Beth Teper
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Beth Teper is the executive director of COLAGE. She is an outspoken advocate for the rights of gay families and for children with gay and lesbian parents everywhere.
Beth was ten when her mother came out as a lesbian and twelve when her best friend and many other 'friends' abandoned and harassed her after finding out about her mom. It wasn't until Beth was 24 that she found a community of other young people with families like hers.
Joining COLAGE over a decade ago, Beth has been an active participant and leader in the LGBT family movement ever since. Prior to being COLAGE's Executive Director, Beth served on the COLAGE Steering Committee and as chair of the COLAGE Board of Directors for almost seven years.
A San Francisco native and Oakland resident--Beth attended public schools in San Francisco and graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Sociology, Latin American Studies and Women's Studies.
Beth's career in community organizing began at age 9 - stuffing/sealing/stamping envelopes and selling buttons for the SF chapter of National Organization for Women. Since then, for over twenty years, Beth has worked for women's health and reproductive rights, an end to US military action and occupation, LGBT liberation and environmental sustainability. Beth brings a strong background in and passion for popular education, social, economic and environmental justice, and youth empowerment to her work with COLAGE.
Immediately preceding her tenure on COLAGE staff, Beth thrived as a leader of outdoor adventures and activism: leading wilderness expeditions, teaching environmental ethics, and sharing the wonders of food and nature with urban youth and families. The highest peak she's climbed is Mt. Whitney and the biggest waves she's rafted are on the Colorado in the Grand Canyon.
Today Beth spends many hours meeting other children with gay parents, lecturing on gay family rights and working endlessly on protecting the rights of Queerspawn everywhere. Beth leads COLAGE workshops each summer during Family Week in Provincetown on Cape Cod.
Beth loves to read, dance, travel, spend time with her sweetie Anna (and their dogs Lily & Sadie) and is currently obsessed with playing double-15 Dominoes. Beth and her partner live in the San Francisco Bay area.
