Q Christian Fellowship Team
Bukola Landis-Aina
She/Her
Executive Director
Bukola (she/her/hers) is a first generation Nigerian-American who was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She grew up attending youth group and Pioneer girls in Baptist and nondenominational churches. As a young adult, she was also a member at Pentecostal and Presbyterian churches. Denomination was never a focus for her. Just Jesus. Bukola is a patent attorney, having studied Chemical Engineering at MIT and law at NYU. She was very active in Intervarsity at both schools. She is ordained as a deacon in her church, Riverside Baptist, where she leads the fellowship and social events team.
Joining the organization in 2012, she found a rainbow-hued oasis that reflected the fullness and diversity of the Gospel. Bukola can often be found playing tackle football, skiing, mentoring high-school students, bringing people together, eating skittles, hosting weary travelers and planning her next getaway. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her wife, Tonetta, and their son, Temitayo.
Carter Kelly
he/they/she
Operations Director
Carter (he/him/his, they/them/theirs, or she/her/hers) grew up in the Roman Catholic Church of suburban New York before leaving Christianity entirely as a teenager. A few mystical experiences in old Russian churches, the lakes of northern Wisconsin, and the persistent tugging of Holy Spirit, called them back to the faith through a Jesus-loving, inclusive United Methodist congregation in Chicago. Yet God was not done with her yet - Carter began to lead small groups where he deepened in faith through transformative relationships. After a few years, they felt Holy Spirit calling again, this time into ministry and a few gentle nudges from friends and family convinced him to go to seminary.
Carter lives in Chicago, Illinois and enjoys taking people to her favorite restaurants, getting in over their head in DIY-ing, watching horror movies, and reading Afrofuturist speculative fiction.
Aiden Nathaniel Diaz
He/Him/él
Communications Director
Aiden Nathaniel Diaz (he/him/él) is a bi-racial (Hispanic & African American) man born and raised in Central Texas. Growing up, Aiden went to a small Black United Methodist Church before going to college and getting involved with the Wesley Foundation at Texas State University. Since then, he has served in various churches and ministries.
Aiden is a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and holds his Masters of Divinity. While there, he was elected as the first Hispanic and first transgender Student Body President. Additionally, he found many opportunities to integrate technology and art into his course work — challenging the ways that we talk about and experience God. Aiden finds great love in researching community and digital theology while serving in a ministry context.
He can often be found working on a new creative project, visiting local swimming holes and parks, learning jiu-jitsu or playing the bass or violin. He now lives in the Midwest with his partner Kimberlee and their four pets, Willie, Dudley, Tobias, and Gilbert.
Mick Atencio
they/them
Program & Development Director
Mick Atencio (they/them) is a queer, neurodivergent, and trans nonbinary artist and theologian. They are passionate about queer liberation, care for neighbor, and honoring the creative spirit in every person they meet. Mick graduated with their Masters of Divinity degree at Virginia Theological Seminary in 2024, with their thesis and cumulative capstone focusing on the elemental forces in biblical creation narratives and poems. They love worship music, visual art, and poetry, have been published by Wipf & Stock, enfleshed and Sojourners, and currently reside in Chicago, Illinois with their husband Mitchell. In their free time, Mick enjoys baking, thrift shopping, learning how to play tennis, and creating art in various mediums
Samantha Hasty
she/her
Program Manager
Pastor Samantha Hasty (she/her) grew up in Southern Baptist fundamentalism as a queer, neuro-spicy, outspoken woman and found her people along the way as she healed from spiritual traumas and reclaimed a faith that is all her own. She graduated from Earlham School of Religion in 2018 with a Masters of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry and is currently working on her Doctor of Ministry degree. Samantha is the very proud mama to Micaiah and wife of Kellie. She is the founding and current pastor at Pitch in Theology. Samantha is excited to journey with the QCF community as the Program Coordinator.
Volunteer Writers
Rev. Laura Bethany Buchleiter
she/her
Pastor, Speaker, Writer, Advocate, and Consultant.
Rev. Laura Bethany Buchleiter is a pastor, speaker, writer, advocate, and consultant. She has over 30 years of experience in various Christian ministry settings. She speaks on topics ranging from gender identity and sexual orientation to self-care and wellness. In all her work Laura Beth draws heavily on her own experiences with PTSD, gender dysphoria, suicidal ideation, and the challenges that come with those when working in faith communities.
Laura Beth currently makes her home base in Indianapolis, Indiana, working as a Spiritual Director, church consultant, and social entrepreneur. She has lived all over the USA, including Puerto Rico. In addition to writing, speaking, and working with local faith communities, she keeps herself busy as an artist, musician, parent, and grandparent.
Mitch Leet
he/him
Program Manager for Room for All
Mitchel Leet is a proud champion for people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA) both personally and professionally. With his 2016 B.A. in Art & Design from Keuka College, he has taken a nontraditional path that brought him to Albuquerque, Orlando, Seneca Falls and back home to the Finger Lakes region of New York State. He now resides close to Rochester, NY with his wife, Cameron and their rescue dog, Bruno.
Mitch most recently served as LGBTQ Program Coordinator with Family Counseling Service of the Finger Lakes, Inc., where he excelled in creating gender inclusive supports and spaces for all ages, as well as educating a wide variety of people through interactive programming. As a pastor’s kid rooted in his trust in God’s unconditional love, Mitch seeks to draw the circle wide and strengthen connections through compassion.
Rev. Kipp Nelson
he/him
Pastor at St. John’s on the Lake United Methodist Church
Rev. Kipp Nelson currently serves as the Pastor of St. John’s on the Lake United Methodist Church in Miami Beach, Florida. He is a Miami transplant originally from Birmingham, AL. Kipp has earned a Bachelor’s of Accounting degree from Auburn University in Auburn, AL and a Master’s of Divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. Kipp became the first openly gay man to be appointed and commissioned as an elder, and was just recently approved to become fully ordained this summer. Kipp has been steadily devoted to the revitalization of the church through focused ministry and outreach within the LGBTQ+ community and continues to be driven by a deep passion for healing and reconciling the harm Christianity (and religion) has widely caused to LGBTQ+ people.
Rev. Dr. Daniel Rodriguez Schlorff
he/him
Pastor, Musician, Scholar, and Coach
I first started my coming out process in 2002 while a Nazarene minister, created and taught the LGBT Studies curriculum at the University of Wisconsin, and now I serve the queer-affirming Third Congregational Church in Middletown, CT, as Senior Minister. I graduated with the MAR in Theology from Meadville/Lombard when it was still a part of the University of Chicago, did the MDiv completion program and the MA in Religious Studies from Hartford Seminary (HIU), and continued to complete the Doctor of Ministry and Certificate of Sexuality and Religion at Pacific School of Religion. I'm now pursuing a PhD back at HIU in Interreligious Studies with a focus on New Testament.