Lucas Manrique (he/him/his/él) is a Project Manager and Trainer for Health Equity and Wellness at Garden State Equality. Originally from Paterson, New Jersey, he is a Queer, First Generation, Bilingual, Colombian-American.
After spending most of his early life dreaming of being a medical doctor, Lucas studied neuroscience for almost four years at the University of Scranton, where he fell in love with advocacy at the Women’s Center and Multicultural Center. One semester prior to graduation, he transferred to Montclair State University, where their Office for Social Justice and Diversity fostered his growth into a confident peer educator. While at Montclair State, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, going on to become a Licensed Associate Counselor and a Nationally Certified Counselor.
He worked as a therapist until feeling called to play a part in dismantling the systems that he and his LGBTQ+ clients were disproportionately facing. Lucas is passionate about addressing inequities in healthcare, creating effective and relevant education for practitioners, and ensuring LGBTQ+ folks have equal access to competent providers.