Staff
Barb Farrar
Executive Director
she/her | barb@lgbtsewi.org
Venus Randall
Equity Coordinator
they/them | venus@lgbtsewi.org
Hello, my name is Venus pronouns they/them/theirs.
I’m your new Equity Coordinator @ the LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin. I will also be the new facilitator of Colorful & Connected!
I have a 5-6 yr background in finance and a lifelong passion for Black and Brown Queer advocacy and joy. Outside of the LGBT Center, I am a core member of Sunseeker MKE, a Black Trans abolitionist collective, building multi-issue praxis/direct service for Black Trans folks with relationships. I am Chicago born & raised. So stepping, Harold’s, and the South Side run through me. As a Milwaukee resident you can catch me @ This Is It or eating some bomb tacos from Don Pastor food truck.
Patricia “Paty” Castillo Venegas
Youth Coordinator
she/they/ella/elle | patricia@lgbtsewi.org
I have been the Youth Coordinator at the LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin since March of 2023. I believe that my lived experiences give me a unique insight into how to best support queer youth in southeast Wisconsin and educate others on the lived experiences of queer youth growing up in the Midwest.
I was born in Toluca, Mexico, but my family is all from Sahuayo and San Pedro, Michoacan. I came to the US with my family when I was 2, so I grew up in Racine going to RUSD schools K-12 and learned English by watching shows like “Zaboomafoo” on PBS. I ended up going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for undergrad where I studied Conservation Biology and Global Health, so my academic background is in STEM, however, I also have an extensive background in student activism, community organizing, and youth advocacy through my time at university and beyond. Additionally, I am a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and had the honor of being a caregiver for elders where I learned how to best support people going through really hard life circumstances and life transitions. As well as how to communicate concepts about gender, sexuality, mental health, and disability effectively to people from all intersections of life.
As Youth Coordinator, I hope to implement restorative justice frameworks of conflict resolution, have trauma-informed conversations, and build an intergenerational community of support through my weekly Parenting with Pride and Youth support groups.
It truly takes a village to help just one person, and I hope to be part of the village so that queer youth can be unapologetically themselves.
Board of Directors
