QX Board of Directors

Heather Russik
Acting President
She/Her
Hello! Alongside my work with QX, I work in the IT Project Management space. For fun, I’m an avid crafter and love watching movies. I also enjoy spending time with my fiance and our Boston Terrier. NEVER A DULL MOMENT! I will always be excited for the opportunity to talk about my plants too!",
As a founding member, it had been a privilege to work along other great community partners to create and grow a safe space, promote awareness, and provide resources that uplift and celebrate our community across the spectrum. I’m dedicated to advocating for and supporting our 2SLGBTQIA+ community. With a deep commitment to fostering inclusivity, equity, and empowerment. Everyone deserves to live authentically and without fear of discrimination or marginalization.

Leni Salgado RPh
Treasurer
They/Them
Leni Salgado is a compassionate clinical pharmacist with a strong commitment to advancing healthcare equity and access. They provide gender-affirming care as part of an endocrinology clinic in London ON.
Leni is actively involved within their profession to educate and improve health care among the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. They are on the advisory committees for both the Ontario Health's Quality Standard Advisory Committee, Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender and Nonbinary People",(https://www.hqontario.ca/Evidence-to-Improve-Care/Quality-Standards/View-All-Quality-Standards/Gender-Affirming-Care-for-Transgender-and-Nonbinary-People")
They Identify as genderfluid and queer, and other intersectional identities (person of colour, living with chronic pain/disability) with a lived experience navigating healthcare and pharmacy realms.

Emily McKenzie-Picot
Secretary
She/They
Emily is the first Secretary for Queer Intersections. Outside of QX, she is a physiotherapist and is passionate about creating and providing inclusive healthcare for the Two-Spirit LGBTQIA+ community. She shares a very active dog and an even more active tiny human with Tayden.

Tayden McKenzie-Picot
Director
They/Them
Tayden is a proud founding member of Queer Intersections. They have been a teacher of various grades and subjects for many years and have witnessed firsthand the lack of community care for our youth. They are excited to support building that community centre for the queer and trans youth in London. Tayden is also a new parent and is looking forward to an affirming space for Two-Spirit LGBTQIA+ families in London to connect and thrive. When they are not teaching or advocating for queer and trans student, you can find them out for a hike with their family and their dog or playing on the floor with their kiddo.

Amanda Beardshaw
Director
She/Her
Amanda is an Employment Specialist and Life Coach. She is a caring and empathetic advocate for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and knows first-hand the importance of visibility. With experience in the social services field, and a later in life queer person, she learned first-hand the struggles of breaking away from societal norms and truly coming home to her authentic self. She witnessed the need for safe queer spaces where folx of all ages can lean into to build their own community. When she is not working, you can find her spending time with her partner, kiddos, and dogs. Usually relaxing in a hammock, trekking through forests, or by the water!

Zoe Beecham
Director
She/Her
Zoe Beecham is a lifelong trans activist hailing from the small town of Toronto, Canada. At York University, she pioneered a LGBTQ+ inclusivity program for incoming students while double majoring in Gender Studies and Visual Arts, with a research focus in biblical feminism.
After University, she worked with Sherbourne Health Centre to modernize and run "Gender Journeys", a step by step program to explore and answer questions about Gender Dysphoria and Transition. This program ran many well-received 10 week sessions through the ARCH facility in Guelph. At the same time, she worked as a one on one support worker for trans folks of all ages.
At home, Zoe is a big time gamer, anime fan, movie lover and foodie. She works in accounting and is supported by her loving Wife.

Mao Osorio
Director
He/They
Mao was born in Bogotá, Colombia and has also lived in South Carolina, and in London since 2000. Mao identifies as pansexual and thought he could 'fake' being straight forever. However, Oliver showed up and because of THAT relationship, they decided it was time to live their authentic life and came out of the closet in their late 40s. Together, they are the proud parents of two fur babies, Miso the Pug/Shih Tzu mix and Gibblet the Calico cat.
Mao is a firm believer in lifelong learning and recently completed a Master's in Education (Curriculum, Teaching and Learning) with a focus on Social Justice Education from MUN (Memorial University of Newfoundland). They have worked at Fanshawe College since 2008 firstly as a Learning and Development Specialists in Organizational Developement and Learning, and currently as a Project Coordinator in the Centre for Equity Diversity and Inclusion.
They enjoy traveling, running, collecting vinyl records, craft beer and listening to either Jimmy Buffett or the Grateful Dead.",
Mao joined the Queer Intersections Board to hopefully enrich the lives of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in London. There is a gap in London for safe spaces for queer folx and Mao is proud that QX has become that and so much more.

Mackenzie Van Hoof
Director
She/Her
Mackenzie is a Coordinator of Social Impact and DEI in the insurance industry. With previous experience in the non-profit sector, she is a passionate advocate for marginalized populations, particularly rural women and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals impacted by Gender-Based Violence.
Mackenzie holds a Master’s degree in Economic Development and International Cooperation from the University of Murcia. Her professional expertise spans project coordination, grant writing, systemic thinking, and data collection, analysis, and impact reporting. She is eager to contribute these skills to the QX team to ensure the long-term sustainability of a 2SLGBTQIA+ community hub in London.
Committed to fostering systemic change, Mackenzie leads from an intersectional, feminist, anti-oppressive, and community-based collaborative approach. She is particularly passionate about empowering communities to claim their space at decision-making tables where their voices have historically been excluded.
In her free time, Mackenzie loves to spend time with her partner, Amanda, and their dogs, listening to records or swinging in a hammock somewhere in the woods while in deep conversation about anything and everything.
Summer Thorp
Director
She/Her
Summer joins the QX board with a deep appreciation for all the hard work and effort the founding members contributed to building QX. Based on her lived experience and supporting patients, clients, and family members, she is passionate about making healthcare and social services more accessible and equitable.
As a systems thinker, she is the person everyone in her life reaches out to when they need help finding a program, service, or resource. She previously supported members of the queer community navigating life transitions as a career counsellor and as a therapist. As a result of being raised in a religious community that was not a safe space, she is committed to supporting members of the queer community who experience religious trauma and are deconstructing.
Activities that feed her soul include handwriting letters to send to friends and family, discovering new taste adventures at farmers’ markets, and reading at least a book a week, but sometimes more.",

Victor Feunekes
Director
He/They
Hi, I'm Victor (They/He). I’ve been an active member of the London Queer community for years, and I’m excited to contribute as a Board Member for QX. Music is a big part of my life and when the weather’s nice, you’ll probably catch me biking around town. I’m definitely planning to take advantage of the indoor bike parking at QX.
When I'm not serving on the board, I work as a therapist in private practice. It's a true privilege to support my clients, and I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community that has been so important in my own journey. For me, queerness is more than just an identity—it’s a set of values that guide the way I live. I’m inspired by the resilience and strength of those who paved the way for us, and I’m committed to continuing the work they started. That’s why I’m here, and I couldn’t be more honoured to be part of this community.

Justin Cipparone
Director
He/Him
Info coming soon!

Alistar Broad
Director
They/Them
Alistair Broad is a nurse and community support worker from London Ontario. Alistair is a photographer, seed steward, artist and is breaking through in community organizing. They have a passion for HIV education, sexual wellness and mental health support for the community. Alistair is a proud treaty person who aims to work in an anti-oppressive framework and works towards creating third spaces for the community.