Veronika Electronika

Veronika Electronika celebrates her 21st year performing in 2023, and she wouldn't trade any moment of it for anything. 

A native of NYC, Veronika moved to Nashville, Tennessee in August of 2000 to finish college, little did she know that her life was about to change. Befriending several local queens, Veronika took to the stage. At first Veronika had no idea that this would lead to a career. Over the last 21 years Veronika has performed all over the US, won multiple contests and pageants; most notably Miss TN Continental. Veronika's main focus on stage is to transport her audience into a world of fantasy and imagination.

With our current political climate, Veronika has been very active in Tennessee politics and local political organizations like Tennessee Equality Project, the ACLU, Drag Out the Vote as well as one of her favorite partnerships, Drag Story Hour. 

Veronika believes that Drag can be a useful tool in how we can heal as a nation and bridge the gap between the LGBTQIA + communities and the rest of the world. One of her favorite sayings is "We are stronger together! "

Marisa Richmond

Dr. Marisa Richmond has just retired from teaching history and women’s and gender studies at Middle Tennessee State University.   She previously taught at Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University, and Nashville State Community College.  She is a member of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans appointed by President Joe Biden.  She is also the current President of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women, and a Co-Chair of the Transgender Advisory Committee of the Democratic National Committee.

Locally, she is a member of the Metro Historical Commission, having previously served as a member, and Past Chair, of the Metro Human Relations Commission.  She also served on the Mayor’s Council on the Status of Women, and the Davidson County General Sessions Court Judicial Equity Collective.  Previously, she served many years as the President and Lobbyist for the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition.

She is a prolific author and speaker on transgender rights, and has served on many boards at the Local, State, and National levels. She has been recognized for her work with many awards.  She has three degrees, all in U.S. History. Her A.B. is from Harvard University, her M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Ph.D. from George Washington University.

Sarah Calise

Sarah Calise (she/they) is a special collections librarian at Vanderbilt University and founder/director of Nashville Queer History, a grassroots community organization dedicated to researching, preserving and sharing the LGBTQ history of Middle Tennessee. Her work focuses on preserving the voices of marginalized people and creating educational resources for youth and adults. She is currently under contract with Vanderbilt University Press to publish the first nonfiction book on Nashville's LGBTQ history. 

J.B. Mayo (Moderator)

J.B. Mayo is an Associate Professor in social studies education. He holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Florida, where his focus of study was gender and sexuality within the social studies, specifically on the formation and impact of Genders & Sexualities Alliances (GSAs) in secondary schools and the challenges faced by LGBQ teachers in Florida’s secondary classrooms. He is a former middle school social studies teacher of seven years in two Virginia public school districts.

He researches and writes about how to incorporate LGBTQ topics/themes in the standard social studies curriculum. As such, his most recent research projects focus on the experiences of queer people who participated in the Harlem Renaissance and on Two Spirit people among American Indian communities – their historic place within the communities and how that has changed over time – and writing curriculum that honors their contributions. In addition, he is interested in learning how the existence of LGBTQ-friendly clubs within schools, like Genders & Sexualities Alliances (GSAs) in both high schools and middle schools, affect the individuals who participate in them and the larger (school) communities in which they are located.