Team

Staff

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Adrian Brantley

(he/they)

Prism Teens Program Director

Adrian Brantley is a Mobile native and student at the University of South Alabama earning his degree in hospitality and tourism management. An advocate at heart, Adrian has spoken out for trans rights at rallies and community events like Trans•Lucent and the Trans Youth Town Hall. He is an avid coffee lover who spends much of his time participating in local community theater, performing in productions like Oliver, Beauty and the Beast, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Adrian was once a member of our Prism Teens program, and he works tirelessly to contribute to that program’s continued growth and success.

Man with a beard smiling in front of a rainbow flag.

Corey Harvard

(he/him)

Executive Director

Corey Harvard is a poet and singer-songwriter from Grand Bay, Alabama. He received his BA in English and philosophy from the University of South Alabama where he served as editor-in-chief of Oracle Fine Arts Review. He is a recipient of the Steve and Angelia Stokes Undergraduate Poetry Award, a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and a regular coach for Poetry Out Loud in Mobile. Corey co-founded Prism United in 2018 with his dear friend Justin Litaker. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, reading, and being a guncle. Recently, Corey and his mom sat down with StoryCorps in a touching interview about what inspired him to create Prism.

Woman with red hair and glasses smiling in front of a window with yellow curtains.

Kirsten Purvis

(she/her)

Prism Preteens Program Director

Kirsten is a Mobile native. She has twice graduated from the University of South Alabama: first with a BA in secondary education and English, followed by an MA in education leadership. Kirsten has seven years of teaching experience with English learners and is currently coordinator of the MCPSS ESL & migrant programs. As the program director of Prism Preteens, she develops curriculum and facilitates preteen meetups. She spends her spare time going on adventures with her little girl.

A smiling woman with long brown hair, a nose ring, and a blue top in a room with bookshelves.

Rachel McMullen

(she/her)

Development Director

Rachel is a seasoned educator and librarian with master’s degrees in both Education and Library and Information Science. With over a decade of community engagement and teaching experience, combined with a profound love for creative writing, she has become a catalyst for driving impactful fundraising initiatives. Her commitment to community development and lifelong learning is unwavering, and she firmly believes in the profound transformational potential of storytelling. To relax, she enjoys the benefits of belly laughter and being under a blue sky as well as sharing time and food with friends and family.

Will Ballard

(he/him)

Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator

Will is a Mobile native and former theater kid, looking to channel his passions into advocacy. A strong believer in the power of stories, he’s helped bring Prism Teens in-person Dungeons and Dragons to life as a way to help [the teens] express their creativity, ingenuity, and as an excuse for him to do silly voices. In his spare time, Will enjoys making people laugh, drinking too much coffee, and making a new Spotify playlist for literally every occasion. Will believes with all his heart in the philosophy of “Never too late to start over.”

Four friends sharing a joyful moment on steps outside a house.

Program Leads & Facilitators

Prism’s gatherings are run by program leads and facilitators who are vetted and trained during their onboarding at Prism. These members of the team are the beating heart of our support groups, leaving a lasting impact on the lives of LGBTQ+ young people and their loved ones.

Cooperative Governing Ethos

Prism strives to cultivate a cooperative governing ethos, de-centering power and prioritizing the voices of the youth it serves. To achieve this, we hold 360-degree evaluations: youth evaluate facilitators, facilitators evaluate directors. Submitted evaluations are anonymous and inaccessible to the individuals to whom they pertain. To foster a cooperative ethos in our board, we’ve eliminated hierarchical officer titles and practice consensus decision-making.

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A mana and a woman dress for halloween sitting at a table

Volunteer Teams

Prism relies on a robust group of volunteers to fulfill its goals. Beyond our facilitator team, other volunteer teams include our chaperone team, decor team, nutrition team, media team, and outreach team. For information about joining one of our volunteer teams, check out our volunteer page!