American Atheists works with local leaders to support the work of groups, other nonprofit organizations, and activist organizations on the ground throughout the nation.
If you have questions about our State Director program, please contact National Field Director, Samantha McGuire, by email.
Click on your state below to learn about your local State Directors
Alabama
Kristine Klopp
Kristine was born in Canada and was raised secular. She moved to Alabama in 2001. Shortly after, she sought out a local atheist group for support and relief from the religiosity surrounding her in the deep south bible belt. Kristine works as a Counselor for the State of Alabama and part time as a Therapist at a mental health hospital. Kristine is an Administrator and founder of Mobile Atheist Community since 2012, and became an Assistant Director for Alabama with American Atheists in 2017.Arizona
Donald Lacey
520.370.8420Donald Lacey is a Life Member and the State Director for Arizona. He is a retired research and development engineer and program manager. He retired as a Major from the US Air Force after 27 years and worked at Raytheon Missile Systems until March of 2008. He is currently the organizer for Tucson Atheists as well as a charter board member of the Secular Coalition for Arizona. Don is also a program counselor for Camp Quest Arizona.
Ronnie Litchfield
602.741.1566Ronnie has been an American Atheist Life Member since 2011 and has lived in the Phoenix area since high school. He is a Marine Corps Veteran, a Professional Engineer registered in Arizona, and a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He enjoys amateur astronomy, traveling, and political activism against violations of the separation of state and religion.
Kevin “Hondo” Hickman
Kevin has been a lifelong atheist, an advocate for science literacy, and an Arizona native. Known by "Hondo" in the motorcycling community, he is a founding member of the Reason Riders Atheist Motorcycle Association. With the Reason Riders, he has held an officer position since 2015 and is currently the National President.Arkansas
LeeWood Thomas
LeeWood was original member of the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, serving as its first Vice-President in the early 90's. Later, he served as media liaison during many of the more newsworthy moments. Some of the notable milestones he was involved with include a Beware of Dogma billboard (FFRF sponsored), a (Coalition of Reason sponsored) bus campaign that went to court and finally landed on the buses around Central Arkansas, and a temporary "solstice display" that also took ASF through a court process where they prevailed. More recently, upon moving out of Little Rock and into neighboring Saline county, he created a local free thought group called the Saline Atheist & Skeptic Society.
Allison Byrum
Allison is an IT professional who was raised vaguely Christian, then spent high school being very Christian. While studying abroad in college, she came to two conclusions: even the ancient cathedrals held no divine Presence, and the town church served just as much of a civic center as a place of worship. Back stateside, it took a couple of weeks to get past the terror of being sentenced to hell by an entity she could no longer believe in. Today, her goals are to develop a secular community support structure equal to any church's, as well as explore humanist and natural sources of joy, awe, and inspiration. After living 6 great years in Los Angeles, she returned to her home state of Arkansas in part to become one more roadblock in the path of religious nationalism and intolerance.California
Jessica Kemper-Lytle
Jessica was raised Catholic in a small, rural town in Ohio. She earned a BS in Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences from Ohio University and an MS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Howard University in Washington, DC. She practiced as a pediatric speech language pathologist in Connecticut evaluating, diagnosing, and providing treatment services to children with disabilities and developmental delays before moving to California. Jessica started deconstructing her beliefs in early adulthood and is now an agnostic atheist and humanist. She serves as the California Secular Advocacy Team co-chair and represents American Atheists in the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom as well as other coalition and interfaith efforts. She was elected to the Atheist United Board of Directors and currently serves as chair of the Governance and Advocacy committees. She was the recipient of the American Atheists’ Rising Star Award in 2023. Jessica is also an abortion storyteller and a reproductive cancer survivor.
Evan Clark
Evan is a humanist entrepreneur, political consultant, and public speaker with over 12 years of experience tinkering with secular communities. Evan is the founder and creative director at Spectrum Experience LLC and serves as Board Chair for the Secular Student Alliance. Since 2019 Evan has served as Executive Director of Atheists United in Los Angeles, CA. Previously Evan was co-host of the Humanist Experience podcast and co-founder of the Humanist Community of Ventura County. As a student leader, Evan was the founder and president of the Secular Student Alliance at California Lutheran University (CLU) and was also elected CLU’s first openly atheist student body president.Colorado
Rebecca Greben
Becky grew up in a non-believing family in Chicago and moved to Denver in 1980 where she later joined the Humanists of Colorado and the (now defunct) Rocky Mountain Skeptics. She is one of the founders of the Secular Hub, which provides a place for Colorado's Front Range secular communities to gather. Becky is active in the secular community and is a long time member of CFI and NSCE, as well as a secretary of FFRF's Denver chapter. Becky holds Bachelor degrees in psychology and geology. She is retired from state government where she was the manager of several medical services programs in the Division of Workers’ Compensation. She is currently the board secretary for the Western Interior Paleontological Society and has been a volunteer at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for more than 24 years, working in the fossil preparation lab. She also volunteers annually as a judge for the high school state science fair held at Colorado State University.
Janaan Abbott
Janaan is a nonbinary human who uses the pronouns ze/zir/zirs. Ze is retired and the parent of nine atheist/agnostic adult children. Ze has been involved with the Boulder Atheists almost since its beginning and is currently the Secretary/Treasurer for that organization. Janaan is also a member of the Secular Hub in Colorado. Ze enjoys hiking, backpacking, and reading. Janaan has been an atheist since age 14 after realizing there was no evidence for the existence of any supernatural beings.
Sarah Ray
Sarah Ray is a transgender atheist woman who left Christianity with a passion for community building – especially in rural areas where it's often difficult to be "out" or find like-minded people. She is focused on organizing secular community to focus our energy into productive, positive impacts in our world. Sarah is an endorsed Humanist Celebrant and serves on the Board of The Humanist Society, Support Group Leader with Recovering from Religion. She was a co-founder of the Atheist Community of Polk County, Producer/Host of the YouTube show "Freethought in Florida", and co-chair of the FL State Advocacy Team. Sarah and her family have recently moved to Colorado where she will serve as co-chair of the CO State Advocacy Team and look for ways to get involved in the local community in her new home state.Delaware
Chuck Dyke
Chuck Dyke has been an active and engaged member of the non-theist community in Delaware for the past ten years. He initially joined the only group in Delaware at that time, the Delaware Association for Humanists (DAH). DAH primarily serviced the Wilmington, Delaware area and Chuck believed that Newark could benefit from a group of its own and so created the Newark Atheists. The group holds educational, service and social events and has coordinated Darwin Day and National Day of Reason Proclamations from the Governor. He was the State Coordinator for the United Coalition of Reason until that coalition came to a close. Currently he participates as coordinator, co-coordinator, or member of the DAH, Newark Atheist Meetup, Delaware Atheist Meetup, and a chapter of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF).
In addition to his non-theist activities, Chuck enjoys spending time with his wife and his son, dabbling in gardening, online role playing games, socializing with friends and family, and being a worthy companion to his two adorable miniature schnauzers.
Florida
Jocelyn Williamson
Jocelyn Williamson, a lifelong atheist and Humanist, is the American Atheists’ Florida State Director, President of the Florida Humanist Association and co-founder of the Central Florida Freethought Community (CFFC). The CFFC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization of freethinkers, Humanists, atheists, and secularists working and playing together with reason and compassion as guiding principles. She is an ordained Humanist Celebrant through the Humanist Society. Jocelyn serves as a Florida Representative for the Freedom From Religion Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors for the BE Orlando Humanist Fellowship. In 2012, she founded the Science League for Kids, a scouting group for boys and girls. Jocelyn has given more than 15 secular invocations in Central Florida and received the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Nothing Fails Like Prayer” award in 2018 for a secular invocation she offered for a Florida city council meeting.
Joseph Fenty
I am originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. During my mid-twenties I moved to the Midwest, and after several decades, I moved to Punta Gorda, Florida. I have postsecondary degrees from Pace University, the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Michigan. I have worked in the field of higher education and health administration. I am delighted to serve and to promote the mission and values of the American Atheist. I believe our collective efforts can fix our ailing democracy, reduce inequality and improve the lives of the citizenry.
Devon Graham
Devon was raised just outside of Pittsburgh in an evangelical Christian household, the grasp of which she has only freed herself from in 2016. She still maintains a slight Yinzer accent. With a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Maryland, she is currently a faculty member at a nearby unnamed university researching the development and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. When she’s not playing with her mice and begging for grant funding, she is busy raising her two children to be functioning, freethinking members of society.
Keith Becher
Keith is an Assistant State Director for American Atheists. He is the co-founder and organizer of the Humanist Community of the Space Coast. Keith serves on the boards of the Central Florida Freethought Community, The Florida Humanist Association, the Space Coast Freethought Association, and Space Coast Pride. He is also a Humanist Celebrant.Indiana
Troy Moss
Troy is the President of Northern Indiana Atheists, a non-profit established to fight state/church violations on a local level and defend the rights of atheists across Northern Indiana. Atheists are underserved in our communities and underrepresented by our government. NIA works to elevate the voices of atheists in public discourse while supporting our members and atheist communities across Northern Indiana. Troy is proud to be State Director for American Atheists in Indiana. The support and legal assistance provided by American Atheists allows us to do the work that needs to be done in Northern Indiana.
Andrew Garber
812.223.0022When Andrew was de-converting from Catholicism, he tried every religion he could find. From Buddhism to Satanism, nothing seemed to fit. Imagine trying on dozens of straitjackets looking for something comfortable. In atheism, he's found the sweet relief of streaking! Today, Andrew looks to help make the world better for everyone. God can't help people, but people can!
Jama Sullivan
765.407.0140Jama enjoys reading and poetry. Jama has two children, a dog, and a cat. Jama wants to fight for equal rights and stands up when inequality is under attack.Iowa
Ashley Bennum
Ashley grew up in central Iowa and currently lives in Ankeny. She joined Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers in order to help shift the negative stigma around atheists and other nonbelievers. Ashley was brought up attending chuch but even as child she was skeptical of the bizarre bible stories. In college where Ashley studied world religions, and the new and old testament, her non-beliefs were solidified. As a board member and the main event organizer for IAF she has helped to foster local community and encourage members to be more involved in activism and advocacy.
David French
David works to protect the separation of religion in government in Iowa and where he used to live in Illinois. He demanded equal access for atheists and religious minorities on the local town square and worked to change the prayer policy at the local city council. David serves as a CASA (Court Appointed Child Advocate), working hand in hand with child services to make sure children are not allowed to fall through the cracks in the system. He also volunteers for World Relief, helping refugees get settled in, find work, learn English, learn bus routes, and become self-sufficient.Kentucky
Michael Stark
Michael Stark was raised as a Christian and had been in church all his life. After high school he joined the navy and by the end of his service he started questioning his own believes. Now as an atheist he constantly concerns himself with church/state separation issues and participated in activism whenever he can. He continues to study Christianity and enjoys discussing and debating various aspects of religious belief.
Detryck von Doom
Detryck von Doom is a member of Louisville Atheists and Freethinkers, Black Nonbelievers of Louisville, and The Satanic Temple. He is co-founder of Satanic Louisville, a group dedicated to atheistic and rationalist Left Hand Path philosophy and activism, and co-hosts Tuesday Night Heathens, a bimonthly social gathering of left-leaning and Leftist atheists. Detryck is an avid gamer and a devoted husband and father of three.
Jacob Mounts
Jacob Mounts is a 1993 graduate of Gibson Southern HS and 2003 graduate of Univ. of Southern Indiana. He is a US Army veteran. He is the founder of Tri-state Area Atheists and Skeptics in SW Indiana. He also engages in other humanist and free thinker groups locally, nationally and internationally at various levels of involvement.
Nate Crawford
Nate is an avid skeptic, activist and the organizer of Paducah Freethinkers.
Killian Bowen
Killian is the founder of the Secular Student Alliance at Morehead State University which they started in response to Kim Davis, the local county clerk, who denied marriage licenses to gay couples on the basis of religion. Killian has served on the national board of directors for the Secular Student Alliance, and currently works in the non-profit sector.Louisiana
Beth Deitch
Beth Deitch discovered that New Orleans was her true home almost 30 years ago, and has lived there ever since. She has a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and is currently teaching in the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. Her teaching experience covers Psychology, Organizational Behavior, Management, Leadership, Testing and Measurement, Statistics and Research Methods. Her main areas of research are workplace discrimination and employee well-being. Beth is on the Board of the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association, and handles a variety of tasks for NOSHA, including membership management and graphic design.Maryland
Mike Reid
(301) 842-7579Mike has been an atheist all of his life. He is a long-time secular activist and a former president of the Washington Area Secular Humanists (WASH), a regional secularist organization and an affiliate of American Atheists that is active in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. He was part of the team that organized the first Reason Rally in Washington, DC in 2012. He recently retired from the aerospace field where for many years he worked on multiple robotic space missions that explored our Solar System. He is an avid science and history enthusiast and amateur astronomer. He also likes to attend science fiction conventions, often in costume. Mike’s primary activist goals are to protect the separation of church and state, protect the integrity of science curricula in public schools and public institutions, help provide a local community for secular people, fight censorship, communicate science to the public, and promote rationalism and critical thinking.Massachusetts
Zachary Bos
617.935.4951Zachary has been State Director for Massachusetts since 2008. As past President of the Boston Atheists community group, he helped that AA affiliated grow into the largest secular membership organization in New England. He is a founding member of the Boston Coalition for Reason, Sunday Assembly Boston, and Secular Coalition for Massachusetts, and is a Trustee of Sunday Assembly America. He serves the community regularly as a nontheist celebrant, a citizen lobbyist, and fundraiser for secular causes and organizations and progressive campaigns. He is editor of Secular Age, and the convener of the Boston Interpath Workgroup. As a writer, his essays, translations, poetry and fiction have appeared widely in US and international publications. Professionally, he is an administrator at Boston University, and publishing director of Pen & Anvil Press.Michigan
Ryan Thibodeau
Ryan Thibodeau has been an Atheist since 1995 when he escaped the catholic faith. Since 2018 Ryan has been active in the Midwest Secular community. As a representative of American Atheists he has organized and participated in events around Michigan as well as various speaking engagements.
Ryan is the founder and director of the Atheist Coalition of Michigan , a Secular service organization in Oakland County providing the Secular and the LGBTQ community an opportunity to volunteer and donate.
Ryan is the host and creator of the Atheist Perspective podcast on Spotify.
Minnesota
Stephanie Zvan
Stephanie Zvan is on the boards of Minnesota Atheists and Secular Woman. She’s one of the co-founders of the Secular Women Work conferences. She teaches geeks about science and critical thinking at science fiction and fantasy conventions and atheists about community at national and regional conferences. Her writing on the intersection of science and politics has appeared in the Scientific American guest blog. Her work on codes of conduct is shared as a resource in the Geek Feminism Wiki and other venues. You can find her writing at Almost Diamonds on The Orbit.Missouri
David Rosman
Originally from New York, David has experience in retail, insurance and non-profit management, including more than 25-years as adjunct faculty at major universities and colleges in Denver and Columbia, MO and today is the co-leader of the Columbia Atheists. He has worked with a number of non-profits and political campaigns as a campaign manager, Director of Communications and as a trainer, and was the Assistant Missouri State Director for the now defunct National Atheist Party. He has been an award winning columnist for the Columbia Missourian since 2006, dealing with local, state and national politics, including First Amendment issues of the separation of Church and State. David holds a Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Northern Colorado and his Bachelor’s degree in Administration from St. Louis University.
Ken Null
Ken was born in Florida and raised as a Southern Baptist. He became a doubter when he was 14 and read Genesis and questioned light being created on the first day, when the sun was created on day four - and has lived as an atheist since. Ken moved to Kansas City, MO in 2013 and loves living there. In 2017, his employer deployed him to Mobile, AL for a 9 month period where he joined Mobile Atheist Community and met Kristine Klopp. Through those interactions he decided to become more active in activism. Ken is not only a member of AA, but also of FFRF and is currently working through the training to be a helpline rep with RfR. Living in a very conservative and Christian state made him realize that he needed to stand up and use his voice -- and that he wished to help others not only find their voices, but to realize that atheists do not have to live in the shadows anymore.Nebraska
Rachele Walter
Rachele was raised to think for herself and was asked not to return to Sunday school at the advanced age of 4. By the time was was 7, she decided god was like Santa and the Tooth Fairy. She speaks several languages poorly, and had degrees in Anthropology and Forensic Science. Rachele is active in local politics, is President of Lincoln Atheists, and Caucus Chair of the Nebraska Secular Democrats. She has three dogs who are also atheists.Mississippi
Sarah Worrel
Sarah Worrel is the current leader of the MS Gulf Coast Humanists and co-organizer for the MS Gulf Coast Atheist and Freethinker Association.Nevada
Carly L. Gardner
8015578897Carly Gardner was born and raised an atheist in Mormonville (aka Salt Lake City, Utah). She is highly active in the atheist community and is the treasurer for The Center for Science and Wonder, a radically inclusive non religious community center in Las Vegas. Carly works together with her husband Monte to promote scientific thinking and rational communities with an emphasis on children. Her first son was just born October 2018.New Jersey
Bill Goers
732.804.8849Born in Japan and raised in Texas, Bill spent 35 years working at Bell Labs in New Jersey until retiring in 2016. The last chapters of his professional career were written as a marketing executive for wireless communications, where he helped usher in the latest generations of public network technology including 3G, 4G and 5G. He is an avid hiker, cyclist, skier, SCUBA diver and musician. Inspired by the outstanding speakers and leaders he met at his first AACON in 2017, Bill volunteered to become the State Director for New Jersey.New York
Richard Schloss
Richard Schloss is the fourth person to serve as President of Long Island Atheists, having joined the organization back in 2010, two years after its founding. He is a member of several secular advocacy organizations, including Americans United For Separation of Church and State, American Humanist Association, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Center For Inquiry-Long Island, and the New York City Skeptics, as well as American Atheists. He is married to a "Humanistic Jew," with whom he has two adult sons; both his sons consider themselves atheists and freethinkers. He maintains a full-time private practice in general adult psychiatry in Huntington, NY.
Patrick McCann
585-420-7633Pat McCann has been an atheist and humanist for over 45 years. He was a secular activist in Connecticut since attending the first Reason Rally in 2012. Pat was formerly the Assistant State Director for American Atheists in Connecticut, President of the Hartford Area Humanists, Co-chair of the Connecticut Coalition of Reason, and Chair of the Secular Coalition for Connecticut. He is currently an assistant state director for American Atheists in NY (Finger Lakes, Western NY, Southern Tier, and Central NY regions). Pat is a virologist with a BSc in Science, an MSc in Molecular Biology, an MBA in Marketing with over 35 years of R&D experience in the Pharmaceutical industry. Pat retired from Pfizer in 2021. Pat’s son is a customer support specialist at Highwire Inc (formerly ConstructSecure). Pat, and the love of his life Elisabeth, are Humanist Celebrants. They both study Washin-ryu Karate-do and are both 4th degree black belts as well as certified instructors.North Carolina
Lisa Duke
Lisa Duke grew up in New Jersey and has resided in North Carolina since 1990. She is a member SCOTT (secular community of the Triad) and interested in normalizing atheism, giving to the local community, and striving for separation of religion and government. Lisa also has a passion for secular recovery from addiction, helping anyone who desires recovery and desires doing so without “spiritual” programs.Ohio
Sarah Wiseman
Sarah Wiseman attended the Ark Encounter protest and realized she could have an impact in Dayton, Ohio by doing what she can as an activist, raising awareness, and bringing more light to the issues. Ms. Wiseman is zealous about bettering people’s lives through education, representation, and by speaking out against issues surrounding inequality. Ms. Wiseman is a passionate woman who is inspired by all things that work to the betterment of people’s lives. She is a proud, working, mother of three and desires to increase her education on those subjects that will help the organization improve its effectiveness in Ohio. Ms. Wiseman wants to rid the world of bigotry, hate, and oppression. Her deepest concerns are for the children of tomorrow, as she desires to see them have the best interests of humanity in the forefront of their minds.
Megan Denman
Megan started the Cleveland Humanist Alliance (Cleveland, Ohio) in January of 2017, with the goal to connect with and empower nonbelievers who are working to better their communities. Since then, the knowledge, experiences and people she's met have all broadened her scope of humanism and atheism, and strengthened her values. Megan is excited to be a part of American Atheists' vision of normalizing and humanizing atheism, showing kindness in action, and standing up for those marginalized by social and political systems.Oklahoma
Tim Ward
7402517239Tim was an environmental activist for 30 years and lobbyist for 25 of those years. His interests changed when he became an atheist and he then became an atheist activist. Due to the recession he moved to Oklahoma from Ohio to continue his work as a paramedic. He then joined the Oklahoma Atheists (AOK) and became a board member. Since then he has worked to improve the image of atheists in Oklahoma with community service actions as well as making atheism more accepted. He also became a member of the Secular Coalition of America and lobbies for secular values nationally and statewide. He is involved with Unchained at Last, womens' rights and LGBTQ groups as well as working with school districts to maintain church state separation.
Alex Newman
Alex Newman has been an Oklahoma resident for 25 years and is currently Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the largest local non-believer group in the state, Oklahoma Atheists. Before joining the movement, she graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in Psychology and joined in with local protests and lobby activities. She is an enthusiastic and newly-minted activist who has been involved in several local efforts, including speaking out against legislation that threatens equal rights for Oklahomans and helping to grow her local organization. Alex is also dedicated to community service and has volunteered with organizations such as the Central Oklahoma Humane Society and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Her vision for her state involves uniting atheists and freethinkers all over Oklahoma in order to help serve the purpose of promoting positive atheism, fostering community among non-believers, and fighting for equality and the separation of church and state.
Amanda Baggett
Amanda grew up in a religious household and attended Christian schools, although she never truly believed in a god. She discovered a group of like-minded individuals in 2010 and quickly developed a passion for atheist activism and the promotion of positive secularism in society. She served as a Board member of her local atheist group for several years. After her husband passed away in 2016, Amanda decided to dedicate more of her time to secular charities and her local atheist organization. She became the President of the Atheist Community of Tulsa in 2017 and continues to advocate for the separation of church and state while encouraging secular volunteer efforts to serve her local and regional community.Oregon
Johnny Pike
Johnny was an Assistant State Director and then State Director in Kentucky. In 2018 he was awarded American Atheists' State Director of the Year. Johnny served as Vice President of the Kentucky Freethought Convention and as the Activist Director for the Humanist Forum of Central Kentucky. He has volunteered with secular groups including Black Nonbelievers, FFRF, the American Humanist Association, and the Satanic Temple; as well as Fairness Campaign, advocates of Planned Parenthood of Kentucky, the ACLU, and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth - often bringing these groups together in coalition for Pride events, the Freethought Convention, and annual lobbying days at the capital. He organized and led secular natural disaster charities, has spoken to prisoners in federal prison about Humanism, and a spearheaded a campaign to reach out to clergy for the Clergy Project. Johnny worked to keep religion out of public classrooms and worked to pass comprehensive sex education. He organized a statewide team of activist where he helped volunteer at the local and state level, helping to create atheist communities across the state. He just moved to Portland, Oregon where he plans to organize a PNW coalition of events and teams and continue to put a positive face on atheism in his new state.
Michael Surgeon
Michael is a lifelong atheist and secular activist. Born and raised in Southern Oregon, Michael is actively working to ensure the separation of church and state. He is currently finishing college at Southern Oregon University for his bachelor’s degree in English and is the president of the Secular Student Alliance on campus.Pennsylvania
Ricky Brock
Ricky Brock (AKA Captain DadPool) is a former evangelical Christian who became an atheist after graduating from a Christian University with a degree in Biblical Theology. He now produces educational content on various social media platforms discussing Biblical and early church history, as well as giving advice on deconstructing from religion.
Ricky is also an Iraq war veteran and spent 13 years in the Army including 6 in the Pennsylvania National Guard, where he deployed to Macedonia to assist their mission in joining NATO, and was sent to D.C. in the wake of the Jan 6th insurrection. With his military days behind him, Ricky has set his sights on working as an activist for the atheist community.
South Carolina
Bonnie Cleaveland
Dr. Bonnie Cleaveland (she/her) grew up nonreligious but without the “atheist” label most of her life. Although she grew up with an activist mindset, a children’s rights issue in 2012 got her really fired up, and she hasn’t stopped organizing, educating and activating since!
In 2014, she joined Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry in the “Holy City,” Charleston SC, in the heart of the Bible Belt, and quickly volunteered for its board. She began self-identifying as “atheist” on the first Openly Secular Day in 2015. Dr. Cleaveland served as advisor to the student forum for school board candidates, co-organized the March for Science Charleston, participated in a particularly vivid protest against caging children at the southern border, and co-created a visually stunning racial justice protest after George Floyd’s death. Since 2016, she’s started to consider herself a protest artist, painting re-usable signs for herself and others to help keep protests environmentally friendly.
Alarmed in the past five years about rising Christian Nationalism, she has turned her attention to defending Americans’ rights to practice religion freely - or not.
She's a psychologist in private practice who currently serves on Charleston’s inaugural Human Affairs & Racial Reconciliation Commission and the Charleston County School District’s Health Advisory Committee, which evaluates sex education curriculum for the district.
Dr. Cleaveland is a vegetarian who loves gardening. She lives with her husband, two cats, five chickens and a teenager.
Texas
Wil Jeudy
Wil Jeudy strives to make this world a better place. Steeped in math and science since childhood, he began a career in healthcare in the late 1990s. His interests in history and psychology and his observations of society gradually led him away from belief and led him inexorably toward reason, atheism, secular humanism, and activism. He began attending Houston Oasis (freethought group) in 2016 and eventually joined their board in late 2018 which is the same time that he became an assistant state director for the American Atheists. Since then he has joined the leadership of Houston Atheists and has also started a group called Secular Houston which aims to (unofficially) bind local secular groups together, as well as give secularism a voice in local politics. Now, as State Director, he will use that experience to increase the health of Texas secular groups, to encourage communication between the groups, to vitalize our interfaith coalitions, and to give a political voice to secularism at both the state and local levels.
Charlee Vance
Charlee graduated from UT Arlington in May 2020 and is currently working toward her Master's of Public Administration from UT Permian Basin. During her undergrad she was the founder and president of the SSA chapter at UT Arlington, was chosen for March For Science's inaugural fellowship program, and volunteered for Planned Parenthood Greater Texas. Charlee currently serves on the National Leadership Cohort for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Secretary for Metroplex Atheists, and Youth Power Fellow for Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. She hopes to promote progressive intersectional activism in the Dallas-Fort Worth area through partnerships, education, and advocacy.
Kyle Lee
Kyle Lee is the vice president of the Atheist Community of Lubbock and helps organize and attend protests as well as coordinate their community service events that serve the homeless population of their city. Kyle holds a Bachelor's in public relations and is proud dog parent to a black lab. Kyle is always growing and advocating for issues important to the ACL community.
Kelly Rhodes
Kelly was raised in Utah as a Mormon. After spending 30 years devoted to the church she rapidly studied her way out of religion. Today she is an unapologetic atheist and is very active in the secular community in Houston, Texas. She currently serves in the leadership of Humanists of Houston, Houston Atheists, and SHORE: Secular Houston Organizing for the Right to Equality. She enjoys volunteering with various local groups, especially with HOPE (Homeless Outreach Providing Essentials) for Houston. An RN by trade, she loves science and believes healthcare should be a right and not a privilege. Her passions are fighting for equality and the right to bodily autonomy, and raising her three teenagers.Utah
Dan Ellis
801.784.2053Dan Ellis was born in Brigham City, Utah, and was raised as a member of the state's predominant faith (Mormon), but he never really believed any of it. He officially resigned from the LDS Church and has been an atheist activist for the last eight years.Virginia
Larry Mendoza
Larry has been an activist in the atheist community for over 12 years. He co-founded the United Secular Alliance, a secular student group at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. A year after graduating with a Masters degree in Biology, Larry moved to northern Virginia where he joined the board of Beltway Atheists, Inc., a non-profit atheist affiliate of American Atheists as Director of Education. Larry has been an invited speaker on topics such as separation of church and state and evolution/creationism. In 2011 he joined the northern Virginia public access TV show Road to Reason where he was able to interview Richard Dawkins during a live studio broadcast. Larry joined American Atheists in 2018 in order to help further the ACES program by engaging and uniting Virginia atheists and getting them motivated for grassroots activism.
Sam Nealy
214.557.3549Sam Nealy is an Army Veteran from Texas who currently resides in Virginia. He is a father to one daughter. He is passionate about volunteering and education in the community. He enjoys philosophy, reading and video games. You can find him on the weekends searching for delicious things to consume.
Matthew DeGrave
Matthew lives in Newport News Virginia with his wife and two children. He started getting involved with local politics at the state level and started to notice the prevalence of religion in the government. Matthew is interested in making the world a better place for his children and believes that starts with using critical thinking and skepticism to better understand the reality that we live in. This also means building an accepting community of people who care and challenging negative stereotype of what is means to be an Atheist, a Skeptic, and a Secular Humanist.
Silvia Park
Silvia Park has a lot of experience volunteering over the years with the secular statewide home school organization in Virginia, and now that her children are all adults now, she is excited to be able to focus her attention more fully on matters important to atheists. Silvia is the coordinator for the Atheist Community of Charlottesville, a new group that is growing quickly. She enjoys organizing activities for the group and is very eager to follow the ACES program. As the mother of a transgender child, and also just because everyone with any decency should, Silvia has a keen interest in promoting and supporting LGBT rights.
Eric Herrman
Eric Herrman is the head of Beltway Atheists in Northern Virginia. He also runs a weekly cable radio show / podcast, The Nondescript Atheist. Eric has been involved in atheist activism for over twenty years.
Aiden Barnes
Aiden Barnes is the State Director for Virginia. He is currently the organizer of the Southeastern Virginia Atheists Skeptics & Humanists (SEVASH). A lifelong skeptic, Aiden is proud to serve American Atheists in the pursuit of promoting science, reason, and secular values here in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Curtis Smith
Curtis Smith is an Assistant State Director in the Richmond Virginia area. Currently organizes the Atheists, Agnostics, and Humanists of Richmond group, and is establishing the Virginia Secular Democrats. A retired federal correctional worker, former American Federation of Government Employees union steward, and was in the US Air Force for nine years. He grew up near Cleveland Ohio.
Bette McIntyre
Bette McIntyre grew up in Virginia and became an atheist after 13 years of Christian education. She studied graphic design and currently focuses on metal engraving and ceramics. She is a chapter coordinator for Lynchburg Area Secular Humanists, and spends most of her time with her dogs.
Amber Bowmer
Amber is a dedicated volunteer, advocate, educator, wife, and mother of two. She is currently in her second year at William & Mary’s School of Education for a Master’s in Education, School Counseling program. Amber is the president and co-founder of Pride in the ‘Peake, Chesapeake’s first family and youth-oriented Pride festival. Additionally, Amber is the membership lead for the Chesapeake Moms Demand Action Chapter, and sits on the board of directors for the Washington Area Secular Humanists. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a Master’s in Mass Communications. She uses this expertise as a freelance to serve as a campaign manager for local candidates as well as offering public relations services pro bono to other volunteer organizations.
Ryan Boone
Ryan is an atheist activist from rural Southwest Virginia. He speaks out for secular values and participates in citizen lobbying. He's made a career in retail management, but hopes to finish college and be a physics teacher. Much of his activism outside organized atheism is centered around mental health, informed by his own diagnosed anxiety and depressive disorders and a 2017 attempt at suicide.Washington
Daniel Bennett
360.434.5703I'm a very outspoken Atheist with a strong grasp of philosophy and science; in the world of Facebook I'm known as “the Pseudoscience Guy” and have founded multiple groups and pages dedicated to science and skepticism. I'm a Navy veteran and full time college student. I'm very politically involved in both local and national issues as well as being involved in events and protests.West Virginia
Margaret Capehart
Margaret “Maggie” Capehart is a senior college student, obtaining an Engineering with Civil emphasis degree, along with a minor in both math and music. After transferring from West Virginia University to Marshall University in the spring of 2017, she helped found and lead her college’s Secular Student Alliance (MU SSA).
Eric Engle
Eric Engle is a graduate of Marshall University. In addition to his role as an Assistant State Director with American Atheists, Eric is Chairman of an environmental organization called Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action, a Co-Chair of the WV Chapter of the Sierra Club, and on the Board of Directors for the WV Rivers Coalition.Wisconsin
Rob Moore
Rob is a horticulturist, poet, and podcast/SM host based in Kenosha. Rob has been involved in the secular movement since 2012, and has been a visible and vocal atheist activist in Milwaukee and the surrounding area. He has successfully challenged violations of the establishment clause on several occasions, and continues to work for mainstream acceptance of non-religious people.
Nolan Webb
Nolan was born and raised in northern Mississippi and lived there until a few years ago when he relocated to Milwaukee. He is an IT professional with a background in youth organizations, volunteering for 4-H and Future Farmers of America. Nolan ran for House of Representatives in Mississippi and tried to create a secular caucus for in the state. He enjoys playing disc golf and is an avid football (soccer) fan.Wyoming
