Liz Achanta
Angel Mason Broadus (she/her) and Kristine Mason Broadus (she/her) are the amazing power couple behind Puzzle Pieces Marketing!
Partners in life and in business, Angel and Kristine use their skills as professional communicators to amplify the good work being done by nonprofits and socially conscious businesses in their hometown of San Diego. On top of all that, they give back to their community through volunteering and funding scholarships for LGBTQIA+ youth!
In the following #DotGayQAndA with Angel and Kristine, they tell us about the mission that guides their work, as well as the importance of LGBTQIA+ visibility in the world of business.
Tell us your superhero origin story: who are you, and what do you do?
Founded in 2009, we are owned and operated by two dope queens who are the essence of #relationshipgoals. Puzzle Pieces Marketing is a Black-owned, women-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and all-around kick-ass-power-couple-owned marketing and public relations agency.
Focusing on social good and giving back to our community is our mission. We work primarily with nonprofits and do-gooders to develop strategies that inspire action.
How does your domain, PuzzlePiecesMarketing.gay, benefit your mission?
Puzzle Pieces Marketing looks to amplify the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community. Not only are we the President and VP, but we’re married partners in life as well. We know the stigma and discrimination that our community faces, which extends to LGBTQIA+ owned businesses. We are committed to zero tolerance of discrimination and look to be a supportive force in the LGBTQIA+ community
Why is it important for you to be a proud and visible member of LGBTQIA+ communities?
Puzzle Pieces Marketing is proud to be among San Diego’s minority-owned businesses that have long advocated against discrimination and systemic inequality.
As a minority-owned business, it is important for us to be visible members of the LGBTQIA+ community because we truly believe that when people see representations of themselves it helps create a sense of self-worth and can boost positive affirmations of their own identity.
We also recently established an LGBTQIA+ Youth scholarship for graduating high-school seniors. It is important for us to make certain that LGBTQIA+ youth feel supported by members of their community
What kind of effects has that visibility had for your business?
It opens people’s minds and eyes to the range of diversity on our team. Our diversity has created opportunities for us to showcase our talents. When given the opportunity, we are able to demonstrate our excellence in leadership and our niche.
Why do LGBTQIA+ people deserve a safer internet?
Everyone in our community should be allowed to browse the internet safely. However, we all know that there are inherent risks on the internet especially for LGBTQIA+ youth. Based on the 2017 Stonewall School Report, 95% of LGBTQIA+ youth said that the internet has helped them find positive role models. In addition, connecting and sharing online can be a vital way for members in our community to find valuable resources and for the LGBTQIA+ youth to see more positive representation of themselves.
Elizabeth Achanta
How CATS.gay grew from an online community into a nonprofit serving hundreds of transfeminine people across the Eastern United States.
Elizabeth Achanta
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For nearly three decades, Logan Lynn has built a career rooted in radical transparency. The Portland-based musician, writer, filmmaker, and mental health advocate first emerged as a teenager, signing a record deal at just seventeen years old using songs he had written and recorded years earlier. Since then, Lynn has released a deep catalog of music spanning indie rock, synth-pop, and electronic influences while building a reputation for emotionally raw songwriting that explores identity, grief, addiction, love, recovery, and survival.
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When Jesse Rudicil started RudicilAI Lab Inc in Los Angeles, he had a straightforward mission: “Be the leader in medical, legal, and cellular AI technology.” His goal is to explore how artificial intelligence could support advances in areas such as patient care, legal processes, and cellular research. It’s early-stage, ambitious work, and much of it sits at the intersection of fields that don’t always connect easily.
