NACLIQ - ABOUT

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THE ORGANIZATION.
The North American Coalition of Lighting Industry Queers is the national hub of LIQ chapters. NACLIQ (pronounced NAY-click*) and its local sibling organizations welcomes all LGBTQIA+ people and their allies to join this safe space to discuss important issues such as workplace and hiring discrimination, income parity, harassment, etc, and to look at more lighting-centered topics from a queer perspective. NACLIQ was born out of glaring need for queer community and advocacy within the lighting world, particularly as it relates to transgender and nonbinary people. Until now, no structures existed for non-cishet lighting professionals to provide mentorship, share experiences, and support one another. Right now, NACLIQ is a very small, but with any luck it will grow quickly. If you're interested in getting involved, please contact us. Want to start your own chapter? Let's talk! NYCLIQ does not profess or seek to be a monolithic voice or the final authority on all things queer in the lighting world. It is one resource-- a place for sharing and dialogue.

THE ORGANIZATION.

The North American Coalition of Lighting Industry Queers is the national hub of *LIQ chapters. NACLIQ (pronounced NAY-click) and its local sibling organizations welcomes all LGBTQIA+ people and their allies to join this safe space to discuss important issues such as workplace and hiring discrimination, income parity, harassment, etc, and to look at more lighting-centered topics from a queer perspective.

NACLIQ was born out of glaring need for queer community and advocacy within the lighting world, particularly as it relates to transgender and nonbinary people. Until now, no structures existed for non-cishet lighting professionals to provide mentorship, share experiences, and support one another. Right now, NACLIQ is a very small, but with any luck it will grow quickly. If you're interested in getting involved, please contact us. Want to start your own chapter? Let's talk!

NYCLIQ does not profess or seek to be a monolithic voice or the final authority on all things queer in the lighting world. It is one resource-- a place for sharing and dialogue.

THE BOARD.
Alana Shepherd (she/her) - Founder and Executive Co-Chair. Now the founding principal of Intangible Light in Spokane, Washington, she has 15 years under her belt as an NYC lighting veteran, working in design, sales, and project management. She came out as a trans woman in 2020, and sought to build this organization to provide the advocacy, community, and support that she herself sought as she tried to navigate finding a job-- and then starting a business-- while in transition. She serves on several boards related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and is a regular speaker at lighting conferences. When she's not fighting for our rightful space in this world and designing lighting, she's... designing lighting. She has recently returned to theatrical lighting design after 14 years, and she's quickly making it a fun and (barely) profitable side hustle. It is her hope that together we can find a way to thrive. Sara Schonour (she/her) - Executive Co-Chair. Sara is the Vice President of Engagement and Education at Lytei, where she helps lead a team of lighting enthusiasts who tell empowered stories about light. Prior to working at Lytei, Sara founded and led the award-winning CannonDesign Lighting Studio, where she and her team delivered exceptional lighting designs to clients worldwide. Sara is highly engaged in the design community, currently serving on the executive board of the DLF-NE and the local IES board of directors in addition to her role on the executive board of NACLIQ. Sara has also served as adjunct faculty and guest lecturer for several New England lighting programs, and speaks regularly at local and national conferences on various topics surrounding Light. Sara lives with her wife in Boston, MA. Terry Jewell (he/him) - Secretary. Terry lives in Portland, Maine, and has been in specification sales in the New England area for over 10 years. In his own words: "I'm Mainer sales rep who happens to be transgender. The funny thing is that I don't often think about gender. As a kid I was in the Boy Scouts (Venturing Crew), played goalie for both girls and boys lacrosse; and have always walked between gender roles without giving it much thought. After decades of hormone issues it medically made sense to transition, my brain simply doesn't work when on estrogen!" Robby Lindstrom (he/him) - Director of Finance. Robby graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2016 with a BS in Architecture. Since graduation he has been employed at Boston Light Source as the in-house applications engineer. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Robby has an unconditional drive to provide quality service to the local design community. Now being a part of the NACLIQ he wants to make strides in the Boston market, bringing visibility and platforms to those whose voices need to be heard. Fonda Moyers (she/her) - Social Media Manager. Fonda lives in the Chicago area where she is a Sr. Product Manager for Visual Comfort & Company. She graduated from DeVry with a Bachelor of Science in Technical Management and received her OCMP from Benedictine University. She is passionate about driving business decisions to be more sensitive to our communities and empower people from diverse backgrounds.

THE BOARD.

Alana Shepherd (she/her) - Founder and Executive Co-Chair. Now the founding principal of Intangible Light in Spokane, Washington, she has 15 years under her belt as an NYC lighting veteran, working in design, sales, and project management. She came out as a trans woman in 2020, and sought to build this organization to provide the advocacy, community, and support that she herself sought as she tried to navigate finding a job-- and then starting a business-- while in transition. She serves on several boards related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and is a regular speaker at lighting conferences. When she's not fighting for our rightful space in this world and designing lighting, she's... designing lighting. She has recently returned to theatrical lighting design after 14 years, and she's quickly making it a fun and (barely) profitable side hustle. It is her hope that together we can find a way to thrive.

Sara Schonour (she/her) - Executive Co-Chair. Sara is the Vice President of Engagement and Education at Lytei, where she helps lead a team of lighting enthusiasts who tell empowered stories about light. Prior to working at Lytei, Sara founded and led the award-winning CannonDesign Lighting Studio, where she and her team delivered exceptional lighting designs to clients worldwide. Sara is highly engaged in the design community, currently serving on the executive board of the DLF-NE and the local IES board of directors in addition to her role on the executive board of NACLIQ. Sara has also served as adjunct faculty and guest lecturer for several New England lighting programs, and speaks regularly at local and national conferences on various topics surrounding Light. Sara lives with her wife in Boston, MA.

Terry Jewell (he/him) - Secretary. Terry lives in Portland, Maine, and has been in specification sales in the New England area for over 10 years. In his own words: "I'm Mainer sales rep who happens to be transgender. The funny thing is that I don't often think about gender. As a kid I was in the Boy Scouts (Venturing Crew), played goalie for both girls and boys lacrosse; and have always walked between gender roles without giving it much thought. After decades of hormone issues it medically made sense to transition, my brain simply doesn't work when on estrogen!"

Robby Lindstrom (he/him) - Director of Finance. Robby graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2016 with a BS in Architecture. Since graduation he has been employed at Boston Light Source as the in-house applications engineer. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Robby has an unconditional drive to provide quality service to the local design community. Now being a part of the NACLIQ he wants to make strides in the Boston market, bringing visibility and platforms to those whose voices need to be heard.

Fonda Moyers (she/her) - Social Media Manager. Fonda lives in the Chicago area where she is a Sr. Product Manager for Visual Comfort & Company. She graduated from DeVry with a Bachelor of Science in Technical Management and received her OCMP from Benedictine University. She is passionate about driving business decisions to be more sensitive to our communities and empower people from diverse backgrounds.

THE SITE.
This website is 100% handcrafted using skills mostly forgotten over 25 years of disuse. The lo-fi vibe is partly a choice to do something that stood out from all the Squarespace templates, and partly honest-to-goodness ineptitude. If you think you can do a better job and want to be a part of the organization, let us know.

Partner organizations: