About Us
Who We Are
We started Queer Northshore in 2022 in hopes of building an LGBTQ+ community in a part of Louisiana where there wasn't one. Over the past 2 years, we’ve produced or facilitated nearly 100 events, recruited over two dozen LGBTQ+ people to join community boards and democratic committees, produced one of the largest protests in Northshore history and created the first LGBTQ+ krewe to parade on the Northshore. Our members are from St Tammany and beyond, representing many world views and religions, all age groups, and consists of LGBTQ+ people and allies. Together, we are building a better, more inclusive Northshore.
- Mel Inari Manuel & Jeremy JF Thompson,
Co-Founders
Queer Northshore Board of Directors
Mel Inari Manuel
Jeremy JF Thompson
.
Leyla Hekmatdoost
With immigrant parents from Canada and Iran, Leyla (she/her) grew up in Mandeville and moved to Covington after attending LSU for undergrad and grad school. Since moving to Covington, Leyla has been a public school teacher, a mother of four, a parenting and family educator at St. Tammany Parish Hospital Parenting Center, a leader in the secular homeschool community, a professional photographer, an activist for LGBTQ+ rights, and is currently the executive director of Twin Steeples, a non-profit community arts center in Ponchatoula.
Erica Radosta
Erica Radosta (she/her) is forklift-certified and was awarded employee of month multiple times during her 11 year career at Whole Foods Market. Currently she does freelance work in creative projects and manual labor, notably for a farm-to-table CSA service at a local dairy and vegetable farm. She enjoys hammering away at the ongoing rehab of her beloved home, quality time with her squad of incredible women, and standing in the yard waving at people when they go by. Erica identifies as a late-in-life queer, although her gay core memories date back to 1994: an obsession with Icebox from Little Giants and watching Michelle Pfieffer climb that ladder in Grease 2. Erica co-parents her two great kids with their loving dad. She takes seriously the opportunity to represent aspects of queer culture within the Northshore’s dominantly heteronormative parenting community.
Marc Settembrino
Marc Settembrino (they/them), Associate Professor of Sociology at Southeastern Louisiana University, tirelessly champions LGBTQIA+ inclusivity on campus since 2013. Serving as adviser for StandOUT/Lavender Lions, they mentor emerging queer and trans leaders and spearhead events like National Coming Out Day and Lavender Graduation. Outside academia, Marc's drag persona "Tuffy Love" confronts anti-trans/queer politics, hosting shows promoting queer joy and equality, fostering a healthier campus environment. Reflecting on Tuffy's impact, a student remarked, "Drag events provide inclusivity for LGBTQIA+ students." Marc views Tuffy as embodying the audacity of queerness, living life on their own terms.
Queer Northshore in the News
The battle to keep LGBTQ+books in Louisiana libraries - The Guardian
Why youth activists in Louisiana say they’ll ‘no longer stay quiet’ - PBS
Anti-Book Ban Billboard Burned in Louisiana; Fundraiser, Protest Planned - Book Riot
Teens take on anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in conservative St. Tammany - LA Illuminator