Our Staff

ADRIAN PARRA (THEY/HE/SHE), EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Adrian is a non-binary, latinx individual who uses they, he, and she pronouns fluidly. They have been serving in executive leadership at Youth OUTright since January 2018. Adrian feels honored to build power with the LGBTQIA+ youth of WNC, cultivating a culture of consent, equity, and compassion. He prioritizes self-determination and facilitates intersectional and intergenerational dialogue within their youth organizing. She comes to social justice work from a background in fine art photography and printmaking and celebrates creative approaches to organizing for Justice. Outside of youth organizing, you might find them on a hiking trail chasing waterfalls with their pup DandyLion or dancing in their living room to anything from clarinet to dubstep.

BECK MARTENS (THEY/THEM), YOUTH PROGRAM DIRECTOR

My name is Beck! I am a white, neurodivergent, fat, nonbinary and transgender, bisexual, and queer southerner; an organizer, an educator, a painter, a musician; a believer in autonomy and self-determination. I'm currently the Youth Programs Director where I get to build programming with and for queer and trans youth, but I began with the organization as a volunteer in 2018. Some of my favorite programs I get to work on as Programs Director are our annual events like the GSA Summit and Queer Prom. It's so inspiring to see queer and trans youth provide accessible education to each other in a conference space like our GSA Summit and Queer Prom is pure queer joy at its most magical. Alongside our larger annual events, the programs team, which includes two part-time Youth Fellows, implements monthly programming in Buncombe County that focuses on creative expression and comprehensive wellness such as queer sex ed and healthy relationships and virtual programs on Discord 3 days a week. Beginning in 2023, we have expanded monthly programs to rural counties and it has been such a joy to collaborate with local organizers to bring programming to Madison, Jackson, Yancey, and other Western North Carolina counties with the aspiration of reaching all 18 counties of WNC annually. I visit GSAs at middle schools and high schools across Western North Carolina to provide programs such as Queer History and Coming Out Support, as well as provide technical assistance to groups like leadership building, power mapping, and program design. As trans and queer youth in particular are under political attack, this work feels crucial and sometimes scary, but it's such a privilege to work with the next generation of queer and trans leaders and see them shine exactly as they are. 

Eddie yoffee (they/he), Communications Intern

Eddie is a white, queer, and trans young adult who has lived in Asheville for the majority of his life, and is therefore especially interested in connecting with and supporting the queer community in WNC. They have been thrilled to witness the evolution of resources in the region since their adolescence, and are excited for the opportunity to engage in youth-centered communications work.

Eddie comes to Youth OUTright after graduating with a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, where he focused on art history and creative writing. He is deeply passionate about art as a mode of self-expression, and about supporting young, queer artists in finding a platform.

Outside of their work with YO, Eddie can usually be found frequenting Asheville's many cafes with a good book (or three)!