It’s our blog and we can make the rules. So… no writing in the third person. Phew. (But if you want professional bios you can find them here and here). We are both also co-leaders of the Transforming Hearts Collective.
Teo Drake
I often have to write these bios for conferences and trainings. It is never a comfortable thing to do. I always have to highlight details that are not the most important in understanding me. Conference attendees choosing a workshop probably don’t care that I prefer to live barefoot, but that is far more telling about who I am in the world than my ABD status for a PsyD in Clinical Psych. Along with wishing to live barefoot, I love teaching children—teaching them anything really. At the moment, I teach martial arts, yoga, and woodworking to children between the ages of 4-12. I love working with my hands as much as I have loved learning and teaching Philosophy.
I seek spaces that allow for all of me to show up. As it is, I often have to pick up and put down labels and pieces of me depending on the space. The pieces essential to me at the moment are queer man, person living with AIDS, yogi, buddhist, blackbelt, artisan, activist, whitewater kayaker, student, and teacher. Oh and partner of the best boifriend I could have ever hoped for.
My pronouns are: he, him, his. “That dude” will suffice in a pinch.
Alex Kapitan
The story we choose to tell about who we are is an interesting and powerful thing—varying depending on the context, ever evolving and shifting. Sometimes I like to open a conversation with someone I’m meeting for the first time by saying, “so what’s your story?”—you never know what you’ll learn.
Things that feed my soul include riding my motorcycle, knitting, playing with my puppy, and helping people understand oppression. By day I am an evangelist for love and transformational change and work doing the ministry of helping congregations and faith be more anti-racist, liberatory, and radically welcoming of people with marginalized identities. I’m also a Radical Copyeditor. By night I play roller derby under the moniker Peter Pandemonium and sing with the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. Some words that speak to who I am are queer, genderqueer, white, radical, Unitarian Universalist, editor, artist, and feisty.
My pronouns are: ze/per and he/him. “Alex” makes me happy also.
roots grow the tree 
hey there. I stumbled upon your blog and will hopefully be moving from Burlington VT to Greenfield MA in December. It would be a pleasure to meet you and get involved with activist work (and wood work!) you’re doing. I’m trans and queer, it would be a pleasure to meet positive folks that embrace hose identities. After spending a summer in Vermont farming I’m going to be taking courses at GCC for farm and food systems- so if you know of any other places around the area to check out in the realms of organic, agro-ecology, and or trans/queer activism please send me recommendations. I think I have a lot to learn from you- Thanks for reading – Taylor Gallagher
Taylor- I think Alex responded but I wanted to double check. Have you moved to the area? Teo.drake@gmail.com Let me know
Just finished reading Teo’s chapter in the book Yoga and Body Image, and i want to pass on encouraging thoughts. Love, love your writing, Teo! It reminded me of a college writing professor who once said, “Don’t impress me with your big words. Impress me with your ideas.” Your insight, vulnerability, and wit were a joy to encounter during my morning reading today. Thanks so much, and keep writing! Shelby in Montana