Staff and Board

Micah Melody Taberner (she/her) is the Director of Community Engagement for Transmission Ministry Collective. As a transgender and bi-racial Latina follower of Jesus, her greatest passion is helping individuals and communities explore the intersection of their identities and faith. In all her work, Micah Melody loves using art, music, and storytelling to build relationships and stir cross-cultural dialogue. She is currently finishing her Master of Arts in Social Transformation and Master of Divinity at Pacific School of Religion, and was a recipient of the the On Being Social Healing Fellowship for her work in the gender-expansive Christian community. When not at work, Micah Melody can be found exploring the San Diego culinary scene with her wife, getting into late-night theological discussions with her friends, cuddling with (and annoying) her cats, and playing movie soundtracks on piano.

Dr. Lana van Essen (she/her) is the Director of Operations for Transmission Ministry Collective. She is a Jewish, Asian, Queer, and Transgender woman. As an Intersectional Theologian, she strongly desires bridge-building and understands the world through the lens of ambiguity that queer folks are all too familiar with. She successfully defended her DMin in early 2024 at Pacific School of Religion and has also finished her MA in Global Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, specializing in Resonant Leadership. Lana is also the host of the Models We Live By podcast and loves to sing and play guitar.

Peter Clare (they/them or he/him) is the Development and Communications Coordinator for Transmission Ministry Collective. Peter is a queer follower of Jesus who believes that God uniquely reveals Herself in the voices, bodies, and lives of trans and gender-expansive people. Peter belongs to Zao MKE Church, a Jesus rooted, justice centered, radically inclusive Christian community in Milwaukee, WI. They are also active in the world of theatre as a director, performer, and designer. Peter tries to see all their work through an abolitionist lens and is committed to dismantling carceral systems and building liberative communities of care. In their free time, you can find them playing the fiddle, immersing themselves in sci-fi and fantasy universes, or hosting dance parties.

Ezra (they/them) is a trauma-informed Spiritual Director, therapist in training, and queer mystic rebel. They love helping late-blooming people-pleasers tug at the roots of their belief systems, weed out religious shame, embrace their authentic self, and start life over after 30. As a nonbinary person who grew up amidst Purity Culture and church camp “cry nights,” Ezra knows how deeply rooted shame & trauma can affect our spiritual journey as well as our sense of identity and purpose. They take a person-centered approach; holding space through a trauma-focused lens and are informed by expressive art, IFS, and existential perspectives. When not in session, Ezra can be found working toward becoming a licensed therapist, writing amateure poetry, or making messy art.

Rowan Rivers (they/them) has a spiritual direction and mental health practice in Florida on the ancestral lands of the Timucua and Seminole peoples. Rowan received their master’s degree in counselor education in 2015 from the University of Florida where they conducted research on increasing counselor competency with LGBT clients. Rowan received their certificate of spiritual direction in 2019 from Audire spiritual direction program. Rowan is a member of Spiritual Directors International and has completed continuing education on supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and working with nature. Rowan’s spiritual practice encompasses the complexity of their ancestry including Christian and pre-Christian traditions along with years of study in Buddhist mindfulness. Rowan has spent their career companioning others to cultivate self compassion, reclaim their stories and to become self allies. Rowan hopes to support liberation through the reclamation of relationships disrupted by the colonization process and support themselves and others to reground in those relationships that were life-giving to our ancestors.

Rev. Leo Seyij Allen (he/him) is a community organizer and spiritual care practitioner working to advance reproductive justice across the Global South. In his current role as Movement Building Director at Forward Together, he sets the strategic direction of the organization’s outreach efforts while centering QTPOC communities. Prior to joining Transmission Ministry Collective, Leo Seyij served as a congregational minister for two Atlanta-based churches. He also worked with organizers across the southeast to lead campaigns on closing immigrant detention camps, ending racial trauma, and amplifying LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Leo Seyij is an alumnus of Howard University and Columbia Theological Seminary. In his free time, he enjoys getting lost down YouTube rabbit holes.

The Rev. Casey Kloehn Dunsworth (she/her) is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Born and raised in Encinitas, CA, she graduated from California Lutheran University in 2010 and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in 2014. Her passion for ministry with emerging adults led her to serve as a campus pastor and as the program director of the Lutheran Episcopal Volunteer Network, a program of the Episcopal Service Corps. Now, she serves as a parish pastor in North County San Diego. In addition to her work with TMC, she serves on the Policy Council for the Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California, advocating for a more equitable state for all Californians. She is an Enneagram 6, a Myers-Briggs ESFJ, and a faithful San Diego Padres fan.

Myles Markham (he/him or they/them) is a queer and transgender Native Hawaiian/Japanese American born and raised in the Deep South. Myles has worked in LGBTQ+ advocacy across religious, non-profit, business, and education sectors for the last decade and currently works in documentary film as an impact producer and in nonprofit leadership as the Director of Development for Trans Lifeline.