EVAN CLARK

Evan was previously Chair of the Secular Student Alliance Board of Directors, co-founder of the Humanist Community of Ventura County, co-host of the Humanist Experience podcast, Outreach Director for the James Woods for Congress campaign, and founder of Spectrum Experience LLC.

As a student leader, Evan was the founder and president of the Secular Student Alliance at California Lutheran University and was also elected as the university’s first openly atheist student body president.

VANESSA GOMEZ BRAKE (Board Member since 2021) is the Associate Dean of Religious & Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California. She is the first humanist chaplain to serve in this capacity at any American university. In her role, she works to support and promote university religious and spiritual life broadly conceived, and helps oversee more than 90 student religious groups and 50 religious directors on campus. She also serves as an advisor to the USC Interfaith Council and the Secular Student Fellowship.

Previously, Vanessa worked at Stanford University’s Office for Religious Life, where she led campus programming and worked closely with student-led religious groups. At Stanford, she oversaw all programs at the historic Stanford Memorial Church and CIRCLE: Center for Inter-Religious Community, Learning, and Experiences, and played a supporting role at the Windhover Contemplative Center.

As an accomplished Filipino folk dancer and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa has performed at the White House and Carnegie Hall for Filipino American History Month celebrations. Her folk artistry is an extension of her interfaith work, as her performances showcase the diverse traditions, rituals, and beliefs of Muslim, Christian, and indigenous peoples of the Philippines.

LUCIANO JOSHUA GONZALEZ-VEGA (Board Member since 2025) is a writer and social media strategist living in Greensboro, North Carolina. They were born in Fort Liberty, and raised in Latin America by a veteran and her soldier spouse, and lived throughout South and Central America as well as the American Bible Belt. They attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and earned a bachelor’s degree in history before earning a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies from the same institution during the height of COVID-19. In their professional career they have worked as a journalist, writing for magazines and publications like LatinoRebels, The Humanist, The Carolinian, Patheos, OnlySky, The News and Record, and have spoken at various conferences as well as run an American English language publication for expatriates to Honduras known as The Honduras Report from 2013-2018. They are also a professional social media strategist and have worked for various non-profits such as the American Atheists and the American Humanist Association. They seek to help publications and organizations implement clever social media strategies and to help people discuss various topics related to humanism with precision, wit, and compassion.

CANDACE R.M. GORHAM, LCMHCS (Board Member since 2021) is the President of the American Humanist Association and a licensed professional mental health counselor. She is a former ordained minister turned atheist-humanist activist, researcher, and writer on issues related to race, religion, and mental health.

In 2003, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. She has taught on all grade levels from elementary through college. She taught middle school English for 2 years in Bermuda, where her students had the highest end-of-year test scores on the entire island. In 2008, Candace earned a masters degree in mental health counseling from Wake Forest University. As a counselor, she has served in many different levels of care, from in-home therapy to residential. She has been the clinical director of an all-boys group home, regional manager for a community mental health agency, and a licensure supervisor. True to her education background, Candace currently works part time as a practitioner instructor for the counseling masters program at Wake Forest University. She also works as a behavioral health and substance use utilization manager for one of the country’s largest insurance companies. Candace continues her pursuit of learning as she is also working on an MBA at University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Candace got her start in the secular community after writing The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women are Walking Out on Religion, and Others Should, Too. This book is the first in-depth look at the plight of black American women who have shed harmful religious beliefs. Candace is also a contributor to Women Versus Religion: The Case Against Faith—and for Freedom. Her essay explores the negative impact of religion on women, especially in regard to mental health. Candace’s latest book, On Death, Dying, and Disbelief, came to be after she suffered a devastating loss and searched for secular grief-management resources. Candace has also written a host of articles for magazines and online publications.

Candace first worked with the American Humanist Association as a member of the organization’s Black Humanist Alliance. She joined the board in 2021 and served as Vice President prior to becoming president in 2024. Candace also serves the secular community as a member of The Secular Therapist Project, a member of The Clergy Project, and a singer in Godless Gospel, a project of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

ABBY HAFER (Board Member since 2021) is the Secretary of the American Humanist Association. She is a biologist, educator, writer, public speaker, and professional debunker. Dr. Hafer has a doctorate in zoology from Oxford University and teaches human anatomy and physiology at Curry College. Her written works include the books The Not-So-Intelligent Designer, and Darwin’s Apostles; numerous book chapters, and articles. She debunks both the gender binary and Creationism/Intelligent Design using humor and bullet-proof science.

Dr. Hafer is also the co-author of Bill H.471, a bill in the Massachusetts legislature which requires that all science taught in public schools be based on peer-reviewed science. She hopes that someday, reality-based public science education will be thus protected all over the country.

ELLIE HAYLUND (Board Member since 2025) is an enthusiastic humanist and has been involved with her local chapter, HumanistsMN, for almost a decade. Since 2016, she has served on HumanistsMN’s board of directors, is their current president, and co-chairs the marketing committee. She is passionate about bringing widespread visibility to humanism, cultivating the next generation of humanists, and advocating for the separation of religion and government. Professionally, Ellie manages client experience in the financial services industry. She enjoys live music, crafting, reading, and video gaming. Ellie lives in Minneapolis, MN with her husband and fellow humanist, Nick, and their two rescue dogs, Wally and Tater Tot.

JOHN HOOPER, Ph.D. (Board Member since 2014) is a retired scientist and research director, having pursued a career in molecular imaging and spectroscopy. Hooper has held local and national leadership positions in organizations involving naturalism, Humanism, and Unitarian Universalist social action. He is treasurer of the American Humanist Association Board of Directors and chair of the board’s Budget and Strategic Planning Committees; a board member of The Institute for Humanist Studies; a trustee of the Humanist Foundation; and coordinator of the Chautauqua Humanism Initiative. He previously served as president of the Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association (HUUmanists.org) and president of the Secular Coalition for America Education Fund. John is a founding member of both the Humanists and Freethinkers of Fairfield County (CT) and the Pittsburgh (PA) Freethought Community. He and his wife, Dr. Gail M. Pesyna, a retired foundation executive, now live in Pittsburgh, PA.

KRYSTAL JACKSON (Board Member since 2023) is the Vice President of the American Humanist Association. Krystal is a cybersecurity specialist at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency where she works to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure. Previously, she has worked on cybersecurity, AI, data ethics, and technology policy research for various think tanks, government agencies, advocacy groups, and universities.

Her humanist journey started in college, where she served on the executive team, including as president her senior year, of Carnegie Mellon University’s student group the Human League. In this role, she brought prominent humanist speakers to campus, engaged the secular student body, organized community service work, and led weekly discussion groups. During this time Krystal received a Secular Student Alliance scholarship for her activism and social justice efforts as a leader of this group. Krystal is passionate about interfaith work as well and was active in bringing the principles of Interfaith America (formerly Interfaith Youth Core) to her campus by working with administrators on interfaith strategic plans and additionally was involved with the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network. Krystal received the inaugural Americans United Youth Organizing Fellowship, enabling young people to advocate for the separation of church and state and promote inclusive religious freedoms. She also served on the board of directors of two of her city’s local secular groups, the Pittsburgh chapter of Sunday Assembly, and on the board chairing the activism committee of the Pittsburgh Freethought Community. In all her roles Krystal has been excited to promote humanist values, build community, and make secular spaces inclusive, vibrant, and welcoming for all people to be involved in.

CHRISTIAN LOYO (Board Member since 2025) is a PhD Candidate in Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on understanding how bacteria defend themselves against predation by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses. He is passionate about making science accessible to diverse audiences, ranging from elementary school students to his academic colleagues. Christian previously served as the Vice President of the Secular Society of MIT (SSOMIT), where he promoted secular values at MIT through invited speaker events, increased humanist visibility, and organized community gatherings.

DAVID ORENSTEIN (Board Member since 2025) is Department Chairperson and a tenured full professor of anthropology at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. He has been affiliated with the AHA for more than a decade. Dr. Orenstein has taught human evolution, primatology, science history and science advocacy for two decades. He is the author of three books, two published by AHA’s Freethought Press. In addition, Dr. Orenstein served at the AHA representative to the United Nation, for five years, and is an ordained Humanist Clergy. He is a happy freethinker who believes life is best lived with reason and joy for the human condition.

JIM PALMQUIST (Board Member since 2023) is the Treasurer of the American Humanist Association. He has had a domestic/international management career in four industries. He also served as an Adjunct Professor in Marketing at Temple University Graduate School of Business and the University of West Florida, as an Instructor at Penn State University and as Executive-in-Residence at the University of Tennessee twice. His other teaching experience includes culture change educating in the quality improvement movement, spreading facilitation skills to advance corporate profitability and dozens of adult programs in the community. Jim served on the Board of Directors of a Health Maintenance Organization for 11 years. He holds a Commercial Pilots License and Instrument Rating in fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, and flew off Navy aircraft carriers as a rescue helicopter pilot. He was the State President of AARP Pennsylvania for five years and has been recognized for his leadership work by American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. Jim is a Board member of Lehigh Valley Humanists. Jim was arrested for civil disobedience in Cleveland, protesting the United Methodist Church stand against marriage equality and gay ordination and serves on a nonprofit board in that cause, Affirmation United Methodist. Jim has done 84 lobbing sessions with Congressional and legislative office holders and continues to lobby often. Jim has traveled to 29 countries on six continents and enjoys international travel. He has been a Humanist since 2013. He lives with his wife in the Lehigh Valley, has three adult children and five grandchildren.

DARIN STEWART (Board Member since 2023) is a research analyst, writer and lecturer studying online environments, knowledge sharing, and disinformation. He advises a wide range of public and private institutions on knowledge and information management. Throughout his career, Stewart has served in leadership roles for a variety of organizations ranging from internet startups to major universities. He holds a doctorate in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh and has taught applied information management for the University of Oregon for many years.

Dr. Stewart is a Humanist Celebrant endorsed by the Humanist Society and serves humanists throughout the Pacific Northwest. Stewart is also the founder of Parents Defending Schools and Libraries, an advocacy group organizing parents and students to push back against book bans and educational gag orders. He lives with his family near Portland, Oregon.

DR. JASON WILES (Board Member since 2021) is a biology professor at Syracuse University. He also has courtesy appointments in the Department of Science Teaching and the Department of Earth Sciences. His research focuses on student understanding of and attitudes toward evolution and climate change, as well as on expanding equity for and diversity among students pursuing careers in biology and other STEM disciplines. Wiles holds graduate degrees and certificates in Biology, Earth Sciences, Science Education, and Religion. He is endorsed as a Humanist Celebrant and Chaplain by the Humanist Society, and he served as principal author of the Humanist Clergy Letter in support of the teaching of evolution in public schools. An elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Linnean Society of London, and the Royal Society of Biology, Wiles has earned numerous awards for science education outreach, university-level teaching, and research, including the Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education and both the Evolution Education Award and the Biology Education Research Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers. Jason lives in Syracuse, New York with his spouse Sarah Hall, who is an epigenetic scientist, and daughter Chloe, an aspiring astrophysicist who is currently in the third grade.