Katy Campaigns for Queerspawn

I wanted to be a parent from the first time I arranged my stuffed animals and baby dolls on a chair on our porch in my first house growing up and never stopped wanting that; only the wanting became complicated. As a tween and teen I struggled with the budding awareness of my queer identity which wrestled with my deep longing to be a parent in a community that praised academia, productivity and ambitious careers. I wasn’t aware of any LGBTQ+ parents and wasn’t sure I was allowed either, let alone both. 

I talked Beth Teper and Felicia Park-Rogers into hiring me as an intern at COLAGE in 2002 with the assertion that I was on my path to becoming an LGTBQ+ parent, I just hadn’t gotten there yet. 

When I conceived my kid, Coyote, in 2012 as a solo parent with the help of a sperm bank, I wanted them to always have community. COLAGE provides the framework for one of those communities. 

It is with pleasure that I return to this community, not only as a parent but as someone committed to preserving the legacy and ensuring the growth of COLAGE, listening, learning and growing beside the queerspawn who guide this organization, enabling more people with LGBTQ+ parents to be equipped with the tools, resources and support they need to become just leaders in their communities. 

COLAGE’s Pride Policy Campaign is about backing all the love we invest in our families and community with policies that protect parentage rights and freedom of sexuality and gender identity and expression for parents and children alike. 

Join me and show your pride by donating to my campaign or create your own! 

If 10 people donate $30, I'll reach my goal. Donations to anyone's campaign in support of COLAGE ladders up to our Policy Campaign fund. 

With Sunshine, Rainbows and Policy Protections,  

Katy Chatel

Development Director of COLAGE