About Us
A brief overview of the organization and those that currently run it.

Meet EPICenter

Edwardsville Pride Inclusivity Center, or EPICenter for short, was started from the desire to provide resources, information, and support to the LGBTQIA+ community, and to educate and speak out for the community to the Edwardsville area at large, from the perspective and under the guidance of the LGBTQIA+ community itself.

While the help and support of our allies is very important, we felt that the people to decide and direct how best to help and support the LGBTQIA+ community are the members of our community. That's right. OUR community. We're here. We're queer. Etc. This group is of the queer people, by the queer people, and for the queer people.

We welcome all input from other members of the LGBTQIA+ into what resources, events, or anything else that we could be doing to better help us all feel safe, happy, and welcome in the Edwardsville area. We do also welcome any questions, chances to partner with, or help or educate our allies or those who wish to become allies. We are stronger together, after all.

We're here to be "a source of Pride for our community", in all the ways we can mean that.

Meet Our Administration Team

Natalie Zuzu

Natalie Zuzu (she/her) was born in Alton, raised in Springfield, and moved to Edwardsville in 2016.
She earned a Master's in Public Administration from SIUE in 2022 and is determined to make Edwardsville the Queer center of Madison County.

Ash Jenkins

Ash Jenkins (he/they) is an asexual, omniromantic, demi-man.
They have an MBA from SIUE focusing on project management and enjoy a variety of crafts in their downtime. He is happily married and is a druid in the order of Ár nDraíocht Féin.
Ash seeks to better his community through dialogue, community building, and providing people opportunities to engage with the world and people around them.

Lana Powell

Lana Powell (she/her) is a transgender, panromantic, demisexual woman.
She is a former Math and Performing Arts educator, a non-theistic Pagan, and has worked for various colleges, financial institutions both major and minor, and retailers throughout the region and across the nation.
She is glad to be a member of this team and proud to serve as its treasurer as well as de facto web mistress.

Dre Rice

Dre (they/he) is a queer, transmasc alterhuman and Edwardsville native. They have an MA in German from Bowling Green State University and teach in Belleville.
In their free time, Dre enjoys playing games, travelling, and making art and cosplay. They design graphics for EPICenter.

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