Selected 2006 Soulforce Equality Rider Profiles

	Jacob Reitan, 24, is Founder and Co-Director of the Soulforce Equality Ride. He grew up in Mankato, Minnesota in a Lutheran family and attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Jacob created the Soulforce Equality Ride because of a friendship he forged in college with a young gay man who goes to Wheaton College. The stories of pain and hardship faced by this Wheaton student are what inspired Jacob to work to put an end to religious-based discrimination.
	Haven Herrin, 24, is Co-Director of the Soulforce Equality Ride. She grew up in Dallas, Texas and attended the University of Richmond in Virginia. A Methodist when younger, she is now Buddhist. Haven took a leading role in the Soulforce Equality ride because she understands that her voice in the demand for justice is as necessary as that of any person, of any faith. Haven sees this journey as a unique opportunity for youth activism within the GLBT Movement; she knows that if the GLBT community is to sustain the fight for equality, young adults must have ability to be involved through direct action.
	Jarrett Lucas, 20, is an engineering student in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Drexel University. Raised by his grandparents as a Jehovah’s Witness, he offers firsthand experience with conservative religious thought. Having started college at age 15, Jarrett is brings an independent and articulate spirit to the journey. He seeks to protect the academic freedom of sexual minorities from homophobic fundamentalism. Jarret’s stand with the Soulforce Equality Ride is his statement that he will not cooperate with injustice by his silence.
	Alexey Bulokhov, 26, is from Russia and currently lives in New York City. Having grown up in Soviet Russia, he keenly understands the connection between personal identity and social agenda. His activism started young with making a documentary about the abuse of the environment in his industrial hometown. He came to the United States to escape GLBT discrimination and to attend St. Lawrence University. Alexey joined the Soulforce Equality Ride because he sees it as a powerful reminder of how much work remains to be done to embrace, protect and celebrate humanity everywhere.
	Monica Carmean, 20, is from Fresno, California and currently attends Northwestern University in Illinois. She is one of two straight allies on the Soulforce Equality Ride. Monica is intent on challenging the flawed assumptions of the bans on the enrollment of GLBT students and exposing the suffering the policies cause. The grassroots nature of the Soulforce Equality Ride and its expression of God’s unconditional love draw her to this journey.
	Dawn Davridge, 23, lives in Knoxville, Tennessee and is motivated to be a part of the Soulforce Equality Ride because she was kicked out of Union University due to her sexual orientation. This ride is about her life and the life of any students, gay or straight, who are blinded by the fear and the hate promoted in the conservative Christian world. She wants to reclaim her faith and the true lesson from God – that He loves us all.