Kiebpoli Calnek
They/All

"Working with TMI Project feels like divine guidance. It is humbling to have the opportunity to engage with brave participants, helping them express their true stories. This crucial work enriches the spirit of the performer with a platform for their truth and provides a unique window of reflection for the viewer."

Kiebpoli Calnek, a non-binary queer Black creative from NYC/Lenapehoking, has generated nuanced performances and creative direction seeped in poetic somatic elements for over two decades. Their social enterprise, Black*Acrobat, produces interdisciplinary programming sharing stories of, for, and with fringe communities, celebrating authentic visions and viewpoints through research, access, and collaboration. They were covered in Essence and contributed, “How It Feels… To Be An Aerial Acrobat” to Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine. While living out West, Kiebpoli nurtured film, stage, and literary relationships and in 2018, the concept of Queer & Trans Love Stories (“cuties”) was born at a writing residency in New Mexico’s Peñasco mountains. Kiebpoli’s works received generous funding and support from Elizabeth Streb, Astraea Foundation, Asian Arts Initiative, and The New York Foundation for the Arts. They are a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, SAG-AFTRA, and Actors’ Equity Association. kiebpoli.com

Raine Grayson
He/Him/His

"TMI Project does the exact kind of work that the world needs. From the moment I learned about them I wanted to contribute to the way they spread outstanding courage, community, and kindness. TMI Project makes the world a more honest, open place and I am honored to be given the chance to help foster and facilitate their mission."

Raine Grayson is a multi-genre writer whose work focuses on exploring and uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community. He specializes in social action theatre and also dabbles in academic essays and creative non-fiction. He founded “Queeries Blog” – a space for queer artists to publish their work freely. He’s worked with The TMI Project before in conjunction with the Trevor Project for “Life Lines: Queer Stories Of Survival”. He’s spoken his suicide survival story on nationally streaming platforms for Trevor Live in support of their suicide prevention chat line. His nonfiction work can be found featured at Queeries Blog, Go Magazine, The Paragon Press, Weasel Press, and soon So Say We All’s magazine “The Whole Alphabet”. His playwriting has been featured by The Playwriting Collective, The Tank, NY Madness, KIT Theatre, The Rosendale Theatre, and Virtual Theatre Collaboration. He is a recipient of the SUNY Thayer Fellowship and Patricia Kerr Ross Award for his playwriting, as well as being recognized as a runner-up for the The Playwriting Collective's Ball Grant. If you’d like to queer up your timeline, find him on social media @rainerpism.

Erik Harris
He/Him/His

"As a Black trans man, I know I have been lucky to come of age in environments that valued my input and allowed me to thrive, but that is not the reality for so many other people like me. When I heard about TMI Project's Black Trans Stories Matter, I knew I had to get involved because my community has so many powerful folks and stories that have yet to be heard."

Erik Harris is a proud Black, queer, trans man from North Carolina who recently moved up to New York to become the Program Assistant at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center. Before coming to the Center, Erik was a high school English teacher in Nashville, Tennessee where he was one of the founding advisors of the SafeZone, a club for LGBTQ teens and allies to explore their identities and advocate for their needs in the school. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Race & Ethnicity Studies from Salem College as well as a Master of Arts degree in History from UNC-Greensboro. All these experiences, in addition to his own lived experience, shaped his long-standing passion for social justice and equity work.
When he isn’t working, Erik enjoys hiking, playing video games, cooking, and practicing guitar. He spends most of his days hanging out with his cat, Tux.

Jonathan Gonzalez
He/Him/His

"Joining TMI Project was a great opportunity to push my comfort regarding group facilitation. It was also a way for me to share a story that I've have always had inside but been too afraid to share. Finally and most profoundly, it is a way for me to practice and improve my ability to deeply listen to others as they share their stories."

Jonathan was born in Oaxaca, Mexico to a Mexican father and Puerto Rican Mother. He is the youngest of 4 boys. Soon after being born he and his family moved to Southern California and lived there for 11years. After many family struggles with gangs, drugs, violence and the prison system his family picked up and moved east to New York State. While this was a chance to get a better education in a better funded school district it was also a culture shock as they moved to a mostly upper class white community in upstate NY. It took many years to acknowledge his identity including that which was also not shared or well understood by his parents due to the effects of hundreds of years of colonization. This was compounded by the effect that the new east coast environment and community had on his awareness of his identity. Jonathan now identifies as a proud Brown man with indigenous Taino(maternal), Chinanteco(paternal) and African ancestry, a mama's boy, a spiritual nature lover and an environmental and social justice advocate who has has been married to his partner Daisha for 9 years.