The Diversity Center is a beacon of support and inspiration for the LGBTQ+ community. Established in 1989, the Center has grown into a comprehensive hub providing essential services, safe spaces, educational programs, and enriching events informed by the Eight Dimensions of Wellness. We are dedicated to creating a vibrant, intergenerational LGBTQ+ community through collaborative efforts. Our services foster a sense of belonging and promote queer-affirming well-being practices allowing individuals to build resiliency and thrive.

Taylor is the the founder and creative force behind the ART of image making production, is a commercial photographer and director with over 25 years of experience in the industry. As a proud lesbian, Taylor brings a unique and powerful perspective to her work, championing diversity and inclusivity through every project she undertakes. Her work has spanned various genres, from high-end brand imagery to emotionally charged documentaries and videos, always reflecting her dedication to creating meaningful and impactful visual narratives. One of Taylor's most significant projects is a part of the forthcoming documentary on the HIV and AIDS crisis of the 1980s. She lost many friends in the late 1980s and 1990s to AIDS and is honored to be a part of this project. Her passion for visual storytelling ensures that the voices and experiences of those affected by the crisis are honored and preserved for future generations.

Terez, director of Never the Last Love Letter, is a queer Osage Indian. Her art is influenced from living in Oklahoma, Texas, and London. After decades in the London bicycle community as bicycle shop owner/mechanic, Terez returned to the US with her wife. Retiring as a high school Bike Tech teacher, Terez studied music and film, completing a BA in Film and Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz. Terez approached the Diversity Center with a documentary proposal, that this was the ideal time to revisit the local queer community’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Terez’s connection to the Aids delineation stems from her father’s death from Aids. Terez’s passion for Never the Last Love Letter’s message, of a community’s response to Aids, corresponds to today’s challenges: it’s time for us to step up now for those who need our help in the face of misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia.

Nic is employed by the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz County as the Lead Program Specialist, working specifically with LGBTQ+ elders. Through their position at the Diversity Center, Nic is one of our producers and the liaison with the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, our production location. Nic’s background in trauma-informed care brought a sensitivity towards this production. Nic set up debriefing meetings for the production crew and interviewees to process their experience recounting the AIDS crisis somatically with a lesbian licensed clinical psychotherapist. Nic was inspired to this film because of their work with queer elders and their close relationship with a family member who is a long-time HIV survivor. They are starring in the film as the interviewer for each subject and providing perspective as a young trans person living in Santa Cruz. This is Nic’s first film.

He is a multidisciplinary art practitioner and researcher, using visuals, installations, games & experiences, street performance and interventions and co-founder of Zayraqoun street performance collective. He has recently immigrated from Lebanon to Santa Cruz. The instability of his life in Lebanon ignited a creative interest in how communities self-organize and thrive in times of crisis. With an increase in HIV infection in the Middle East, Rami found parallels between his life and the lives of our interviewees. Rami’s work can be found on instagram at  @ramichahine.atwork and on YouTube at Collective Creation Games.

Holly is a white queer theater lighting designer and film student, volunteering as our second assistant camera, operating the clapper board. They also have experience working in sound for live events and film, as well as experience with film as a production assistant. They are studying theater, film, and television production at UCLA.

Isa is passionate about documenting and preserving LGBT+ history, which inspired them to get a bachelor’s degree in film and digital media from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Isa is Latine, bisexual, and trans. These identities inform their passion for learning through community story-telling. This is Isa’s first film.

Daphne is a recent high school graduate interested in film and history. They are white and queer. They have experience with film through high school IB film courses, but they consider this their first film project despite completing short student films. 

Cin is a queer, nonbinary, second-generation Taiwanese American person who is part of our sound/recording team. Cin has spent the past few years in Santa Cruz doing cancer research in a PhD program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Like many people involved in this project, Cin is interested in this topic because of their close friendship with someone who is HIV positive. As a cancer researcher and artist, Cin wants to give back to the LGBTQ+ community by contributing to a project that intersects healthcare, community efforts, and queer solidarity.

Dylan is a non-binary student at CSU Monterey Bay. They volunteered to be our production assistant as a friend of our director Terez because they were interested in learning more about the Queer history of their hometown of Santa Cruz, CA. Dylan is a musician and artist. This is their first film.