ABOUT US
devoted to educating people of all ages about the full range of diversity
Family Diversity Projects is a non-profit organization devoted to helping eliminate prejudice, stereotyping, bullying, and harassment of people who are discriminated against due to sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, race, national origin, religion, and disabilities of all kinds. We tell the stories of real people presented in our eight award-winning traveling photo-text exhibits — including Love Makes a Family, Building Bridges, Of Many Colors, Authentic Selves, In Our Family, The Road to Freedom, Nothing to Hide, and We Have Faith. These shows have toured communities nationwide in schools (K-12), colleges, houses of worship, libraries, workplaces, museums, corporate headquarters, conferences, and community gatherings. Now, we are creating online exhibits to meet this moment.
In 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic showed us how vulnerable we are, and the heated political climate has shown us how fragile democracy can be. The bullying rhetoric put forward by the Trump administration created an even more urgent need for education, like ours, that celebrates diversity. So at this critical moment in American history, we are redoubling our efforts to reach children, teens, and adults.
As public gatherings remain difficult, the manner in which we’ve traditionally served our mission — sending photo-text exhibits to schools, colleges, houses of worship, libraries, workplaces — has become less feasible at the very moment our work is becoming ever more vital.
With your help, we can make the most of this challenging time. We can reach an infinitely larger audience by converting our work into online exhibits and curriculum on a newly reimagined website. Family Diversity Projects and the stories we tell can facilitate important discussion in homes and online classrooms, at zoom "openings," and on social media.
You can be a part of Family Diversity Projects' pivotal moment. Please contact us to host a virtual exhibit, donate what you can, and share this important initiative with those you love.
Peggy Gillespie
Peggy Gillespie is the Co-Founder/Director of Family Diversity Projects. She is the Editor-in-Chief of all of Family Diversity Project’s exhibits and books including Love Makes a Family: Portraits of LGBT People and their Families. Ms. Gillespie has worked as a freelance journalist for the past thirty-five years and written major feature articles for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine and many other magazines. In addition she is the co-author of Less Stress (Signet) and the autobiography of renowned choreographer/dancer Bill T. Jones entitled Last Night on Earth (Pantheon). A Smith College graduate and a certified social worker, Peggy was the first Assistant Director of Jon Kabat Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at UMass Medical Center.
Gigi Kaeser
Gigi Kaeser is an early childhood educator and photographer. She is Co-Founder/Director of Family Diversity Projects and the photographer for all of their projects. She has had photographs published in Teaching Tolerance Magazine, the NAMI Advocate, Rethinking Schools, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe among others.
Jozeppi A. Morelli
Jozeppi A. Morelli is a Transgender queer man who is a retired law enforcement officer/911 World Trade Center First Responder from New York City. In his retirement he has found a second career being a Gender Educator. Author and Public Speaker, Jozeppi is one of the authors in the new book and exhibit: Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People created by Peggy Gillespie of Family Diversity Projects and published by Skinner House Books. He is the Director of LGBTQIA2S+ Outreach and Programming for Family Diversity Projects. He has been promoting the Authentic Selves Photo Exhibit and Book across the country on radio shows, podcasts, and at in-person events.
Our Supporters
Thank you to
the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation
for their generous grants, and to our present and past donors, including:
The Annie E. Casey Foundation • The AEC Trust • The Arcus Foundation • A.L. Mailman Foundation • Target • Massachusetts Cultural Council • The Gill Foundation • The Icarus Foundation • The Tsunami Foundation • The Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation • The Funding Exchange • The Chicago Resource Center • The Frances R. Dewing Foundation • The MENTOR Network Charitable Foundation • The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) • The Patrick-Murray Inaugural Committee •
And Many Generous Individual Donors
Ambassadors of Diversity and Inclusion
Thank You to Our Major Donors :
Nancy Poor
Lorna and Dale Peterson
Micky McKinley
Emmy Clausing
Margery Dimond
Robert E. Kohler Jr.
Margaret Bullitt-Jonas and Robert A. Jonas
William Baird
Linda Eichengreen & Doug Beattie
Dilys Tosteson Garcia & Lola Jackson
Mary Heney & Karen Clay
Emmy Howe & Aimee Gelnaw
Kristin O’Connell & Barry O’Connell
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Az
James Underberg
Anonymous
We’ve been everywhere.
Our exhibits have appeared in Thousands of venues including the following (partial list):
Schools: National Cathedral School • Bank Street • Greenwich Academy • Holton-Arms • Green Acres School • Monson High School, MA • King Low Heywood Thomas School • Marin County Country Day • Multicultural Public Magnet School, CT • Amherst, MA public schools K-12 • P.S. 87 in New York City • Shady Hill • Wellesley Middle School • Nightingale-Bamford • Phillips Exeter Academy • Little Red Schoolhouse • Bank Street • Waynflete • Shipley • Brooklyn Friends School • Lagunitis, CA school district • Ethical Culture • St. Luke’s • Stoneridge Children’s Montessori School • Farragut Public Middle School • Fieldston (upper and lower) • Chapin • Bullis • Brearley • Boston Latin • Choate Rosemary Hall • Collegiate • Concord Academy • Dalton • Deerfield Academy • East Granby CT. High School • Emma Willard • Fenn • Hotchkiss • Horace Mann • Latin School of Chicago • Lehigh Valley Charter High School for Arts • Lincoln/Sudbury High School • Little Rock Central High School • Madeira • McQuaid Catholic High School • Pingry • University of Chicago Lab School • Hosack Elementary School, PA
Colleges: Auburn University • Brown University • Duke • Purdue • Seattle Community College • Smith • University of California (many campuses) • University of Illinois (many campuses) • University of Wisconsin (many campuses) • Emory University • Mt Holyoke • Princeton • Mt Holyoke • Vassar • Wesleyan • University of Denver • Greenfield Community College • Penn State (many campuses) • University of North Carolina (many campuses) • Yale • Wheaton • Central Connecticut State University • American University • Arizona State University • Amherst • Hampshire • Bard • Berea • Bennington • Boston College • Bowdoin • Boston University • Brandeis • Bowling Green • Brooklyn College • Bryn Mawr • Bucknell • CalTech • Carleton • Carnegie Mellon • Case Western Reserve • Central Connecticut State • Colgate • City College of New York • Colorado State • Columbia • Dartmouth • Eastern Michigan University • Georgia Tech • Guilford • Haverford • Hofstra • SUNY Oneonta • Swarthmore • Texas A & M
Houses of Worship and Seminaries: Hundreds of houses of worship and seminaries of all denominations • Pacific School of Religion • Union Theological Seminary, NY • National and Regional Conventions: Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Unitarian Universalist, United Methodist, More Light Presbyterians, Believe Out Loud • St. Luke’s in the Fields (Episcopal) • Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, MD • City of Refuge (United Church of Christ) • Glide Memorial Church (United Methodist)
Corporations/Workplaces: Mayo Clinic • Amgen Corporation • Apple • Bank of America • Chubb Insurance • DaimlerChrysler • Ford Motor Company • Google • Kraft Foods • IBM • Lockheed-Martin • Lucent Technologies • Microsoft Corporation • Time Magazine • Pepsico
Museums: Montclair Art Museum • Tucson Children’s Museum • San Bernadino County Museum • Florida Holocaust Museum • Holyoke Children’s Museum • Sloan Museum of History
Mental Health Programs: Rockland Psychiatric Center • Devereux • Fountain House • Louisiana State House Mental Health • Association of South Carolina • NAMI Conference • Newton-Wellesley Hospital
See what people are saying about Family Diversity Projects
General Advisory Board (Partial List)
Those listed below have served or are serving in an advisory capacity on one or more FDP projects.
Dr. Michael Adee, Founder and Former Ex. Director, More Light Presbyterians, Director, Global LGBT Faith Project of the Horizons Foundation
Macky Alston, Film Director of Love Free or Die, about Bishop Eugene Robinson
Virginia Casper, Former Director, Infant and Family Development Programs, Bank Street College of Education
Rev. Dr. Patrick Cheng, Episcopal Divinity School, author Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology
Kate Clinton, Comedian
Margery Dimond, educator and activist for LGBTQ+ rights
Bishop Yvette Flunder, City of Refuge Church, Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
Dr. Frederick Frese, Board member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
Rabbi Steve Greenberg, Director of Diversity Project at the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
Rev. Darlene Garner, co-founder of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays
Rodney Glasgow, Educator, Head of Sandy Springs Friends School, President of The Glasgow Group, and co-chair of the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference
Dr. Sharon Groves, Former Religion and Faith Director, Human Rights Campaign
Rev. Candy Holmes, Former Public Policy Minister for Marriage Equality for the Metropolitan Community Churches
Kay Redfield Jamison Ph.D, Professor, Professor and Co-Director, Mood Disorders Center at Johns Hopkins University. Author, An Unquiet Mind
Kevin Jennings, Founder and Former Executive Director, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educators Network (GLSEN), Executive Director of Lambda Legal
Bill T. Jones, Choreographer/Director, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Rev. Harry Knox, President and CEO, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Joy Ladin, Professor, Yeshiva University, Author: Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders
The Rev. Canon Mally Lloyd, CEO, MA Episcopal Diocese
April Martin, New York, NY, Author, Lesbian and Gay Parenting Handbook
Rev. Irene Monroe, Theologian, scholar, author
Jay Neugeboren, Author, Imagining Robert and Transforming Madness
Lesléa Newman, Northampton, MA, Author: Heather Has Two Mommies
Sonia Nieto, Ph.D, Amherst, MA, Author: Affirming Diversity
The Very Rev. Katherine H. Ragsdale, President and Dean, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA
Rev. Jane Spahr, Presbyterian minister and activist
Lesley Stahl, New York, NY, News Correspondent, 60 Minutes
Lynn Sullivan, Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the Yale Divinity School, Yale University
Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, Faith Work Director, Institute for Welcoming Resources, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Rev. Dr. Christine Wiley and Rev. Dr. Dennis Wiley, Co-Pastors, Covenant Baptist UCC Church, Washington, D.C.