Auen is a member of the Georgia Youth Advocacy Fellowship at the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

A versatile filmmaker, videographer, and creative producer, Auen’s work explores the intersection of identity, culture, and storytelling. With a keen eye for visual detail and a passion for amplifying underrepresented voices, Auen crafts narratives that celebrate the complexity and beauty of marginalized communities.

As the founder of In The Eye Productions, Auen leads a media production company dedicated to telling bold, authentic stories across film, music, and digital content. Through her work, she collaborates with artists, brands, and organizations to create engaging narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. She collaborated with ZEAL Co-Operative and In The Eye Productions as a videographer in 2024, capturing high-quality footage for films, documentaries, and advertisements. Her expertise in managing all stages of production, from pre-production to post-production, helped bring these projects to life with authenticity and depth.

In 2024, Auen served as Creative Director and Production Assistant at A Conversation Worldwide (ACW), where she played a pivotal role in overseeing creative direction, managing logistics, and shaping visual storytelling. She organized shoots, tracked project progress, and ensured the alignment of all deliverables with the creative vision of the projects.

Auen’s work in music video production was further refined during her time at Concord Music Publishing Group (2023), where she assisted with Multicam edits using Adobe Premiere Pro and collaborated closely with artists and directors on video shoots. In 2024, she filmed a live music video for artist TONII as part of the NPR Tiny Desk Competition, and her edit was featured on the competition's promotional reel, showcasing her skill in creating intimate, cinematic performance visuals.

As a filmmaker, Auen wrote, directed, and produced Shea Butter Anointing (2024), a silent short film that celebrates the beauty and essence of Black transgender women through a poignant nighttime routine. This film is part of a larger multimedia art exhibition titled To Infinity to Infinity, which explores the experiences of Black women, Black trans women, and

non-binary people. The exhibit delves into themes such as femininity, desirability, respectability politics, and queerness, aiming to challenge societal norms while honoring the inherent beauty and authenticity of Black femmes.

Her creative direction extends to Unrequited Love (2022), where Auen served as Creative Director and Producer, shaping the film’s visual identity, overseeing script development, and ensuring that the project’s vision was realized from concept to completion.

In addition to her filmmaking work, Auen is developing Scenes: The Series, a collaborative platform designed to elevate Black queer filmmakers. The platform focuses on cross-collaboration and resource-sharing, creating opportunities for creators to strengthen their presence in the industry and build a supportive, interconnected network.

Auen’s commitment to storytelling is supported by her extensive education, which includes completing the Venice Arts: Center for Photography & Film Production program (2024), where she gained hands-on experience in film production. She also trained at Apple Creative Studios (2021), focusing on music production and industry strategy, and is an Adobe Certified Professional in Digital Visual Editing using Adobe Premiere Pro (2024 – 2027). Additionally, Jada studied Digital Media Studies and Communications at Santa Monica College.

A queer, first generation Honduran American, performer, and visual artist, Bleu is not only an aspiring advocate but a beacon of change for many others alike. As a multimodal artist, they desire to create momentum for change through dance and other forms to support liberation and bodily autonomy, which they first began exploring in Deep Center’s Block by Block program in Savannah, GA. A recent high school graduate, when they aren’t working, you can find Bleu composing art across modalities traveling to a city near you.

Tori Flowers is a dedicated advocate for social equity, sustainability, and community empowerment. With a Master’s in Sustainability and a Bachelor’s in Urban Studies (with Honors) from Stanford University, they bring expertise in research, social justice advocacy, and intersectional community organizing. 

Tori has worked extensively in environmental justice, community resilience, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Their experience includes leading initiatives to advance community equity and social justice within various Bay Area organizations such as Brightline Defense, Faith in Action, Redwood City Together, and Climate Resilient Communities. They have also contributed to policy research, project management, and grassroots organizing to advance equitable housing, environmental justice, and long-term community resilience. 

Committed to empowering marginalized groups, Tori’s leadership extends to their passion for arts and hands-on community work. Tori’s work with the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) to amplify queer BIPOC storytelling through film as well as their continued organizing work with the Free Palestine, Women’s Rights, and LGBTQ+ rights movements, exemplifies this fervent commitment. Their Urban Studies honors thesis–The Lore of Lake Lanier: Exploring the Impacts of Racial Violence in Shaping Collective Memory Through the Lens of Urban Folklore–reflects their continued dedication to racial justice, using narratives and lore as an avenue for revealing historical injustice and advocating for community reparations. 

Currently volunteering at the Atlanta Mission and as a fellow with New Partners Community Solar, Tori continues to serve while pushing for systemic change. Their multifaceted experience in research, organizing, and advocacy makes them a powerful force for human rights and social justice, contributing to their lifelong vision of creating a more equitable, interconnected world. 

Bio Forthcoming

A Deep Center Poet Laureate Finalist, Block by Block program, and Slam Team alumnus, Justin and his mastery of words has been featured on Georgia Public Broadcast’s “On Second Thought” and the recent PRITTY performance video about the Lambda Literary Finalist novel. A recent graduate of high school, he continues to not only be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community but strives to push the envelope around redefining masculinity while exploring other deeper themes in life.

Amore is a radiant force within our Trans and Gender Expansive Council and was crowned the winner of the prestigious Miss Trans Georgia pageant in 2023.

Her creative spirit illuminates every aspect of her advocacy, serving as a beacon of empowerment for our community. As a dancer, model, and aspiring singer and fashion designer, Amore embraces self-expression with authenticity and artistry, inspiring fellow council members to embrace their unique identities and talents. Amore’s journey of self-discovery is a testament to resilience and courage. Through her own experiences, she challenges societal norms and stereotypes imposed on transgender and gender-expansive individuals, advocating for the celebration of diversity and authenticity within our council and beyond in groups such as Trans Power in Diversity.

Amidst the complexities and challenges faced by our community, Amore remains steadfast in her commitment to inclusivity and acceptance. She recognizes and honors the diversity and differences among us while fostering a culture of belonging and support. Amore seeks to inspire and empower others to embrace their uniqueness and contribute to our collective mission. With a warm smile and a wave, she invites us all to celebrate her on a journey of self-acceptance, self-love, and celebration of individuality within the OUT Georgia council.

Bio Forthcoming

From Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which he credits with fostering his passion for advocacy and speaking out against injustices, Roodolph Civilius is a junior at Georgia Southern University, studying World Languages and Cultures, focusing on Chinese. Fluent in three languages (hoping to add a fourth), he aspires to become a translator for the United Nations to pursue his greatest goal: to continue learning, growing, and fighting for a world that values justice, equality, and cultural understanding. When he's not in class or at work, he can be found playing soccer, getting to know a new person, or starting a new adventure.

Sydney A. Foster (b. 1994, Montgomery, AL; lives and works in Atlanta, GA) is a United States Air Force veteran, dedicated arts activist, visionary image maker, and accomplished director. Her creative journey is deeply rooted in her upbringing in Tuskegee, Alabama, infusing her work with the rich heritage and cultural legacy of the region. Her artistic endeavors are deeply grounded in Southern traditions and the global diaspora, where she collaborates with individuals whose stories amplify the voices of often marginalized and overlooked communities. Sydney is currently the inaugural Cultural Worker in Residence in Affordable Housing for the Atlanta Regional Commission. Sydney also became part of the first cohort of the Georgia Advocacy Youth Fellowship through the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, which provides education and the cultivation of advocates 18 - 30 years of age across the state. Sydney’s Select Clients include but are not limited to Dior, Service Now, Partners In Health, Equal Justice Initiative, The Wellness Coalition, Nike, Footlocker, Hyatt Hotels, Southern Poverty Law Center, The Washington Post, and the  National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Storm (she/her) is a Black woman born and raised in West Philadelphia who has experienced inequalities and environmental injustices from childhood, which led her to become a scholar of the Say Yes to Education (SYTE) program. As a scholar of SYTE, Storm learned how to fight for equality and justice for those who look like her. Storm soon learned she had a strong passion for organizing community resources through written art and education. Storm’s passion for marginalized communities led her to study at a southern HBCU, Spelman College. As an undergraduate, Storm explored Black Literature and immediately participated in the Afrekete Club, which ensured black and brown-identifying women were treated fairly across the campus. She advocates collective voices and community care to achieve effective and innovative solutions. Storm is driven by seeing the collective grow and flourish in their agency by standing on self-determination, individuality, and empowerment principles. Storm found a way to merge her love of written art and her compassion for her community through Moore College of Art. It was at Moore where Storm earned her Master’s of Art with a focus in Social Engagement. She has used her experience to cultivate community events that promote healthy and safe spaces for individuals in the community to thrive. As a Project Lead of the Atlanta Black Pride Youth Festival, she ensures the collected voices are heard, seen, and carried throughout the annual festival activities.

Lasalle is a Mixed Media Artist, Coordinator , Curator, and Muralist based in Atlanta, Georgia. Through his passions for art and design, he has provided creative art events, bright artworks, and supplied thought-provoking murals. As a black queer artist, he explore the the concept of life through storytelling and depth of his identity. Lasalle received his bachelors of Fine Arts from Valdosta State University and plans to further his education. Currently, Atlanta is where he calls home building his portfolio and helping local communities.

Clarence Sanders, Jr. is a native of Federal Way, Washington, pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Natural Sciences at Morehouse College. Clarence became familiar with the LGBTQ+ Institute while attending a July 2024 panel about inclusive mentorship at the 100 Black Men Conference. Afterward, he applied and was accepted to the Georgia Youth Advocacy Fellowship, a statewide network of young advocates ages 18-30 who engage in learning and development sessions about civic engagement, the legislative ecosystem, and community mobilization. Clarence is the co-founder and co-president of The United Nations of America- Atlanta University Center Chapter, on the Morehouse College Debate Team, and is a LevelTen Energy Scholar. This past summer, Clarence worked as an administrative assistant with Blu Wing Security in Seattle, Washington, in tandem with his Energy scholar internship. In August of 2024, he was also selected for Goldman Sachs' emerging leaders series on the FICC and Equities (Sales and Trading) Track. He is currently developing a project called BlackAND, which seeks to provide affirming and nurturing spaces for Black people who live at the intersection of Black identity and any other number of identities (e.g., blackAND white, blackAND Queer, etc.). As one deeply committed to Black inclusion, Clarence also supports the Institute’s YOU(th) Belong program and is working to develop a workshop series to help young people develop public speaking skills.

Akuorkor Allotey is a student at Duke University studying psychology. She is a 2nd generation immigrant, with her family originally from Ghana, and was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. Akuorkor formerly served as the VP of Advocacy for Blue Devils United, an undergraduate student group for LGBTQ+ individuals. She also acted as a student facilitator for Duke Queer Peer Support, a group founded by Duke Student Government and Duke’s Counseling and Psychological Services. Upon graduation in May 2025, she hopes to apply to graduate school and pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. In her free time, Akuorkor enjoys pursuing creative endeavors like drawing, writing, and animating.

From Dacula, Georgia, Ben Culberson is a junior at Georgia Gwinnett College, studying a double degree in Psychology and Political Science. Serving as the school’s Student Body President, Ben has an unrelenting passion for advocacy, service, and organizational efficiency, where he has developed his Student Government to be one of the most productive in its history. Besides his SGA, Ben works on the Advisory Board of the Lawrenceville Cooperative Community Food Bank and as a Legislative Aide for the Georgia State House of Representatives. Through his experiences as a queer person, Ben has grown a love to make services more accessible and structured, where he has helped develop: 7 student organizations, university policy, and college committees. After school, he seeks work in either education or the public sector, hoping to improve any system he’s a part of.

A Deep Center alumnus, Trent has been creating and learning with the program from seventh grade to his senior year. A vocalist, poet, and artist who enjoys expanding concepts of gender, they are courageous in their own right and excited to join the Georgia Youth Advocacy Fellowship. When not analyzing songs or songwriting, Trent can be found looking for the next opportunity to blend art with activism. 

A Deep Center Block by Block and Slam Team alumnus, Shakir is known for his hilarious and heartfelt performances and his collaboration with the Savannah VOICE Festival, where he produced a song featured on Savannah Morning News. As an African-American trans man and artist, Shakir not only has much to offer but is at a point in his creative journey where he’s yearning to merge art with advocacy. His vision is to ensure that those in Savannah and the greater Georgia community feel like they have a voice and are supported through their individuality, intersectionality, and adversities to heal, grow, and flourish.

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Warda is a Palestinian-Colombian individual passionate about combining advocacy, the arts, and community. Having immigrated to the United States at a young age, their passion for language justice became a key motivator of their studies at Georgia State University. It continued in their current career and advocacy work at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, where they focus on creating and expanding the accessible and inclusive content the museum offers for the communities that come to visit. Outside of their work at the museum, Warda focuses on helping organize spaces of political education about Palestine as well as combining their love for the arts to support the efforts of fundraising for their community in Palestine with events and organizations such as Atlanta Radical Art, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Palestine Lives On. In their next steps, they hope to continue their education in a Master's Program in Applied Linguistics to further research how the effects of language planning can help decrease generational language loss in immigrant communities while also continuing to create spaces in which the arts can be utilized to build community for BIPOC artists in the Atlanta area.

Nigel Sapp graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University in 2022, earning an A.B. in Visual Media Studies with a minor in Visual Arts. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, he now resides in San Francisco, California, and works in the technology and media sector.

Nigel conveyed several social critiques in college through his work as an amateur filmmaker and video artist. His senior capstone video installation, “Blackness,” investigated the tension between Nigel’s own blackness and the white spaces he has occupied throughout life. Nigel was a keynote speaker at the inaugural Films for Social Justice Symposium, a collaboration between the LGBTQ+ Institute and the International Youth Film Festival.

With experience at companies like Numeric and Reddit, Nigel specializes in content and growth marketing. He also collaborates with his former college counselor to help students navigate the college application process.

Charleston, South Carolina native Kimberly Brown (26) is nothing short of a philanthropist in training. She is truly known for being a lover of plants, people, poetry, and purpose! Her focus is on family, women, food security, education, and land rights. From youth sustainability outreach to advocacy with the GA Youth Fellowship, Brown is a woman of service. After moving to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2018 to study Psychology (Georgia State University), she vowed to serve her new community faithfully. She soon joined The Black Student Movement Association, where she learned what it meant to cater to the underserved during their giveaway inspirational days located in Hurt Park (Downtown Atlanta.) This inspired Kimberly to start her organization, B.A.P. (better is always possible) where she and a few of her dorm mates would travel to the different grocery stores and collect food items to bless other college students in need. In 2020, Brown started a program for youth in East Atlanta, educating them on permaculture practices and teaching community economics via the neighborhood market supported by the community garden and local vendors. After two healthy years, Brown decided her outreach wouldn’t end there, and she began to establish herself in the community, partnering with local gardens united with the Food Well Alliance. She currently teaches writers' workshops covering all genres and also educates families about ways to become more self-sufficient in the most Eco-friendly ways via her Organization, EKOU SISTAHS. (EARTH KEEPERS OPERATING IN UNITY) Kimberly’s goal is to bring awareness to fundamental areas of growth that will advance the betterment of communities and each individual being that make up the families of today.

Originating from the lively streets of Baltimore, Maryland, Naima (Starr) Eggleston is a multifaceted creative and scholar who centers Black womanhood through her works. From launching her clothing brand (Newest Looks) in January 2020 to focusing on the representation of Black women and their unique experiences, she leverages her gifts of style and bold statement pieces to turn heads. Naima also hosts annual business brunches for Black women creatives and entrepreneurs in Baltimore to elevate networking opportunities that support the endeavors of Black women like herself. Most recently, she launched her fashion magazine and blog, STARR NOIR, which seeks to highlight fashion-forward Black individuals. Additionally, Naima is proud of using fashion as a means of protest and resistance. STARR NOIR intends to increase exposure for both known and emerging Black leaders in culture and media. Perhaps more important than her many creative and scholastic accolades, Naima expresses personal experiences as a seed for creation. Beyond her work as a young entrepreneur and student leader of Spelman College’s Afrekete group, she wants to inspire future generations.

Ever since he was a little kid in Hoschton, Georgia, Griffin has had an unrelenting interest in research, no matter the facet or lens through which he does it. He is currently a Junior at Georgia Tech, taking a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology and Minor in the Science of Mental Health and Wellbeing, with a specific interest in cognitive and developmental psychology. Through his research, Griffin has focused on many fields in and out of psychology, including studying the Empathizing-Systemizing quotient and Autism Spectrum Disorder, gastrointestinal nematode detection, intersectionality in school, the Mozart Effect, and corporate social responsibility. Besides his research, Griffin has also worked through local K-12 schools in his home county to foster student engagement in local art, cultures, and STEM. Griffin hopes to pursue a life of fulfillment by helping the world one person at a time and aims to seek higher education in developmental or cognitive psychology and work hands-on with students (and other people of all ages) to improve psychological accessibility and mitigate mental health and developmental disorder based discrimination and social inequality.

Bio Forthcoming

Willow Ozburn is a GSU student with a lifelong passion for and commitment to improving the world around them. Born in Texas and raised all around the Southeastern US, their advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights started as self-advocacy, fighting against the queerphobic culture they found themself. As time wore on, they found stability and acceptance for themselves. They could focus their efforts on assisting those around them, providing guidance and support for newly out friends and family. Today, Willow is focused on disability rights, intersectional activism, and community-building. They are involved in the Food4Life Atlanta Survival Program and the Georgia EDS & Hypermobility Network. They are an active community member and are interested in assisting the elderly with accessing technology. It brings Willow great joy to put their years of experience in IT to good use within their community. Willow is pursuing a degree in Computer Information Systems with a minor in Mathematics, wishing to formalize and supplement what they have learned. They aim to pursue a career as an analyst, with a particular interest in transportation and logistics. They plan to continue their community involvement and leave a legacy of making the world around them a better place.