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Our Staff

Director

Originally from the great state of Michigan, Joseph Clark, M.S., serves as the Program Manager for the Just Us collection of youth programs and trainings. With over 10 years of positive youth development experience, Joseph strives to create a safe and affirming space where LGBTQ+ youth feel empowered to explore and celebrate their identities, build community, and express themselves authentically.

Beyond providing direct youth service, Joseph also creates and delivers trainings to current and future educators, counselors, and community organizations to ensure that all LGBTQ+ people have equitable access to services and can thrive in their communities.

Outside of work, Joseph enjoys black coffee, kayaking, The Golden Girls, and Spartan Football – GO GREEN!

Program Specialist

Being from Tennessee, the Volunteer State, Jeremy has made it a point in his life to embrace his home state’s nickname by participating in volunteerism and service-learning in the field of youth development. He has been both a Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteer and helped youth organizations in places like Peru, South Africa, and Honduras. Always up for a new experience, his curious nature allows him to be a lifelong learner understanding that we all have a growth edge. Jeremy is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and when not on the job, you can find him reading, biking, thrifting, trying something new, or dance cleaning. He is very tidy. He is also jumping with joy to join the Just Us team!

Just Us Therapist

Madison moved to Nashville in 2015 after completing her undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas.  Madison has spent several years teaching in MNPS, and most recently, graduated from the Lipscomb MFT program in August. Madison is excited to provide mental health support to LGBTQ+ youth! Outside of work, Madison loves gardening, paddle boarding, and hiking!

Founder, Just Us & Sr. Director of Youth Action & Advocacy, Oasis Center

Pam Sheffer is the Senior Director of Youth Action & Advocacy at Oasis Center and founded the Just Us program for LGBTQ+ youth. After a lucrative 23-year career in corporate health insurance sales, Pam made a momentous decision to leave the corporate world and instead dedicate her life to creating system level changes for LGBTQ+ youth. She made it her new mission to ensure that LGBTQ+ young people could grow, thrive, and create positive change in their lives and communities.  Pam spent a year working fulltime as a volunteer for the Oasis Center, conducting the necessary research and development to create a program designed specifically for LGBTQ+ youth. She built the infrastructure for the “Just Us” program in 2010-11 and collaborated with LGBTQ+ youth to develop the programming that is currently delivered. After securing the necessary funding to sustain the program, Pam launched Just Us in 2011.

Since 2011, Just Us has expanded programming from one program to five and has expanded in staff who are providing positive youth development programming as well as therapeutic mental health services on a weekly basis to over 100 young people each year.

In 2021, Pam handed the programming reigns over to Joseph Clark, Program Manager and his talented team of dedicated professionals to continue the transformational work of Just Us.