/06/2021

  OUT cast Maine

  Join us Monday, December 6 from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. on OUT Cast. December 1st is World AIDS Day and in tribute we will be broadcasting PART 2 of a recent episode of Ren Morrill’s THE THREE LETTER PODCAST. Ren’s guest this year is Eric Marcus who’s current season of the podcast series Making Gay History is an audio memoir of his coming of age during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City. PART 1 of the interview aired on Monday, November 29th Ren Morrill (Host) Ren is The Three Letter Podcast’s creator and host. He is a Maine native with a life long passion for HIV. He works for Frannie Peabody Center in Portland, Maine as the prevention program coordinator. He also serves as the co-chair of Pride Portland’s HIV Advisory Board. Eric Marcus Eric Marcus is the author of a dozen books, including, Why Suicide?, Breaking the Surface, the #1 New York Times best selling autobiography of Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis, and two additions of Making Gay History. Making Gay History has been turned into a currently running podcast series of the same name based on the radio recordings Eric made for the original book. Eric is also the co-producer of Those Who We’re There, a podcast drawn from the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust testimonies. Lastly, he is the founder and chair of the Stonewall 50 consortium. Community note! Frannie Peabody Center will be hosting multiple events, including a candlelight vigil on December 1st, in addition to viewings of AIDS Quilt panels and free HIV testing during select time slots from December 1st - 5th. Go to: peabodycenter.org/worldaidsday for more information.

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  OUT cast Maine 12/13/2021

  OUT cast Maine

  Join us on Monday, December 13th as OUT Cast collective members gather to mark our 3rd anniversary. On August 23 we lost our beloved collective member, Sylvie Markiewicz. We will continue to honor her life in our 2022 programming. The anniversary show will include a clip from Sylvie's interview with singer/songwriter Cid Bullens. Three years into this we have built an engaged group of volunteers and continue to produce shows of interest to our greater community. We also expanded our reach to mid-coast Maine with our shows airing Mondays at 4:30 p.m. on WERU. We thank WMPG and WERU for their support of our efforts and are grateful to our audience for tuning in to OUT Cast. Have a great holiday season as we head into 2022!

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  OUT cast Maine 12/20/2021

  OUT cast Maine

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, December 20 for the latest LGBTQ+ local and world news. Hosted by OUT Cast collective member Daralyn (Dal) Maxwell. Daralyn (Dal) a devotee of alternative music since before her teens, has developed a love of radio. As the music scene evolved, so did Dal's musical tastes and today she finds herself very multi-dimensional in her appreciation for different genres. Among her credentials are radio stints in upstate New York, Vermont, and at WMPG here in Portland Maine. Although her affiliation with WMPG has not been constant owing to life and medical issues, the fire within still burns bright for alternative/community radio. As an out and proud trans woman, Dal currently brings to WMPG two things very close and important to her.......her life-long passion for contemporary Celtic music and timely LGB and especially T-centric news of the day from around the world.

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  OUT cast Maine 12/27/2021

  OUT cast Maine

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, December 27 to hear an interview with Alexis Fuller-Wright on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred hosted by OUT Cast collective members Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern. Rev. Alexis Fuller-Wright, an ordained United Church of Christ pastor, has led congregations in California and New Jersey and currently serves as the Associate Conference Minister serving UCC congregations throughout the Maine Conference. The announcement of her appointment said this about her: “Alexis represents a new generation of leadership, called by the Spirit to bring new life and energy into the church.” Along with her wife Liz, a science writer, Alexis spends her non-working hours chasing after their kids, Nora and Will.

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  OUT cast 02/22/21

  WMPG 90.9 FM

  Hear a remarkable interview with Gail Hovey, writer, editor, activist, and clergy abuse survivor, on “Queer Spirit” for OUT Cast on WMPG community radio (90.0 FM in Portland, Maine) Monday, February 22 at 1:00 p.m. Queer Spirit is a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Originally from Illinois and now living outside New York City, Gail Hovey is a recent graduate of the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast Writers program as well as activist for racial, economic, and social justice. She traces her commitments back to East Harlem in the 1960s and when she lived worked in southern Africa. Reflecting on these matters, Gail co-edited No Easy Victories: African Liberation and American Activists Over a Half Century, 1950-2000. Her most recent publication is a memoir entitled She Said God Blessed Us: A Life Marked by Childhood Sexual Abuse in the Church. One reviewer has written: “This book is a gift. . . written with compassion, righteous anger, and deep insight about the turmoil that abuse generates and about the courage and tenacity required to disarm a debilitating curse and claim an authentic blessing.”

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  01/06/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

  A show on poetry crafted by OUT Cast collective members Sylvie and Tahj.

  Alice Persons enjoys being editor and publisher of Moon Pie Press, established in 2003. The catalog is up to 112 books as of the end of 2019 and includes poetry by poets from all over the country. Her first full length poetry collection was Thank Your Lucky Stars, published in 2011; her second collection was Fancy Meeting You Here (2015). A third book called Be There Or Be Square was published in October 2018. Eight of her poems were read on Minnesota Public Radio's The Writer's Almanac and she has had poems published in books, journals and anthologies. Alice moved to Maine in 1983; she lives in Westbrook with two cats and a dog, all rescues. Alice volunteers for the nonprofit MSSPA, New England’s largest horse rescue, based in Windham, and serves on the Westbrook library board. She teaches part time at the University of Southern Maine. Alice loves painting, writing, walking her dog, holidays, travel, baking, and Maine in all seasons.

  Maya Williams (she/hers & they/them) is a mixed race black queer suicide survivor and writer residing in Portland. She has published poetry in spaces such as glitterMOB, The Occulum Journal, Portland Press Herald, Black Table Arts, Homology Lit, and more. They have published essays in spaces such as The Tempest, Black Youth Project, and The Trill Project. They were also a semi-finalist for Nimrod International Journal's 2018 Francine Ringold Award for New Writers, received a Best of the Net nomination in 2019, and won a Patron’s Choice Award for their spoken word showcase at the PortFringe theater festival, “When Speaking to an Extraterrestrial.” Maya hosts open mic nights Tuesdays with Port Veritas at Bull Feeney’s in Portland and facilitates writing workshops Sunday mornings at Quill Books & Beverage in Westbrook.

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  01/13/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

  Members of the OUT Cast collective chat about our inaugural year and our plans for 2020.

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  01/20/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

  A conversation with Pastor Judy Hanlon and Al Green about their pioneering work with the LGBT Asylum Task Force in Worcester, Massachusetts.

  Rev. Judith Hanlon is the senior pastor at Hadwen Park Congregational Church, UCC in Worcester and the co-founder of the LGBT Asylum Task Force. She is passionate about justice as a Christ-follower whom she sees as a freedom fighter in first-century Palestine. Pastor Judy has two daughters and two grandchildren. She loves music and loves to play the old gospel songs on the piano.

  Al Green is the Ministry Director of the LGBT Asylum Task Force. As a gay asylum seeker from Jamaica and a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA), he has a unique perspective on the differences and similarities between the LGBTQ communities in both countries. He is also an avid swimmer and a lover of all things food.

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  01/27/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

  Part 1 of Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern's Queer Spirit series on OUT Cast.

  Rev. Tamara Torres McGovern experiences God in a great many places, but she is particularly interested in how the Divine expresses itself in and through our embodiment. As a massage therapist, yoga instructor, ritual weaver and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ she has had the opportunity to work with people at all ages and stages of life. Through these diverse modalities Rev. Tamara seeks justice in the body-- both at an individual and collective level. A native Spanish speaker, during her time as a student at Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Tamara spent time on the U.S./Mexico border exploring the theology embedded in people's border crossing narratives. Since then she has pastored in several communities including her current role at Woodfords Congregational Church. Rev. Tamara also serves as a Community Spiritual Advisor for Arise Portland, an emergent inter-spiritual community. She lives in Portland, Maine with her wonderful partner, their full-of-feelings toddler, and their neurotic-but-lovable dog.

  Marvin Ellison, a scholar-activist and educator for justice, is an ordained Presbyterian minister who taught Christian social ethics for more than three decades at Bangor Theological Seminary. He founded Maine's Religious Coalition Against Discrimination and also the Maine Interfaith Council for Reproductive Choices. Currently, he serves as a volunteer chaplain at Planned Parenthood and as a board member of the Eleanor Humes Haney Fund, which supports grassroots social justice initiatives throughout Maine.

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  02/03/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

  Part 2 of Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern's Queer Spirit series on OUT Cast.

  Rev. Tamara Torres McGovern experiences God in a great many places, but she is particularly interested in how the Divine expresses itself in and through our embodiment. As a massage therapist, yoga instructor, ritual weaver and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ she has had the opportunity to work with people at all ages and stages of life. Through these diverse modalities Rev. Tamara seeks justice in the body-- both at an individual and collective level. A native Spanish speaker, during her time as a student at Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Tamara spent time on the U.S./Mexico border exploring the theology embedded in people's border crossing narratives. Since then she has pastored in several communities including her current role at Woodfords Congregational Church. Rev. Tamara also serves as a Community Spiritual Advisor for Arise Portland, an emergent inter-spiritual community. She lives in Portland, Maine with her wonderful partner, their full-of-feelings toddler, and their neurotic-but-lovable dog.

  Marvin Ellison, a scholar-activist and educator for justice, is an ordained Presbyterian minister who taught Christian social ethics for more than three decades at Bangor Theological Seminary. He founded Maine's Religious Coalition Against Discrimination and also the Maine Interfaith Council for Reproductive Choices. Currently, he serves as a volunteer chaplain at Planned Parenthood and as a board member of the Eleanor Humes Haney Fund, which supports grassroots social justice initiatives throughout Maine.

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  02/17/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

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  02/17/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

  A discussion moderated by Tahj Hebert and Sive Neilan, of significant political issues in the upcoming elections. The opinions of both young and older political activists are represented.

  Tahj Hebert (they/them/theirs) is a young adult, born and raised around the Greater Portland area. They discovered radio their sophomore year of high school with WMPG's Blunt Youth Radio, where they have been an active member for going on three years. They became involved with Outcast after meeting Steve Bull, who was presenting at EQMaine's New Leaders Camp. In the fall they will be attending SMCC.

  Sive (Sadhbh) Neilan (she, her, hers) moved to Maine in 1978 and has lived here ever since, first in the mid-coast and now in Portland. Sive emigrated to the US from Ireland at the age of 22 and now considers herself to be virtually a Mainer. She lives on Munjoy Hill with her partner of 20 plus years, two cats and a dog. Regardless of where she has lived she has always been politically active! The two employment constants in her life have been IT and books. Back in 1980 she started and ran New Leaf Books, a feminist / alternative (read gay!) bookstore, in Rockport and then in Rockland for seven years. Sive was active in the early days of Equality Maine (then named the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance) serving many years on the board, then briefly as president. A co-founder of New Hope for Women, the domestic violence organization in Rockland, she was also Democratic town Chair of Camden and later served in the same capacity for four years in Portland. Radio is a new departure, Sive is loving being a member of the OUT Cast collective!

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  02/24/2020 OUT cast

  90.9 WMPG

  A dialogue with 2 members of the Southern Maine gender non-binary community.

  Rook - Rook Hine is a Crisis Call Specialist for the Maine Crisis Line, an attorney licensed in New York, a performer active in Maine theater, and an At Large member of Maine Transgender Network's Steering Committee where their current focus is best practices standards for working with transgender and nonbinary clients. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Rook first came out as genderqueer and nonbinary as an undergraduate, but didn't come out as transgender and begin their transition until they were in their 40s

  Lucy - “Lucy is a thirty-something massage therapist working in South Portland. They have a degree in theatre and are planning to start med school next year but their real passion is in staying cozy at home with their cats or playing D&D with friends.”

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  OUT cast 08/03/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Hosted by our own Daralyn (Dal) Maxwell. A devotee of alternative music since before her teens, Daralyn (Dal) has developed a love of radio. As the music scene evolved, so did Dal's musical tastes and today she finds herself very multi-dimensional in her appreciation for different genres. Among her credentials are radio stints in upstate New York, Vermont, and at WMPG here in Portland Maine. Although her affiliation with WMPG has not been constant owing to life and medical issues, the fire within still burns bright for alternative/community radio. As an out and proud trans woman, Dal currently brings to WMPG two things very close and important to her.......her life-long passion for contemporary Celtic music and timely LGB and especially T-centric news of the day from around the world.

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  OUT cast 08/10/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Sive and Steve return with their series: Deja Vu? The Covid Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis. Listen to PART 1 of their discussion with Tom Antonik as he talks about his journey as a Person With AIDS from New York City to Maine including his work with the PWA Coalition. Tom Antonik was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1986 while living in New York City. At the time there were no treatments. When he received an AIDS diagnosis the following year, the only approved treatment, AZT, had just become available, and ACT UP New York was officially established. Also among the support and advocacy groups formed in those very early years was the People with AIDS Coalition of NYC, where Tom found solace and support, and some months later joined their Board of Directors as well as their Speaker’s Bureau. Thus changed the trajectory of what Tom had expected would be a shortened life span. Returning to Maine, where he had lived on and off most of his life, he helped found the People with AIDS Coalition of Maine, served on the Board of the AIDS Project (now the Franny Peabody Center), as well as a number of State and Governor’s advisory Boards. He was also active as a public speaker, sharing his experiences of living with AIDS. Tom has additionally served as an advisor (adult volunteer) with OUTRIGHT Portland, and as volunteer staff for Camp Chrysalis, a week-long camp for children and families living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. He continues working with high school age youth through the New England Yearly Meeting (Quakers) youth programs.

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  OUT cast 08/17/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Sive and Steve return with their series: Deja Vu? The Covid Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis. Listen to PART 2 of their discussion with Tom Antonik as he talks about his journey as a Person With AIDS from New York City to Maine including his work with the PWA Coalition. Tom Antonik was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1986 while living in New York City. At the time there were no treatments. When he received an AIDS diagnosis the following year, the only approved treatment, AZT, had just become available, and ACT UP New York was officially established. Also among the support and advocacy groups formed in those very early years was the People with AIDS Coalition of NYC, where Tom found solace and support, and some months later joined their Board of Directors as well as their Speaker’s Bureau. Thus changed the trajectory of what Tom had expected would be a shortened life span. Returning to Maine, where he had lived on and off most of his life, he helped found the People with AIDS Coalition of Maine, served on the Board of the AIDS Project (now the Franny Peabody Center), as well as a number of State and Governor’s advisory Boards. He was also active as a public speaker, sharing his experiences of living with AIDS. Tom has additionally served as an advisor (adult volunteer) with OUTRIGHT Portland, and as volunteer staff for Camp Chrysalis, a week-long camp for children and families living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. He continues working with high school age youth through the New England Yearly Meeting (Quakers) youth programs.

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  OUT cast 08/24/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  2 part interview with Bob Carr on Monday, August 24th and 31st from 1 to 1:30 p.m. as Sive and Steve continue their series; “Deja Vu? The COVID Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis” on WMPG. Bob was an early AIDS activist here in Maine who went on to a career in public health centering on infectious disease in Massachusetts. Bob is also a published poet and will be reading from his collection of poems, The Unbuttoned Eye, which addresses his personal evolution through the HIV pandemic. Robert Carr is the author of Amaranth, published in 2016 by Indolent Books and The Unbuttoned Eye, a full-length poetry collection from 3: A Taos Press. Among other publications his poetry appears in the American Journal of Poetry, Massachusetts Review, Rattle, Shenandoah and Tar River Poetry. Robert is poetry editor with Indolent Books and Deputy Director for the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

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  OUT cast 08/24/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune it to OUT Cast for a 2 part interview with Bob Carr on Monday, August 24th and 31st from 1 to 1:30 p.m. as Sive and Steve continue their series; “Deja Vu? The COVID Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis” on WMPG. Bob was an early AIDS activist here in Maine who went on to a career in public health centering on infectious disease in Massachusetts. Bob is also a published poet and will be reading from his collection of poems, The Unbuttoned Eye, which addresses his personal evolution through the HIV pandemic.

  Robert Carr is the author of Amaranth, published in 2016 by Indolent Books and The Unbuttoned Eye, a full-length poetry collection from 3: A Taos Press. Among other publications his poetry appears in the American Journal of Poetry, Massachusetts Review, Rattle, Shenandoah and Tar River Poetry. Robert is poetry editor with Indolent Books and Deputy Director for the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

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  OUT cast 08/31/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  PART 2 of our interview with Bob Carr on Monday, August 31st, 1 to 1:30 p.m. Sive and Steve continue their series; “Deja Vu? The COVID Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis” on WMPG. Bob was an early AIDS activist here in Maine who went on to a career in public health centering on infectious disease in Massachusetts. Bob is also a published poet and will be reading from his collection of poems, The Unbuttoned Eye, which addresses his personal evolution through the HIV pandemic. Robert Carr is the author of Amaranth, published in 2016 by Indolent Books and The Unbuttoned Eye, a full-length poetry collection from 3: A Taos Press. Among other publications his poetry appears in the American Journal of Poetry, Massachusetts Review, Rattle, Shenandoah and Tar River Poetry. Robert is poetry editor with Indolent Books and Deputy Director for the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

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  OUT cast 08/31/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune it to OUT Cast for PART 2 of our interview with Bob Carr on Monday, August 31st, 1 to 1:30 p.m. Sive and Steve continue their series; “Deja Vu? The COVID Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis” on WMPG. Bob was an early AIDS activist here in Maine who went on to a career in public health centering on infectious disease in Massachusetts. Bob is also a published poet and will be reading from his collection of poems, The Unbuttoned Eye, which addresses his personal evolution through the HIV pandemic. Robert Carr is the author of Amaranth, published in 2016 by Indolent Books and The Unbuttoned Eye, a full-length poetry collection from 3: A Taos Press. Among other publications his poetry appears in the American Journal of Poetry, Massachusetts Review, Rattle, Shenandoah and Tar River Poetry. Robert is poetry editor with Indolent Books and Deputy Director for the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

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  OUT cast 09/14/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  On Monday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m., tune into OUT Cast on WMPG community radio (90.9 FM in Portland, ME) for an interview with Rabbi Jared Saks on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Rabbi Saks, a New Jersey native, is the spiritual leader of Congregation Bet Ha’am in South Portland, the largest reform congregation in northern New England, where he has served since 2011. He lives in South Portland with his husband Kirk and their young son. “Part of my responsibility as a Rabbi,” Saks points out, “is to help inspire my congregation and the Jewish community to fix the world in which we live.”

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  OUT cast 09/21/2021

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, September 21 from 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. for the latest LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Hosted by our own Daralyn (Dal) Maxwell. A devotee of alternative music since before her teens, Daralyn (Dal) has developed a love of radio. As the music scene evolved, so did Dal's musical tastes and today she finds herself very multi-dimensional in her appreciation for different genres. Among her credentials are radio stints in upstate New York, Vermont, and at WMPG here in Portland Maine. Although her affiliation with WMPG has not been constant owing to life and medical issues, the fire within still burns bright for alternative/community radio. As an out and proud trans woman, Dal currently brings to WMPG two things very close and important to her.......her life-long passion for contemporary Celtic music and timely LGB and especially T-centric news of the day from around the world.

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  OUT cast 09/28/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, September 28, 1 - 1:30 p.m. Part 1 of a 2 Part conversation with Cidny Bullens. Part 2 will air on October 5th.

  CIDNY BULLENS, a two-time Grammy nominee whose career has taken Cidny from singing back-up on tour with Elton John and singing lead vocals on the “Grease” movie soundtrack to having eight critically acclaimed solo albums, including the award-winning Desire Wire, Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth, Neverland, dream #29, and Howling Trains and Barking Dogs. Cid’s friends on the albums include friends Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bryan Adams, Emmylou Harris, Delbert McClinton, and Sir Elton John himself.

  Cidny has also co-written songs in Nashville, producing several charting singles including Radney Foster’s hit “Hammer and Nails”.

  Cidny is one-third of “super-group” The Refugees, with Wendy Waldman and Deborah Holland.

  In 2011 Cidny made the difficult and daunting decision to transition from Cindy to Cidny.

  He has written and has performed his one-person theatrical show Somewhere Between: Not An Ordinary Life all over the U.S.

  An award-winning documentary short about his life called The Gender Line has screened at major film festivals around the world.

  Cid recently completed his first album as “Cidny Bullens” in Nashville. The album is entitled Walkin' Through This World. It is co-produced with long-time friend Ray Kennedy and was released in August 2020.

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  OUT cast 10/05/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in to OUT Cast, 90.9 FM on Monday, October 5, 1 - 1:30 p.m. for Part 2 of Sylvie’s conversation with Cidny Bullens.

  CIDNY BULLENS, a two-time Grammy nominee whose career has taken Cidny from singing back-up on tour with Elton John and singing lead vocals on the “Grease” movie soundtrack to having eight critically acclaimed solo albums, including the award-winning Desire Wire, Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth, Neverland, dream #29, and Howling Trains and Barking Dogs. Cid’s friends on the albums include friends Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bryan Adams, Emmylou Harris, Delbert McClinton, and Sir Elton John himself.

  Cidny has also co-written songs in Nashville, producing several charting singles including Radney Foster’s hit “Hammer and Nails”.

  Cidny is one-third of “super-group” The Refugees, with Wendy Waldman and Deborah Holland.

  In 2011 Cidny made the difficult and daunting decision to transition from Cindy to Cidny.

  He has written and has performed his one-person theatrical show Somewhere Between: Not An Ordinary Life all over the U.S. An award-winning documentary short about his life called The Gender Line has screened at major film festivals around the world.

  Cid recently completed his first album as “Cidny Bullens” in Nashville. The album is entitled Walkin' Through This World. It is co-produced with long-time friend Ray Kennedy and was released in August 2020.

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  OUT cast 10/12/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Please tune into OUT Cast on Monday, October 12, from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. WMPG community radio (90.9 FM in Portland, ME) for an interview with Rev.

  Amanda Gerken-Nelson on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Amanda Gerken-Nelson is an ordained minister in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and lives with her wife in Portland. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, an educational and advocacy organization that promotes the public witness of LGBTQIA+ ministers to renew the church and enrich the world. In this work Amanda travels around the country, encouraging and supporting the more than 400 LGBTQIA+ Lutheran pastors who are transforming the face of her denomination.

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  OUT cast 10/18/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in Monday, October 19th from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. for a special Begathon edition of OUT Cast. OUT Cast collective members will join in a conversation highlighting some of our past programming and toss around ideas for future shows while raising much needed funds for WMPG, your community radio station at USM.

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  OUT cast 10/26/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune into OUT Cast Monday, October 26, 2020 from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m., WMPG community radio (90.9 FM in Portland, ME) for an interview with Al Cleveland on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred.

  Al Cleveland is a young, queer, non-binary person who lives in Portland. They describe themselves as a religious socialist following the Christian mystical tradition. After growing up in the church but then leaving the church, they discovered a new spiritual home in community organizing. Al is currently the campaign manager of Maine Youth Justice, a campaign fighting to end youth incarceration and reinvest millions back into our communities.

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  OUT cast 11/02/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in to OUT Cast, (90.9 FM WMPG) on Monday, November 2, 2020 from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m., for an interview with Rev. Effie McAvoy on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Effie McAvoy is a queer pastor of color whose Twitter handle is “The Reverend with Rage: ‘Proud and Out’ Jesus Follower, Wife, Mother, Pastor, Police Chaplain – working for the transformation of the world, one soul at a time.” A California native, Effie moved to North Carolina in the mid-80s. After completing her academic studies in North Carolina and then later Boston, she was ordained in 1999 as a United Methodist minister. For more than 20 years, she’s served churches in North Carolina and more recently in Oakland and York, Maine, before her bishop moved this summer to serve a church in Hope, Rhode Island.

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  OUT cast 11/09/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Join us from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, November 9th for a special one hour edition of OUT Cast, 90.9 FM, WMPG/University of Southern Maine. OUT Cast collective members Sive, Steve, Dal and Stan will welcome guests Wendy Chapkis, Diane Elze, Peter Prizer and Alex Manley-Thompson for a free-wheeling discussion on the 2020 election. Thanks to DJ Eydie May for giving us the extra time. Her show Lagniappe will have a 2:00 p.m. start. We will continue the discussion as developments unfold with a new set of guests on Monday, November 16th in our usual half-hour format.

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  OUT cast 11/16/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in Monday, November 16th from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. as OUT Cast collective members Sive, Steve, Dal and Marvin welcome our guest, Maine State Representative Lois Galgay Reckitt, for a continuing discussion on the 2020 election.

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  OUT cast 11/23/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, November 23 from 1:00 -1:30 P.M. for the latest LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Hosted by our own Daralyn (Dal) Maxwell. Daralyn (Dal) a devotee of alternative music since before her teens, has developed a love of radio. As the music scene evolved, so did Dal's musical tastes and today she finds herself very multi-dimensional in her appreciation for different genres. Among her credentials are radio stints in upstate New York, Vermont, and at WMPG here in Portland Maine. Although her affiliation with WMPG has not been constant owing to life and medical issues, the fire within still burns bright for alternative/community radio. As an out and proud trans woman, Dal currently brings to WMPG two things very close and important to her.......her life-long passion for contemporary Celtic music and timely LGB and especially T-centric news of the day from around the world.

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  OUT cast 11/30/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  To hear a fascinating interview with Ophelia Hu Kinney on “Queer Spirit,” tune into OUT Cast on WMPG community radio (90.0 FM in Portland, Maine) on Monday, November 30 at 1:00 p.m. Queer Spirit is a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Ophelia Hu Kinney is Director of Communications for the Reconciling Ministries Network, which promotes LGBTQ justice and inclusion in The United Methodist Church. She is also the Worship Coordinator at Hope Gateway in Portland. Describing herself as a garden-variety queer woman who lives with her wife in Scarborough, she blogs about leaving Christian evangelicalism for the spiritual wilderness at QueeringTheKindom.com. Ophelia’s story “Honeysuckle” recently won NYC Midnight’s 100-word Micro-fiction Challenge.

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  OUT cast 12/07/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in to OUT Cast, (90.9 FM WMPG) on Monday, December 7 from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. as the OUT Cast collective celebrates our 2nd anniversary🥳🥳 Have a question or comment for us? Email us at outcastmaine@gmail.com. A big thank-you to our listeners for hanging with us during this challenging year. We hope we have provided some moments of comfort and enlightenment along the way. All the best to you and as well as our family at WMPG.

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  OUT cast 12/14/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Join us Monday, December 14 from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. on OUT Cast for a tribute to World AIDS Day. We will be rebroadcasting a recent episode of Ren Morrill’s THE THREE LETTER PODCAST as Ren interviews Mike Smith, co-founder with Cleve Jones of The NAMES Project/AIDS Memorial Quilt. Learn about the Quilt’s unique history in memorializing those we have lost. Ren Morrill (Host) - Ren is The Three Letter Podcast’s creator and host. He is a Maine native with a life long passion for HIV. He works for Frannie Peabody Center as the prevention program coordinator. He also serves as the co-chair of Pride Portland’s HIV Advisory Board. Mike Smith- Mike is the co-founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and served as managing director there from 1987 to 1989. He returned in 1996 to produce the last full-scale display of the Quilt in Washington DC that year. Mike was executive director of the LGBT Community Center of Colorado from 1997 to 2001 and then, from 2002 to 2015, he led AIDS Emergency Fund & Breast Cancer Emergency Fund (AEF & BCEF), agencies that annually help more than 3,000 people disabled by HIV/AIDS or breast cancer pay their bills while too sick to work. He has recently rejoined the Quilt team as a consultant to the National AIDS Memorial, the new stewards of the Quilt. Mike’s undergraduate degree is from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He received his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. https://www.aidsmemorial.org/virtual-quilt/me#NECAIDSMQ

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  OUT cast 12/21/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, December 21 from 1:00 -1:30 P.M. for the latest LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Hosted by our own Daralyn (Dal) Maxwell. Daralyn (Dal) a devotee of alternative music since before her teens, has developed a love of radio. As the music scene evolved, so did Dal's musical tastes and today she finds herself very multi-dimensional in her appreciation for different genres. Among her credentials are radio stints in upstate New York, Vermont, and at WMPG here in Portland Maine. Although her affiliation with WMPG has not been constant owing to life and medical issues, the fire within still burns bright for alternative/community radio. As an out and proud trans woman, Dal currently brings to WMPG two things very close and important to her.......her life-long passion for contemporary Celtic music and timely LGB and especially T-centric news of the day from around the world.

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  OUT cast 12/28/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Hear a fascinating interview with Will Green on “Queer Spirit” for OUT Cast on WMPG community radio (90.0 FM in Portland, Maine) Monday, December 28 at 1:00-1:30PM Queer Spirit is a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Will Green, pastor of Brackett Memorial Church on Peaks Island, describes himself as “a gay man who has been far too active in denominational politics,” no doubt because Will and his congregation on Peaks are finalizing their dis-affiliation from the United Methodist Church, a process that will be completed at the end of 2020.

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  OUT cast 8/17/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  TUNE IN ON Monday, August 17 from 1:00-1:30 PM as Sive and Steve return with their series: Deja Vu? The Covid Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis. Listen to PART 2 of their discussion with Tom Antonik as he talks about his journey as a Person With AIDS from New York City to Maine including his work with the PWA Coalition.

  Tom Antonik was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1986 while living in New York City. At the time there were no treatments. When he received an AIDS diagnosis the following year, the only approved treatment, AZT, had just become available, and ACT UP New York was officially established. Also among the support and advocacy groups formed in those very early years was the People with AIDS Coalition of NYC, where Tom found solace and support, and some months later joined their Board of Directors as well as their Speaker’s Bureau.

  Thus changed the trajectory of what Tom had expected would be a shortened life span. Returning to Maine, where he had lived on and off most of his life, he helped found the People with AIDS Coalition of Maine, served on the Board of the AIDS Project (now the Franny Peabody Center), as well as a number of State and Governor’s advisory Boards. He was also active as a public speaker, sharing his experiences of living with AIDS. Tom has additionally served as an advisor (adult volunteer) with OUTRIGHT Portland, and as volunteer staff for Camp Chrysalis, a week-long camp for children and families living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. He continues working with high school age youth through the New England Yearly Meeting (Quakers) youth programs.

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  OUT cast -9/07/2020

  90.9 WMPG FM

  Tune in on Monday, September 7th from 1 to 1:30 p.m. for the conclusion of the OUT Cast series "Deja Vu? The COVID Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis". Sive and Steve will chat with Meredith Bruskin and Donna Short about their remarkable journey as founders of Camp Chrysalis which provided a safe and nurturing environment for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS from 1990 to 2005.Camp Chrysalis : A Safe Place for Transformation~ A Camp in Maine for Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in their Hearts and/or Bodies. Meredith Bruskin and Donna Short have been advocates for peace and justice since their youth. While living in Provincetown, Ma. in the 1970's and '80's, they were forced to become AIDS activists as our government ignored the pandemic hitting the Gay community for a number of years. Meredith is also a nurse , family nurse practitioner, and a poet. Donna is a theatre lighting designer and a carpenter. After moving to Maine, they continued their involvement in HIV/AIDS work , helping to start Waldo County AIDS Coalition ( WACO) and being part of an AIDS support group for people affected by HIV/AIDS. The group was looking for a way to overcome grief and loss, with something that would bring them positive healing energy. After joining the first Pediatric AIDS March on Washington in 1990, the idea for Camp Chrysalis was "born". When Camp Chrysalis began, the support group envisioned a " few" children, and a week long camp, just for one summer. The camp ended up serving over 100 children and their families, and many staff members who were also dealing with HIV/AIDS from all over Maine, and it continued as a family camp for fifteen wonderful years. Meredith and Donna are still in touch with the Chrysalis family--we say now that Chrysalis is a place in the heart. They also organize a yearly public vigil on December 1, World AIDS Day to remember all those we have lost, and honor all those still living with HIV/AIDS.

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  05/11/2020 OUT cast

  Marvin Ellison

  Please tune into OUT Cast on WMPG community radio (90.9 FM, Portland ME) from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, May 11 (Part 1) and again Monday, May 18 (Part 2) for our interview with Samaa Abdurraqib on Queer Spirit, a series of conversations exploring explore queer life and the power of the Sacred. Samaa Abdurraqib, an African American Muslim feminist, was born in New York, grew up in Ohio, and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Samaa came to Maine in 2010 as an assistant professor at Bowdoin College. Currently, she’s the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. In that role, she shares information with immigrants and others regarding the programs and resources available to people experiencing intimate partner violence. Samaa’s writings and public talks include these titles: “On Being Black and Muslim: Eclipsed Identities in the Classroom,” I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim, “The Sacred and the Sexual,” and “My Faith, My Feminism: How Islam Has Shaped My Activism.” Queer Spirit is co-hosted by Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern.

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  07/06/2020 OUT cast

  Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern

  Please tune into OUT Cast on WMPG community radio (90.9 FM in Portland, ME) on Monday, July 6 at 1:00 - 1:30 PM for a remarkable interview with Thomas Brown, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, on Queer Spirit, a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Almost one year ago, on June 22,2019, the Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Brown was ordained and consecrated as the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine – the first openly gay man to be elected to that church office in this state. (The Maine diocese is made up of more than 10,000 people in 59 churches and ministries from Kittery to Fort Kent.) Prior to coming to Maine, Thomas served parishes in Brattleboro, VT and Winchester, MA. In an earlier interview, Bishop Brown reflected on how New Hampshire some 16 years ago had elected the first openly gay man, Gene Robinson, as bishop of that diocese. Looking back on that time, Brown said, “It was just a great moment for American Christianity – a great moment to proclaim a message of God's love. Change in the culture continues to happen when we are authentic and tell the truth about who we are." Queer Spirit is co-hosted by Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern.

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  07/20/2020 OUT cast

  Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern

  Tune to OUT Cast on Monday, July 20 from 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. for PART 1 of a 2 PART interview with Rev. Jennifer Paty on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Paty is the Director of Pilgrim Lodge Camp and Retreat Center, an outdoors ministry of the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ. The team that hired her said this of her: “Jen’s strong leadership, excellent ministry and social justice experience, steadfast work ethic, and contagious enthusiasm are just a few of the attributes” that won us over. “She brings a wealth of knowledge from overseeing the recreation programs and family services of large US military installations, both here in the United States and overseas.” Jen served twenty years in the U.S. Navy, is active in Veterans for Peace, has been a pastor and educator, a street minister for the homeless, and all along a human rights activist, including her work with other service members to repeal “Don’t ask Don’t Tell.” Ordained in the Metropolitan Community Church, she served that denomination for a dozen years, including several years in Canada. With her life-partner Amy Blake, Jen also operates a counseling practice utilizing the Imago model of relationship transformation. Queer Spirit is co-hosted by Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern.

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  07/27/2020 OUT cast

  Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern

  Tune to OUT Cast on Monday, July 27, from 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. for PART 2 of an interview with Rev. Jennifer Paty on “Queer Spirit,” a series of conversations exploring queer life and the power of the Sacred. Paty is the Director of Pilgrim Lodge Camp and Retreat Center, an outdoors ministry of the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ. The team that hired her said this of her: “Jen’s strong leadership, excellent ministry and social justice experience, steadfast work ethic, and contagious enthusiasm are just a few of the attributes” that won us over. “She brings a wealth of knowledge from overseeing the recreation programs and family services of large US military installations, both here in the United States and overseas.” Jen served twenty years in the U.S. Navy, is active in Veterans for Peace, has been a pastor and educator, a street minister for the homeless, and all along a human rights activist, including her work with other service members to repeal “Don’t ask Don’t Tell.” Ordained in the Metropolitan Community Church, she served that denomination for a dozen years, including several years in Canada. With her life-partner Amy Blake, Jen also operates a counseling practice utilizing the Imago model of relationship transformation. Queer Spirit is co-hosted by Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres McGovern.

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  06/08/2020 OUT cast

  Tamara Torres McGovern and Wendy Blackwell-Moore

  Tune in Monday, June 8 from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. on WMPG 90.9 FM (community radio from the University of Southern Maine) to hear an interview with Tamara Torres McGovern, co-host of Queer Spirit, and Wendy Blackwell-Moore, co-creators of “Pledge My Stimulus,” an innovative social philanthropy project that invites folks to give some or all of their COVID-19 pandemic stimulus check to organizations that are making a difference in their communities. So far, more than 120 organizations in 25 different states have benefited from this project.

  Rev. Tamara Torres McGovern is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor who serves on the ministerial staff of Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland and is also a Community Spiritual Advisor for Arise Portland, an emergent inter-spiritual community.

  Wendy Blackwell-Moore is the founder of Pine Pitch Consulting, whose mission is to empower businesses to act as a force for good in the world. Drawing on her own 20+ years of business experience, she encourages people to adopt innovative business strategies that value employees, customers, communities, and the environment -- and not just shareholders. Her mantra is “walk the talk.”

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  05/18/2020 OUT cast

  Tamara Torres McGovern and Marvin Ellison

  TUNE IN May 18 at 1:00 p.m., for OUT Cast on WMPG community radio (90.9 FM, Portland ME) to hear PART 2 of our interview with Samaa Abdurraqib on Queer Spirit, a series of conversations exploring explore queer life and the power of the Sacred, hosted by Tamara Torres McGovern and Marvin Ellison. Both Part 1 and 2 can also be found archived in the near future on the WMPG website at www.WMPG.org. Samaa Abdurraqib, a queer African American Muslim feminist, was born in New York, grew up in Ohio, and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Samaa came to Maine in 2010 as an assistant professor at Bowdoin College. Currently, she’s the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. In that role, she shares information with immigrants and others regarding the programs and resources available to people experiencing intimate partner violence. Samaa’s writings and public talks include these titles: “On Being Black and Muslim: Eclipsed Identities in the Classroom,” I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim, “The Sacred and the Sexual,” and “My Faith, My Feminism: How Islam Has Shaped My Activism.”

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  05/25/2020 OUT cast

  Sive Neilan and Steve Bull

  Join us Monday, May 25th from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. on OUT Cast for Part 1 of a conversation with Dr. Lani Graham and Dale McCormick. This show will launch a series of shows called "Deja Vu? The COVID Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis". Sive and Steve will be interviewing activists, medical professionals and others who were heavily engaged in the fight against AIDS here in Maine and elsewhere. While the current pandemic has haunting echoes of AIDS, there are also important differences that we will delve into. Part 2 will air on June 1st.

  Lani Graham A family physician, Lani Graham, MD, MPH, has devoted her career to addressing not only the health of individual patients, but also the health of the wider human community—here in Maine, and across the nation. Dr. Graham is a Maine native, but obtained her education and began work out of state. She returned to Maine in December of 1985 and began work as Director of Disease Control for the state. It was in that role that she was asked to take charge of the government side of Maine’s response to the HIV epidemic. For her work in that role she was acknowledged with an award by the MPGPA in 1987. In 1990 she became Public Health Director for Maine, and continued her work to address the on-going HIV epidemic as well as a variety of other public health issues. After leaving her position as Health Director, Dr. Graham continued her advocacy for the public health. She became Chair of Citizens for a Healthy Portland, a coalition that lead the effort in Portland to ban smoking in restaurants, and subsequently lead to a statewide ban, thus protecting wait staff and customers alike from a class A carcinogen. Working with colleagues in Physicians for Social Responsibility, Dr. Graham published a report, Death by Degrees, in the year 2000 about the dangers of climate change for Maine and in 2015 collaborated on an update of that report. Up until November 2017, Dr, Graham was Director of the Medical Professionals Health Program, helping colleagues with substance use disorders or mental health problems. Dr. Graham currently serves as a member of the Public Health Committee of the Maine Medical Association, is an active member of multiple public health organizations.

  Dale McCormick Dale is a lover of justice and a player of music. Dale co-founded and was the first president of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, the precursor to EqualityMaine, I n 1984. She was the first open lesbian State Senator elected in the US and became Maine’s first female Constitutional Officer when she was elected State Treasurer in 1996. Dale is a carpenter, cellist has three daughters, and lives on an urban farm in Augusta.

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  06/15/2020 OUT cast

  Sive Neilan and Steve Bull

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, June 15th from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. as Sive and Steve continue their series: "Deja Vu? The Covid Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis" Part 1 Guests: Diane Elze and Skip Brushaber will discuss their work in the '80's as well as their takes on today's fight against COVID and the nationwide mobilizations against racist cop terror. Part 2 of the conversation will air on June 22nd. Part 3 will air on June 29.

  DIANE ELZE is currently an Associate Professor and former MSW Program Director at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. She is on the Board of Directors of Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York, and is involved in several racial justice initiative, including the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition as a board member, Showing Up for Racial Justice, the Fair Fines & Fees Coalition, and the UB Health Equity Research Institute as a member of the Steering Committee. Elze lived in Maine from 1973 to 1992. She was a Case Manager for The AIDS Project from 1988 to 1991; a founder, with Charles Dwyer and Tom Haggerty, of OUTRIGHT: The Portland Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth, and an Outright advisor from 1987 to 1992; a co-founder and Board member of MLGPA, 1984-1992; MLGPA Treasurer, 1984-1988; MLGPA President, 1989-1991; MLGPA’s representative to Consumers for Affordable Health Care, 1989-1992; co-founder and co-coordinator with the Portland Police Department of the Community Task Force on Bias Crime, 1989-1992; member of the Our Paper Collective, 1983-1988; member of Portland’s first era of ACT-UP; and Board Member of the Maine Health Foundation, 1987-1988, resigning when hired by The AIDS Project, as the MHF was a TAP funder. Elze may best be remembered as the convener of the group that wrote and produced the 1983 production of Gay Side Story in which she played Diesel, the leader of the Queers. Her other stage credits include Han Solo in Star Gays (1980 in Portland), and the leader of Dyke Patrol, which made a cameo appearance in Oklahomo! (1978 in Bangor). Prior to leaving Maine to pursue advanced education, Elze received a Human Rights Award from The Maine Progressive (1991), the Larry P. Connolly Award for Community Service and Organizing from the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance (1992), a Proclamation of Honor from the City of Portland orchestrated by Barb Wood (1992), and an Official Expression of Sentiment from the Maine Senate and House of Representatives orchestrated by Susan Farnsworth.

  SKIP BRUSHABER is a retired nurse/social worker who lives with his spouse in Westbrook, ME. He was a founding member of the Our Paper Collective and The AIDS Project. He is a board member and volunteer of The Westbrook Food Pantry. He is a writer and artist.

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  06/22/2020 OUT cast

  Sive Neilan and Steve Bull

  Tune in to OUT Cast on Monday, June 15th from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. as Sive and Steve continue their series: "Deja Vu? The Covid Pandemic and the AIDS Crisis" Part 1 Guests: Diane Elze and Skip Brushaber will discuss their work in the '80's as well as their takes on today's fight against COVID and the nationwide mobilizations against racist cop terror. Part 2 of the conversation will air on June 22nd. Part 3 will air on June 29.

  DIANE ELZE is currently an Associate Professor and former MSW Program Director at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. She is on the Board of Directors of Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York, and is involved in several racial justice initiative, including the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition as a board member, Showing Up for Racial Justice, the Fair Fines & Fees Coalition, and the UB Health Equity Research Institute as a member of the Steering Committee. Elze lived in Maine from 1973 to 1992. She was a Case Manager for The AIDS Project from 1988 to 1991; a founder, with Charles Dwyer and Tom Haggerty, of OUTRIGHT: The Portland Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth, and an Outright advisor from 1987 to 1992; a co-founder and Board member of MLGPA, 1984-1992; MLGPA Treasurer, 1984-1988; MLGPA President, 1989-1991; MLGPA’s representative to Consumers for Affordable Health Care, 1989-1992; co-founder and co-coordinator with the Portland Police Department of the Community Task Force on Bias Crime, 1989-1992; member of the Our Paper Collective, 1983-1988; member of Portland’s first era of ACT-UP; and Board Member of the Maine Health Foundation, 1987-1988, resigning when hired by The AIDS Project, as the MHF was a TAP funder. Elze may best be remembered as the convener of the group that wrote and produced the 1983 production of Gay Side Story in which she played Diesel, the leader of the Queers. Her other stage credits include Han Solo in Star Gays (1980 in Portland), and the leader of Dyke Patrol, which made a cameo appearance in Oklahomo! (1978 in Bangor). Prior to leaving Maine to pursue advanced education, Elze received a Human Rights Award from The Maine Progressive (1991), the Larry P. Connolly Award for Community Service and Organizing from the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance (1992), a Proclamation of Honor from the City of Portland orchestrated by Barb Wood (1992), and an Official Expression of Sentiment from the Maine Senate and House of Representatives orchestrated by Susan Farnsworth.

  SKIP BRUSHABER is a retired nurse/social worker who lives with his spouse in Westbrook, ME. He was a founding member of the Our Paper Collective and The AIDS Project. He is a board member and volunteer of The Westbrook Food Pantry. He is a writer and artist.