Our Voices Bridge Us To Each Other
At Bridging Voices, we sing to build a world where everyone is celebrated in our beautiful diversity. Discover the guiding principles that ground our music, our operations, and our advocacy.
Our Values
Belonging
We believe every young person deserves a space where they do not have to hide, explain, or defend who they are. We protect and nurture a culture of unconditional acceptance, where youth are celebrated in their beautiful diversity and empowered to sing with their true voices.
Anti-Racism
We are actively committed to dismantling white supremacy within our organization and the choral arts. We deliberately center Black, indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) composers, require ongoing equity training for our leadership, and intentionally build a community that honors intersectional identities.
Social Justice
Our music is a catalyst for systemic change. As a chorus for queer, questioning, and allied youth, our stage is a space of visibility, resistance, and joy. We pledge to use our collective voice to draw attention to oppression and challenge the overlapping systems of prejudice that target our youth and our community.
Diversity, Equity. & Inclusion (DEI)
We turn ideals into structural realities by removing all financial, physical, and competitive barriers to entry. We practice equity by maintaining a strict non-audition policy and waiving participation fees, insuring that access to Bridging Voices is available to all who align with our ideals.
Fearless Belonging: How We Build Sanctuary
At Bridging Voices, belonging is not just a feeling—it is an intentional practice. We know that for queer, questioning, and allied youth, simply existing authentically requires immense courage. We intend every rehearsal to be a safe, predictable Sanctuary where youth can drop their guard, find their community, and lift their true voices.
We cultivate this Sanctuary through our core rehearsal practices:
Intentional Connection: Everyone at rehearsal wears a name tag that also states their pronouns. We begin every rehearsal with an icebreaker game that gets people talking. We work as a team to ensure every singer can be addressed correctly and seen for exactly who they are.
Space for Community: We don’t just focus on the music, we focus on the humans making it. We dedicate specific time during rehearsals for our youth to build friendships, share their lived experiences, and find lifelong connections with peers who truly understand them.
Holistic Care and Nourishment: We believe that physical well-being is a prerequisite for emotional safety. By providing a hot pizza meal at every rehearsal break, we ensure no youth goes hungry, while creating a warm, informal space to confide in friends or connect with a trusted adult.
DEI: Living Our Values
Diversity (Representation)
We proactively cultivate a space where all youth ages 13-21—encompassing the full spectrum of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and ability—see themselves reflected in our singers, music, staff, and leadership.
Equity (Fair Access)
We understand that equal opportunity is not enough when systemic barriers exist. We eliminate financial and artistic barriers so every young person has the tailored resources, accommodations, and support they need to thrive.
Inclusion (Full Participation)
We go beyond merely inviting youth into the room; we ensure they have genuine voice and decision-making power in shaping our chorus culture, selecting our music, and directing our advocacy.
Social Justice: How We Practice Advocacy
At Bridging Voices, our music is an active catalyst for systemic change. As a chorus for queer, questioning, and allied youth, our stage is a space of visibility, resistance, and joy. We recognize that achieving our vision of a world where everyone is celebrated in their beautiful diversity requires us to actively use our collective artistic voice to confront prejudice and challenge the overlapping systems of oppression that target our youth.
Artistic Truth-Telling: We choose musical repertoire that intentionally draws attention to oppression, historical struggles, and ongoing fights for human rights. We use our concerts not just to entertain, but to enlighten, educate and disrupt complacency in our audiences.
Amplifying Youth Agency: We view our singers not just as musical performers, but as authors of social change. We provide a platform where youth lead the conversation, direct the focus of our advocacy, and build the critical leadership and civic skills needed to shape a fairer world.
Community Solidarity: We extend our activism beyond the concert hall by aligning our chorus with local and national social justice movements. We use our organizational visibility, resources, and platform to stand in active solidarity with marginalized communities fighting for equality.
Anti-Racism: Practicing Accountability
At Bridging Voices, anti-racism is a continuous, active practice of self-reflection and structural change. We recognize that systems of white supremacy are used to restrict access to all aspects of the choral arts, and we take active responsibility for creating an anti-racist musical home, where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth are centered and celebrated. We define and practice these values through three core commitments:
We intentionally center BIPOC creators, composers, and arrangers in our seasonal musical repertoire, and educate our singers about its importance. We ensure that our performances honor the historical and cultural roots of the music we sing, moving past tokenism into deep artistic respect.
Artistic Representation
We commit to ongoing equity education for our artistic directors, staff, and Board of Directors. We actively work to diversify our leadership team to ensure that the governance of our chorus reflects the rich racial diversity of the Portland youth we serve.
Leadership and Equity Training
We build local partnerships with BIPOC-led organizations and create space within our rehearsals to discuss intersectionality and racial justice. We view feedback as a gift and hold ourselves accountable to changing internal habits or rules that cause harm.
Community Accountability
Find Your People. Sing Your Truth
Bridging Voices: What we do in one minute. This an older video, but the vibe is still just right!
No musical experience, knowledge, or auditions required.
Just bring your voice!
What to Expect on Day One
Step 1: Welcome and Name Tags
The second you walk in, you’ll be greeted by friendly faces. Check in, grab a name tag, share your pronouns, and find a seat. We honor all names and pronouns. You choose how you want to be called. No stressful tryouts, no pressure.
Step 2: Connection and Pizza
We start each rehearsal with a quick icebreaker game to get to know each other. At the break, we provide a hot pizza meal so everyone can eat, relax, and make new friends.
Step 3: Singing Together
We rehearse music that highlights our diverse identities and draws attention to systemic oppression. You’ll learn right alongside your peers at your own pace.
Bridging Voices Board
Cristina Vanderburgh
She/Her
Jace Unicorn Wheatley
They/Them
Lizzie Condon
They/Them
Ian Morton
He/Him
Susannah Axelrod
She/Her
More About Us:
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Cristina is our Board Chair. She brings a wealth of professional experience from her career in accounting, IT, and business consulting, including serving as IT Security Manager for Columbia Sportswear before retiring. A long-time supporter of Bridging Voices since its founding—when her husband Reid served on the inaugural board—Cristina’s passion for queer+ youth advocacy is deeply personal. In 2008, her daughter Maggie was a founding member of her high school GSA, In 2023, the Vanderburghs welcomed a teenage transman into their family, opening their home for seven months while he rebooted his life; he’s now a treasured neo-grandson. These experiences have inspired Cristina’s commitment to creating safe, affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth. In addition to her community work, Cristina enjoys learning ASL, singing at any opportunity, and playing with her dog. She believes providing a safe place for queer youth to sing, connect, and belong is life-saving, and is dedicated to helping the chorus thrive.
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Jace Unicorn joined our board in 2026. They are a Portland-based LGBTQ+ community organizer, digital creative, and dedicated civil rights advocate. With over a decade of leadership experience, they serve as a National Board of Governors member and local area representative for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), where they focus on building inclusive spaces, driving volunteer engagement, and amplifying queer and nonbinary voices. Passionate about intersecting advocacy with the arts, Jace is committed to using digital storytelling and community-building to foster connection and lasting social change.
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Lizzie joined the board in 2026 as a member at large. They are currently a singing member of Bridging Voices and bring a vital youth perspective to our leadership.
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Ian joined the board in June 2026 as our Treasurer.
Ian is thrilled to call Portland “home” after spending twenty-three years in San Diego, CA. Ian served as executive director at Q Center, and built robust collaborative partnerships between the community center and the many organizations fighting for - and alongside - intentionally sidelined communities. He is currently the program director for Pride Northwest. He brings to Bridging Voices a specific passion to elevate the voices of youth in the LGBTQ2SIA+ community and to help build a culture of mentorship and community connection within the chorus.
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Susannah has more than 20 years of experience building and leading product teams for B2B software companies— including Intuit, Thomson Reuters, Verizon, Puppet and Sauce Labs. With an MBA from Wharton, she understands both the executive perspective and the mechanics of product, user experience (UX), and developer teams. Susannah has been a fractional product leader, consultant and advisor for diverse software companies since 2023. She has sung in classical and a cappella choirs for decades, and is currently a soprano singing with two choirs in Portland's Blueprint Arts organization. As a parent of a choir member and an advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ kids, Susannah joined the Bridging Voices board in June 2025.
Bridging Voices Staff
DeReau K. Ferrar
He/Him
Maia Estes
They/Them
Erik Gulickson
He/Him
Evan Paul
He/They
More About Us:
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DeReau was a fan of Bridging Voices long before joining us as our Artistic Director! DeReau is the Music Minister at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, Music Director at Portland Center Stage, and the Artistic Director of the A Notion A Scream Chorus. He’s also worked with the Portland Revels and Resonance Ensemble. Prior to moving to Portland in 2016, he worked in Los Angeles with A Noise Within (The Threepenny Opera, A Christmas Carol), DC6 Singers (SxSW, Jessye Norman’s Stand Up Straight and Sing! Tour, Sundance, Norman Lear, Michael Abels, Jerry Kohl, Monkeypaw Productions (Get Out), HBO (All the Way), Selah Gospel Choir (Coachella, RuPaul’s DragCon), MUSE/IQUE Symphony Orchestra, The RED Stamp (The Wiz, Ragtime, Songs for a New World), Epic Megalopolis Productions (JUNK! A Rock Opera), The Verdi Chorus, the University of California Los Angeles (The First Lady), California State University Los Angeles (A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum), New Roads School (Guys and Dolls), a bunch of churches he’s proud of and a few he’s not, plus some other folks. DeReau has served as the Bridging Voices Artistic Director since August 2022.
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Evan is our Principal Pianist. As a collaborative pianist with 25+ years of experience, Evan has supported Bridging Voices’ LGBTQ+ youth singers since 2017 as accompanist, arranger, and sectional leader. He also performs with paraprofessional and community Portland choral ensembles, including Northwest Vocal Arts and the Portland Lesbian Choir. Evan holds a Doctorate in Music Composition from the University of Oregon, and is an award-winning composer and dedicated music educator.
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Maia joined Bridging Voices as a singer in 2015. They were one of the first singers to take on a leadership role in the chorus—managing singers, music and choir practice routines. Maia joined the board in November 2022, worked as the chorus manager for almost 2 years, and is now our Operations Director. Maia feels honored to give back to an organization that added so much to their life, and the lives of so many LGBTQIA+ youth.
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This season, Erik will serve as an Assistant Director for DeReau as needed.
A natural collaborator and problem-solver, Erik brings leadership and adaptability to every role, with experience spanning nonprofits, tech startups, and large corporations. He previously served as the Artistic Director of Bridging Voices (2015-2022), helping to create a safe space for youth to discover their authentic voices through a shared love of music and the performing arts.
He returned to the organization, first as Interim Artistic Director (2025) and then as a board member (2025-2026). Erik brings passion and artistry to every facet of his work.
He has worked in the arts for more than thirty years as a performer, teacher, director, and stage manager on over 100 productions across the country. He is the minister of music at Bridgeport UCC. a regular local soloist, and a popular vocal coach.
A lifelong youth advocate, Erik describes his ongoing leadership of Bridging Voices as the culmination of all life’s paths; a dual opportunity to cultivate a space where all youth are welcome as they are, and to challenge his own assumptions of what the world can be in a city where such dreams can be realized.
Fuel the music. Protect the Sanctuary
When you support Bridging Voices, you aren’t just funding sheet music—you are funding a life-saving sanctuary for LGBTQ+ and allied youth. Your tax-deductible gift ensures our chorus remains completely free, accessible, and warm.
From purchasing little things like name tags that honor their correct pronouns to the hot pizza meals shared at every rehearsal break, your support ensures that Portland-area teenagers have a fearless space to find their community and lift their true voices,
