Shows
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceJulia Cumes on Photography as a Force for Social ChangeIn this episode, host Rick Koonce interviews award-winning photojournalist Julia Cumes, whose work shines a light on marginalized communities around the world. Born and raised in apartheid-era South Africa, Julia witnessed the power of images to expose truth and inspire change. Her career has been shaped by a commitment to social justice and storytelling through the lens of her camera. Julia shares how her projects—from documenting Cape Cod's transgender community to capturing the stories of immigrants, women in India's Devadasi system, and Hawaii's cowboys—help challenge stereotypes and humanize those often unseen. Her portraits not only...
2025-10-3141 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceSafeguarding Kids Online and Offline: A Courageous Conversation with Jacob StapledonChild abuse remains one of the most urgent and under-recognized crises facing families today. In this powerful episode of Profiles in LGBTQ Courage, host Rick Koonce speaks with Jacob Stapledon, Community Engagement and Education Manager at Children s Cove, a child advocacy center on Cape Cod. Together, they shed light on the staggering reality of abuse, why LGBTQ youth are disproportionately affected, and the critical role that community members can play in protecting children. Jacob shares sobering statistics, including the fact that 90% of children are abused by someone they know, and that LGBTQ youth often face...
2025-10-0337 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceTeen Activist Bradley Forcier on Courage, Politics & PrideIn this episode of Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage, host Rick Koonce sits down with 16-year-old activist and student Bradley Forcier, whose story is both inspiring and timely. Bradley, a rising junior at Falmouth Academy, shares how coming out at age 12 sparked his passion for advocacy, community involvement, and political engagement. From leading in his school's Gender and Sexuality Alliance to starting the process of launching a local chapter of the ACLU, Bradley is already creating meaningful change. He opens up about navigating high school as a young gay man, supporting transgender friends, and his vision for...
2025-09-1932 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceWelcome to Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceHave you ever wondered what courage looks like in the LGBTQ+ community? In my podcast series, Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage, I share the powerful, authentic stories of individuals and families navigating the complex issues of sexual orientation, gender identity, self acceptance, and human love. From coming out journeys and gender transitions to parents learning how to support their children, these intimate conversations reveal the strength it takes for all of us to live and love authentically. I'm your host, Rick Koonce. With decades of experience as a journalist and interviewer, I'm here to share stories that...
2025-09-0701 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceFrom Cape Cod Roots to State Senate: Julian Cyr's StoryIn this episode of Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage, I sit down with Massachusetts State Senator Julian Cyr, who represents Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. Julian shares his powerful journey of growing up as a young gay man on the Outer Cape, finding his voice through activism, and ultimately stepping into leadership to serve his community. We talk about how his early experiences shaped his commitment to public service, the lessons he learned from the AIDS epidemic, and why authenticity is a core value in both politics and personal life. Julian also opens up about the...
2025-09-0543 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Finn Allen (Wanda Mae)Finn Allen (formerly Wanda Mae). Wanda Mae was a little girl raised in a household with an alcoholic mother, an abusive father, and two sisters. She never felt "at home" in her female body, even though at an early age she excelled at sports and was a stand-out school athlete. From the age of 4 or 5, Wanda Mae felt like a boy, not a girl. But in her childhood, she didn't have a lot of time to dwell on all that. And there was nobody to talk to about her shame, d...
2025-08-0834 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Joan and Rick FrancoliniJoan and Rick Francolini are the parents of a bisexual daughter, Renee, who's about to marry a transgender man. They're also committed social justice advocates who recently organized the first-ever Lower Cape Pride celebration on Cape Cod. Dubbed, "Unity in Community," the three-day event, a multi-generational celebration of LGBTQ+ pride, drew hundreds of people to the towns of Orleans and Brewster, Massachusetts in June 2025. Activities included a parade, an LGBTQ+ community resource fair, musical performances, and an exhibit about the history of drag. Also featured was a...
2025-07-2532 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Roger SmithThe Trump Administration's explicit animus toward transgender people is a well-documented and very public fact. Starting in his first term and now in his second, President Trump and his Administration have carried out a systematic, years-long effort to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ people. Beginning in January 2025, the Administration issued a series of executive orders specifically targeted at trans people. Trump's directives include targeting transgender students, banning trans Americans from military service, and giving federal agencies the go ahead to overtly discriminate against their trans employees. While the Administration's discrimination ag...
2025-07-1125 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Susanne BennettSusanne Bennett describes herself as a white, queer, cis-gender, able-bodied, and educated elder woman. At 78, this former college professor and retired clinical social worker also describes herself as a questioner, a doubter, and someone who's always sought to better understand herself as a sexual and spiritual person. These are just a few of the topics Susanne explores in a new memoir, Evolving: Faith, Sexuality and Aging. The book chronicles a life that's been full of unexpected twists and turns, moments of doubt and uncertainty, followed by hard-won personal clarity...
2025-06-2035 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Lindsey StrausLindsey Straus is a 73-year-old trans woman who's also the biological father of three sons -- triplets -- now in their early 40s. The story of Lindsey's transition --- from husband, devoted dad, and little league coach to trans woman, social activist, and lay minister at her church in Brewster MA --- is truly inspiring and courageous. But that transitional journey did not come easily or without pain. After more than 20 years of heterosexual marriage, Lindsey decided to transition and become a woman at the age of 50 in 2001.
2025-05-2326 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Linda & Gloria Bailey-DaviesIn the prolonged, often contentious battle for marriage equality in the United States, it can truly be said that Linda and Gloria Bailey-Davies are pioneers. Together now for over 50 years, the happily married Cape Cod couple, both former therapists, were among the seven couples who were litigants in the Massachusetts same-sex marriage case (Goodrich vs Department of Public Health) that led to the landmark legalization of same-sex marriage in the Bay State in 2004. Victory in that case helped create momentum for the eventual legalization of same-sex marriage throughout the U.S. in June of 2015.
2024-11-1547 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Avery & SarahSarah Messeck and Avery Condon are a young couple very much in love. The two met at a Cape Cod Pride event in June 2022 and soon afterwards began dating. Eventually they plan to marry. Sarah, an animal welfare advocate and horse riding enthusiast, identifies as a cisgender woman and uses the pronouns she and her. In the past, she had relationships with people of different genders. Avery, who's passionate about environmental and social justice issues, and was previously married to a woman, today identifies as transgender and non-binary and uses they and them...
2024-08-0241 min
The Startup Junkies Podcast389: The App that Really Pays to UseSummary In this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Daniel Koonce and Jeff Amerine are joined by Rick West, chairman and co-founder of Field Agent, a company revolutionizing B2B retail solutions by offering an on-demand marketplace with efficient, cost-effective tools for retail professionals to evaluate in-store conditions, drive sales, understand shoppers, and generate ratings and reviews. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and affordable, allowing users to deploy solutions quickly. As an all-in-one retail toolkit, every solution in the Field Agent Marketplace can be launched with just a few clicks, in just a few minutes, for...
2024-07-2932 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Dr. Jane FleishmanDr. Jane Fleishman is an accomplished sexuality educator, writer, program developer, and researcher. In 2016, at the age of 62, she received her doctorate in Human Sexuality from the Widener University Center for Human Sexuality Studies after a successful career as a consultant for a large public mental health system. In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Fleishman delves deeply into the challenges LGBTQ+ seniors face as they navigate the passages of advancing age, and must deal with issues of health and wellness, self-esteem, companionship and intimacy, and continued sexual vitality and identity.
2024-05-1038 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Mayor Brett SmileyBrett Smiley is the married, gay mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, the first in the city's 400-year history. Elected to office in 2022 on his second try for the job, Smiley got his start in Rhode Island politics years before, serving as Chief Operating Officer for Providence and Director of Administration for the Ocean State, as well as Chief of Staff to former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo. In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Brett talks about coming out as a gay man, and about being a political science and public policy nerd...
2024-04-1235 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Rick MillerRick Miller is a psychotherapist who works extensively with gay men. Gay himself, he has pioneered the use of mind-body experiential therapy to assist gay men, and other members of the LGBTQ+ community, in dealing with early life trauma. Through doing such work, Rick has helped many in the community discover inner strength, build personal resiliency, embrace self-love, and build strong and healthy relationships with others. In this thought-provoking interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Rick talks about where his motivation to do this work comes from ... about the challenges gay men...
2024-03-1537 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Mara BettiMara Betti is a successful, 50-something architect, working for one of the leading architectural firms in Boston. She's also a transwoman and biological father of two sons, ages 18 and 22. In this deeply personal interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Mara talks emotionally about coming out and accepting herself as trans; a journey that has taken her decades, and which has put tremendous strain on her heterosexual marriage to her wife – whom she met in college and still describes as "my best friend." She talks about the dark times she's li...
2023-08-1840 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Jake WanamakerAssigned female at birth, Jake Wanamaker is a 2023 graduate of Nauset High School on Cape Cod who today identifies as a Transman. For Jake, the awareness that he was born into a body of the wrong-gender for him came early, when he was only a few years old. But he didn't have the knowledge or vocabulary with which to understand the feelings and emotions deep within him. So, he went online, at an early age, to learn more about the Transgender world and later found help from both a sensitive guidance counselor and a gifted therapist – wh...
2023-08-0439 minProfiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Ann BurkeAnn Burke is a registered nurse and long-time advocate for Transgender people who live on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard. She serves as a board member of the Cape and Islands Transgender Resource Fund, and also acts as a counselor and facilitator of Transgender social support meetings, held twice monthly on he Cape, under the auspices of Fenway Health of Boston. In this insightful interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Ann, who is NOT Transgender herself, explains why she took on a role as a committed advocate for Transgender people.
2023-06-3037 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Rikki BatesRikki Bates is a rock and roll drummer who has struggled much of her life with gender dysphoria. For years, like many Transgender people, she lived with deep depression, and a lack of adequate employment. Then, she managed to get gender reassignment surgery which changed her life. In the process, she also brought about precedent-setting changes in how Transgender health care is provided to people in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In this fascinating and wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Rikki describes the bullying she encountered as a kid, the internal psychological confusion that sh...
2023-06-1642 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Zooey ZephyrTransgender activist and first-time state legislator Zooey Zephyr made national headlines in April 2023 when she spoke out in support of Transgender rights in the Montana state legislature and was banished from legislative debate on the topic as a result. Courageous leadership is often defined by four compelling traits: Confidence in oneself, commitment to one's values and beliefs, the ability to persist, and a warrior spirit! By those metrics, Transgender activist and first-time state legislator Zooey Zephyr is a rare leader with few peers in the social justice arena. The first-ever...
2023-06-0241 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Felice CohenAt the age of 23, Felice Cohen was, like many other college graduates, hesitant about entering the real world, and at the same time, uncertain about her sexuality. Focused on landing her first job as a writer, falling in love was the last thing on Felice's mind. But fall in love she did -- with her boss, Sarah, a woman 34 years older than she. It was a relationship that lasted 9 years. And for Felice, it was the first taste of true love and deep intimacy. But the affair took place in secrecy and ultimately...
2022-10-0730 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Jere MahaffeyJere Mahaffey is a 35-year-old former Evangelical Christian. He's also an out, married gay/bisexual man who has retained many of the tenets of his early Christian faith, while leaving other elements of evangelical doctrine behind him. As an adolescent, Jere was drawn initially to girls, and even had girlfriends while he was in junior high school. But eventually he discovered he found boys attractive as well. Today, he and his partner, Jesse, have been together for nine years and married for four. In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape...
2022-09-0239 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Connor RyanConnor Ryan is an 18-year-old transgender male and 2022 graduate of Bourne High School in Bourne, MA. He's also one of three recipients of the 2022 Anne Toran scholarship, an award given annually by PFLAG Cape Cod to high school seniors from the Cape in recognition of their courage and work on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights. In this insightful interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Connor talks about the time during his high school career when he boldly confronted a school committee member at a school board meeting about her transphobic remarks on social...
2022-08-1925 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Lilith RoseLilith Rose is a twenty-something individual who identifies as transgender and non-binary. At the time of this interview, they had also just been named executive director of PFLAG San Francisco. Lilith grew up in what she describes as a toxic home environment. Born anatomically male, they first came out as gay before eventually discovering they are transgender. Today, Lilith is committed to educating others about the LGBTQ+ world. A professional speaker and blogger, they speak frequently on topics of social justice and teenage mental illness before audiences of educators, students, faith leaders, and...
2022-06-2441 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Jeff MackIn October 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally attacked and tied to a fence outside of Laramie, Wyoming. Five days later he died of deep wounds inflicted in one of the most vicious anti-gay attacks in American history. In this wide-ranging interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Jeff Mack, a personal friend of Matt's and today the Executive Vice President of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, talks movingly about Matt, his life, and the Foundation started by his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, just months after Matt's gruesome death.
2022-05-1336 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Alex HaglerAlex Hagler is a Latin and history teacher at a prestigious private school outside Boston. They're also the recent co-founder of their school's first Gay Straight Alliance. GSA's (also known as Genders & Sexualities Alliances) operate in many school systems across the country today. As clubs, they're intended to serve as safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in middle schools and high schools. Increasingly, however, they're also serving as catalysts for social, racial, and gender justice. In this interview, conducted just after they founded their school's GSA Chapter, Alex talks with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick...
2022-04-2237 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Kimberly Brooks MazellaImagine being in a traditional heterosexual marriage for many years and then discovering that your husband or wife is gay or lesbian. What would you think? How would you react? What would you do? And where would you go to get help and find understanding in dealing with your situation? In the late 1980s, Kimberly Brooks Mazella found herself in this very situation, after being married to her husband Rob for less than three years. Today, she is a McLean, VA-based counselor and therapist who specializes in working with individuals...
2022-03-1143 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Lady Di"Vernon Diannah Porter" is probably not a name you readily recognize. But that's because he's much better known by his stage name and alter ego, "Lady Di", host of the popular Friday evening radio show, Leggs Up and Dancing, on WOMR-FM in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Lady Di has been a popular fixture at WOMR for the last 22 years. Each week, she hosts her show from her home in Sandwich, MA, playing music -- mostly from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, -- all the while presiding over a one-person house party that she enthusiastically invites all her...
2022-02-2534 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Jane Martin & Helen MaloneSome life partners first spot each other from across a crowded room. But not Helen Malone. With a piece of birthday cake in hand, she literally bumped into her future wife, Jane Martin from behind, at a birthday party for a mutual friend back in 2002. From the moment they met, the lives of both women changed rapidly. And while their lives today on Cape Cod -- with three dogs – seems like the picture of domestic bliss, their back stories include marriages by both women to former husbands... three kids of Helen's – one by arti...
2022-02-1139 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Rev. Dr. Joan BeilsteinDr. Joan Beilstein is a Lesbian Episcopal Priest, and Rector of the Church of the Ascension in Silver Spring MD. Today, though a senior, well-respected pastor in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC, there was a time when Joan was rejected by her own priest for being gay. And even after being ordained a priest herself in 1994, Joan struggled to find employment, because no one wanted to hire an openly lesbian priest. In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Joan looks back on a storied career that has spanned nearly 30 years. And she talks...
2022-01-2835 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceHollis L.Hollis L. is a 25-year-old individual who identifies as both non-binary and transmasculine. That means that, though assigned a designation of female at birth, they don't fully identify with being a person of either gender. But, in Hollis' case, it does mean they tend to embrace more of a "masculine" identity than a feminine one. In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, the two explore the issue of gender identity in detail. As the interview reveals, agreeing on definitions of what constitutes "masculine" and "feminine" can be a struggle, and open to broad, subjective...
2022-01-1432 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with David Bermudez & Bob IsadoreDavid Bermudez and Bob Isadore are a same-sex couple who have been together for 47 years. David, a veteran of the Stonewall uprising of 1969, met Bob, in 1974, when the two were both living and working in New York City. At the time, David was a Manhattan-based interior designer. Bob, was an assistant buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue who hailed from Queens. As they tell PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce in this insightful, wide-ranging interview, their relationship began with a bounced check, and a chance glance by David of Bob in a New York City...
2021-09-2440 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceDavid Bermudez: Letter from President Barack ObamaDavid Bermudez's work on behalf of gay rights has continued since the days of the Stonewall uprising. Listen, as he tells PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, about the letter he received in the mail one day, acknowledging his decades of work on behalf of all gay and lesbian Americans. Please click the like button above and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! For more information, visit the PFLAG Cape Cod website: https://www.pflagcapecod.org/podcasts.html © 2021 PFLAG Cape Cod
2021-09-2402 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with David BermudezIn the history of the gay rights movement, there are few moments as pivotal as the Stonewall uprising – a night in June 1969, when, confronted by a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, members of the gay and lesbian communities fought back against police injustice. The rebellion that ensued that night – and on subsequent nights at the Stonewall – eventually helped spark the gay rights movement. It set in motion a social justice juggernaut that would see the nullification of same-sex sodomy laws by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003, and the legalization of same-sex marria...
2021-06-2547 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Ryan R.Ryan R. is a 24-year-old non-binary lesbian. In Ryan's case, that means that though they are lesbian and like to date women, they don't identify with being a girl, a woman, or, with the attributes of traditional femininity. It was a discovery that Ryan made after dating boys in high school, faking physical attraction to males at the time, and then discovering their true gender identity in college and afterwards. "I don't feel like the words girl or woman describe me," Ryan tells PFLAG's Rick Koonce in this wide-ranging interview. Ryan goes on to say...
2021-05-2139 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Nell FieldsNell Fields is a born-again Christian, social justice advocate, and a happily married lesbian who's been with her wife Sarah, a lawyer, for over 20 years. She's also the minister of Waquoit Congregational church in East Falmouth, MA. The youngest of five daughters whose father was a career Army officer, Nell initially pursued a career in business and journalism. But, at a pivotal point in her early professional life, when living in the closet was exacting a heavy personal toll, Nell says she felt God's call to enter the ministry. As she tells PFLAG Cape Cod's...
2021-05-0731 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Deer SullivanBisexuality... Even among members of the LGBTQ+ community it's a concept and reality that often is not fully understood – or appreciated. As a result, bisexuals sometimes feel marginalized and rejected, even among people who identify as members of other sexual minorities. And that means being bisexual can be a lonely and misunderstood place to be. So says Deer Sullivan, a bisexual educator and counselor who, over the years, has had long-term relationships with both women and men. In this revealing interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Deer talks about the realities of being bisexual in...
2021-04-2334 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Dr. Maureen OsborneDr. Maureen Osborne is a psychologist and gender therapist who has spent over two decades serving the needs of transgender clients. In this fascinating interview with PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce, Maureen talks, in depth, about her work with a variety of transgender men and women over the years. She describes the human anguish, confusion, and shame transgender people often experience, when they feel trapped in bodies that feel alien to them. And, she offers both compassion and hope to anyone who either thinks they might be transgender, or who has embarked upon the difficult...
2021-04-0937 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Ali SandsAli Sands is an author and professional speaker who writes and speaks frequently on the topics of love, relationships, intimacy, and gender expression and identity. They're topics she knows a lot about. Married for 23 years to a straight man, and mother of two children, in 2002 Ali began a relationship with a new partner, who, at the time, inhabited a physically female body, but who soon told Ali that they were, in fact, transgender. Thereafter began an epic 10-year journey, as Ali accompanied her partner, who took the male name "Rhys," as he embarked on the emotionally and...
2021-03-2646 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview with Dirk CorreiaDirk Correia is a twenty-something transgender male who identifies as nonbinary -- meaning that they don't identify with being either entirely male or female, as society typically understands those terms. As Dirk explains to PFLAG Cape Cod's Rick Koonce in this illuminating interview, their journey to accepting themselves as nonbinary has been a long, and at times, difficult process -- one that has required courage, grit, and a steadfast resolve and self-reliance to be something that society today doesn't yet fully understand, appreciate or embrace. For more information, visit the PFLAG Cape Cod website: https...
2021-03-1233 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceLori DuronShe calls herself "a fierce Mama bear" when it comes to safeguarding the rights and safety of her two boys. So says Lori Duron, author of Raising My Rainbow, a book that chronicles her family's adventures raising a gender creative child named C.J., a boy who, from the age of just two and a half, displayed clues that he wasn't like other kids. While Duron's older son, Chase, grew up as a sports-playing boy's boy, even as a small child, C.J. enjoyed playing with Barbie dolls, and twirling around in a pink sparkly tutu. As...
2021-02-2644 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceElias Lieberman: AllyRabbi Elias Lieberman has been Rabbi of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation on Cape Cod since 1990. In that time, he's been a steadfast champion of LGBTQ rights, signing on early to support same-sex marriage when it first became law in Massachusetts, and later, becoming an outspoken advocate of transgender rights as well. His congregation also served as the host location for meetings of PFLAG Cape Cod for many years. For Rabbi Lieberman, social justice efforts are all in a day's work, and in keeping with Reform Judaism's focus on "repairing the world through a commitment to social justice." A concept...
2021-02-1229 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceJoanne Hush: MotherYou might call Joanne Hush a social pioneer. It's probably not a label she would ascribe to herself. But, Joanne is the mother of a gay son and a lesbian daughter, both of whom came out to her (and her husband Paul) decades ago –- in the 1980s and early 90s -- when having openly gay or lesbian children was far more controversial and uncommon than it is today. Joanne learned her son was gay in the late 1980s, at the peak of the AIDS epidemic. Back then, there wasn't a good public understanding of how the di...
2021-01-2927 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceAlex: Trans Man36-year-old Alex Smith knew, from an early age, that he was different. But, as a child, he didn't have the vocabulary to describe his feelings, or the psychological maturity to understand the emotions that stirred in him. Born female, it would be years before he realized he was, in fact, transgender. In this revealing interview with interviewer and PFLAG - Cape Cod member Rick Koonce, Alex describes his decades-long journey in search of himself, a journey that was both colorful and insightful, affirming and sometimes mind-blowing, but which ultimately laid the foundation for Alex's happy life today. ...
2021-01-1528 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceSusan Smith: ParentSusan Smith is the mother of a 36-year-old transgender son who she raised with her husband, Roger, on a rural Pennsylvania farm. Back in the 1980s and 90s, sexuality wasn't a topic that even most progressive, open-minded parents eagerly discussed with their kids. But from an early age, Susan realized that something was going on with her daughter. The event became a turning point in Susan's dawning awareness that her daughter was transgender. In this touching interview with PFLAG's Rick Koonce, Susan talks about how she came to discover that her child was transgender, how it impacted...
2021-01-0134 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceInterview Removed by Request | Ep #5February 1, 2025 Given the current political environment in the United States and the newly announced anti-trans policies of the U.S. Administration, the individual previously profiled in this interview requested that their story be deleted from the PFLAG Cape Cod website because of personal safety concerns. © 2020 - 2025 PFLAG Cape Cod
2020-12-1800 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceRobyn KeatingRobyn Keating is a 26-year-old transgender woman. Born into a male body, she knew, from an early age, that she didn't identify with boys, but did identify with being a girl. While her mother (Dina) was always supportive of her being whoever she felt herself to be, Robyn was afraid of her father. Consequently, she remained in the closet for years, until, one autumn day, in 2017, at the age of 23, she told her mother she was transgender. From there, mother and daughter began a journey together. Today, Robyn thinks of her mother as "my best friend." And...
2020-12-0440 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceDina GuarinoWhen you have a child who comes out as transgender, it can be an emotional rollercoaster to deal with. You can also feel like nobody in the world understands what you're dealing with. So says Dina G. of Cape Cod. In 2017, Dina's 23-year-old son shared with her that he was, in fact, a woman. Since that time, both Dina and her daughter, Robyn have been on a journey of exploration, discovery, and acceptance together. At times, that journey has been a difficult one for Dina, as she tells PFLAG's Rick Koonce in this interview. A parent who...
2020-11-1927 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptancePaula DegreeImagine being in your mid-sixties, married (for the second time) and discovering you're transgender! The life of Paula Degree is a compelling story of courage, self-exploration, long sought answers, and fearless personal honesty. Married twice and the parent of three children, Paula says the day she realized, in her therapist's office, that she was transgender was a life epiphany, and a moment that FINALLY set her free. In this interview with PFLAG's Rick Koonce, she describes a life full of pain, confusion, unresolved feelings, and unusual turns. But also insights that led her to discover...
2020-11-0529 min
Profiles in LGBTQ+ Courage: Real Stories of Identity & AcceptanceJoey MorissetCourage is a quality we usually associate with age, wisdom, and years of lived experience. But what if you're just 18 years old, full of vibrant enthusiasm and energy, and a young gay man who's already found his voice when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights? You'd be describing Joey Morisset, a young gay man from Cape Cod who is already a profile in LGBTQ+ courage, and the First Place Winner of The 2020 Anne Toran Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded annually by PFLAG -- Cape Cod to a graduating high school senior from the Cape, for demonstrating support and...
2020-10-2125 minA Pirate's Life for Me!"Funky" Rick Latham '77"Funky" Rick Latham '77, world-renowned drummer and percussion expert. In honor of RIVALRY WEEKEND, the second half of this week's show featured snippets of interviews from guests of past shows, including Jeff Blake, Earnest Byner, Tony Collins, Carl Davis, Ben Dixon, Jeff Kerr, George Koonce, and Ed Watkins. Originally aired October 20, 2007.
2007-11-0200 min