People

Staff

Taylor Eden Carlson

Executive Director

Taylor is driven by values of fairness and equitable inclusion and guided by the principle that individuals are the experts in their own lives.

Taylor is a Moose Jaw kid who often quips that they are a “lifer” having always been a believer in and cheerleader for smaller communities and their residents, particularly the most vulnerable among us. Taylor comes to Moose Jaw Pride with experience as a strategic leader, consultant, and collaborator within the non-profit and human services sectors.

Taylor is a familiar face to many, through their community roles as a valued volunteer, Director and committee member of various local organizations and groups. They’ve previously worked with two provincial governments in a capacity of trust and participate locally as a valued member of the Newcomer Steering Committee, Youth AXIS and YMCA.

Laura Budd

Education Coordinator

Laura Budd is an impassioned Human Rights advocate and ally who is driven to create a society where all people are celebrated and respected. She has worked with students (from pre-K to University), educators, health care professionals, women’s shelters and service groups to offer diversity training on gender and sexual diversity which includes her own lived experiences. With the unique ability of speaking from her scars, not her wounds, Laura also does motivational speaking to dispel the myths and stigmas of mental health challenges and suicide.

Joe Wickenhauser

Co-founder

Joe Wickenhauser is a passionate community organizer who has worked with schools, healthcare workers and community groups to provide diversity training on how to support LGBT+ people in an organizational setting. After completing his Master’s thesis on LGBT+ history in Moose Jaw and Saskatchewan, his work has focused on bringing communities together to support gender and sexual diversity in smaller centres. Joe regularly delivers presentations and workshops on LGBT+ issues and was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union in 2016. He was named as a CBC Future 40 winner in 2017 and was nominated as Citizen of the Year in Moose Jaw in 2018.