Spring 2024 Hours: M-F 9am-5pm

Meet Our Team

LGBTQ+ Resources Center Staff

Note: some members of our team may not be comfortable being listed publicly, so this list does not fully reflect our entire staff.

Josh Kinchen (he/ze) 

Director, LGBTQ+ Resources Center

Josh is the Director of the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Josh’s portfolio includes overall management and strategic direction of the Center, advising the Queer Student Leadership Council, co-chairing the Chosen Name & Pronouns Policy steering committee, liaisoning with the LGBTQ+ Faculty/Staff Alliance, serving as the external contact with other LGBTQ+ Resource Centers across the country,  leading assessment and benchmarking for LGBTQ+ institutional support, convening the LGBTQ+ departmental liaison group,  and consulting with university entities around LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Josh previously worked at Florida State University as a Program Coordinator in the Student Governance & Advocacy department, working directly with the Allies & Safe Zones program and the Pride Student Union (a student-fee-funded, student-directed, staff-advised LGBTQ+ cultural center). While there, he also served as the Staff Co-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Faculty/Staff Network. He graduated twice from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with an M.Ed. in Higher Education and a B.A. in Communication Studies. A proud first-generation college graduate, he holds an Associate’s degree from Cape Fear Community College. While a UNCW Seahawk, he worked in the LGBTQIA Resource Office, serving in multiple roles from undergraduate intern to Graduate Assistant.

Before his career in higher education, Josh served in the United States Marine Corps as an Intelligence Specialist. Informed by this experience, his Master’s thesis was focused on the experiences of LGB military veterans in their undergraduate college experience. This research was published in the Journal of Veterans Studies, to help inform the intersections of support for LGBTQ students, military veterans, and LGBTQ military veterans on college campuses.

Josh originally hails from Slidell, LA, in the greater New Orleans area but also considers the Port City of Wilmington, NC, a second hometown. Josh is an avid comic collector of nearly 30 years! He enjoys spending time with his partner Denise and their two cats Dingy and Monkey!

Contact Josh at  jkinchen@gmu.edu

Or schedule a meeting here.


LuLu Géza Kelemen (they/them)

Associate Director, LGBTQ+ Resources Center

Lu GK is the Associate Director for LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Their portfolio includes coordinating the Safe Zone+ and the LGBTQ+ Learning Community, co-coordinating the LGBTQ+ Mentoring Program, and supervising the Center’s student staff.

Lu is a double-graduate of George Mason University, earning their Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies and minors in Women & Gender Studies with an LGBTQ Focus and African & African American Studies in 2011 and their Master of Arts in Sociology in 2015. Lu’s thesis focused on the intersections of athletic and gender identity and expression at the university level. During Lu’s time as a student, they worked for three years as a Graduate Professional Assistant before becoming a full-time employee in the LGBTQ+ Resources Center in 2017. They also found a love for rugby at Mason as part the founding Women’s Club team in 2009. After a six-year hiatus from rugby, Lu is proud to say their return to rugby (and the Northern Virginia Women’s Rugby Football Club) in the 2021-2022 season included winning the Division 1 Women’s USA Rugby Club National Championship.

Contact Lu at ckelemen@gmu.edu or set up a Zoom meeting with them here


Sonia Furuya  (she/her)

Business Manager, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (University Life)

Sonia is the Business Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion units in University Life, including the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Sonia’s portfolio includes overall fiscal, human, and administrative management for three departments, comprised of 13 professional staff members and multiple graduate assistants, student coordinators, interns, and practicum students.

Sonia joined University Life in November 2012. She received her undergraduate education in her native city, Lima, Peru. Sonia moved to the United States in 1998 to further her education and build her English language skills in Boston, MA. She later moved to Northern Virginia where she started a family and established her career.

Her professional experience began at Northern Virginia Community College in the Department of Work Force Development. One of her passions is to share her culture and her native language, Spanish. She is a certified Command Spanish teacher (Inova training) and Fairfax County Public School flex program elementary school teacher, where she shares her knowledge with children and other adults.

Contact Sonia at: sfuruya@gmu.edu 


Victoria Barrett (she/her)

Graduate Professional Assistant, LGBTQ+ Resources Center

Victoria is a Graduate Professional Assistant for the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Victoria’s portfolio includes staffing the Center space, engaging students for the Trans Clothing Closet resource, co-coordinating the LGBTQ+ Mentor Program, and other responsibilities.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. While at MBC, she participated in the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership, Army ROTC, and Cross Country. She was commissioned as a logistics officer in the United States Army, serving on active duty for seven years. In 2020, she transitioned to the US Army Reserves and was employed as a Special Education teacher for three years at Carson Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Victoria is currently in George Mason’s Higher Education Master’s program, concentrating on Student Affairs. She’s interested in working with diverse student populations and is excited to join the LGBTQ+ Resource Center team. Victoria’s hobbies include running/working out, hiking, traveling, concerts, exploring new coffee shops/restaurants, and podcasting.

Contact Victoria at: lgbtq@gmu.edu


Justine Jones (she/her)

Graduate Professional Assistant, LGBTQ+ Resources Center
Justine Jones

Justine is a Graduate Professional Assistant for the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Justine’s portfolio includes staffing the Center space, engaging students for the Trans Clothing Closet resource, co-coordinating the LGBTQ+ Mentor Program, and other responsibilities.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Studio Art from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, in 2019. After graduation, she worked in various jobs, including Mental Health Tech at an Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, Preschool Teacher, and Family Advocate for Head Start. She also has been doing pediatric bereavement volunteering for the past four years.

She is enrolled in her first year in the Master of Social Work program at George Mason and would ultimately like to become a licensed Grief Counselor. Her hobbies include painting, hiking, dancing, and eating Ice cream. She is thrilled to be working on the LGBTQ Resource Center Team and work with people from a variety of backgrounds!

Contact Justine at: lgbtq@gmu.edu


Delaney Gilfoyle (she/her)

MSW Intern, LGBTQ+ Resources Center
Delaney Gilfoyle

Delaney is a Master of Social Work Intern at the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Delaney’s work includes developing resources and programs surrounding boundary and accountability setting, engaging with families, and mental health and crisis management, among other projects. As a Master of Social Work student, Delaney has a concentration in Children, Youth, and Families. She received her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Women and Gender Studies with a minor in Gender and Sexualities Studies at the University of Delaware. Delaney believes in using intersectional and decolonial frameworks to promote health equity and social justice.

Delaney loves live music and supporting queer artists. She also loves cooking and finding new vegan-friendly restaurants. Delaney finds joy in showing up for friends, caring for her plants, and visiting her hometown in Pennsylvania to spend time with her family dog, Brody.

Contact Delaney at: lgbtq@gmu.edu



Emma Snyder (she/her)

MSW Intern, LGBTQ+ Resources Center

Emma is a Master of Social Work Intern at the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. Emma’s work includes developing resources and programs surrounding boundary and accountability setting,and creating resources for food insecurity, among other projects.

Emma’s hobbies include lettering, reading, laughing with friends, community service, and cuddling with her dogs. Emma enjoys creating a sense of community for those around her through laughter, creativity, kindness, and service.

Contact Emma at: lgbtq@gmu.edu


Leo Miller (he/ze/xe)

Doctoral Intern, LGBTQ+ Resources Center

Leo is a Doctoral Intern for the LGBTQ+ Resource Center. Leo’s work includes developing resources and programs for LGBTQ+ graduate students and engaging with departments across campus to implement affirming LGBTQ+ practices.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience with a certificate in sexuality studies from the University of Kentucky. Before and while at UK, ze engaged with advocacy, research, and clinical practice surrounding minoritized populations, particularly to develop and initiate programs throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky that were affirming, accessible, and effective. He continues to work with organizations and colleagues nationwide to promote and develop accessible, affirming treatments, resources, and protections for minoritized communities.

Leo is currently a clinical psychology doctoral student at GMU, where zir’s research investigates the role of minority stressors, gender incongruence, and systemic issues in minoritized individuals who report disordered eating and substance use with an intersectional lens. He uses various research methods, from quantitative and qualitative to neurobiological.

Leo’s hobbies include hiking, building various collections, crocheting, and polo. He loves to build a sense of community with others through providing and building up resources.

Contact Leo at: lgbtq@gmu.edu


Andrew Novak (he/him)

Faculty-in-Residence, LGBTQ+ Resources Center

Andrew Novak is a specialist in international and comparative law and teaches courses related to international and comparative criminal justice and human rights. He previously worked as a government lawyer in the fields of administrative and employment law and taught African Law at American University Washington College of Law.

Most of his research has focused on the death penalty in the English-speaking world with a focus on Africa. Other research interests have included comparative executive clemency, constitutional and human rights litigation in the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, and sport history in colonial Zimbabwe, the subject of his master’s thesis. Currently, he is working on a comparative law study of criminal convictions in tribal courts in the United States. He is licensed to practice law in New York and the District of Columbia.

Contact Andrew at: lgbtq@gmu.edu