Conversion Film

Yass, Jesus!

We welcome back Dusty Ray Bottoms and welcome filmmakers Zach Meiners and Elena Joy Thurston to discuss their new documentary CONVERSION.

A story by survivors, “CONVERSION” takes us on a personal and cinematic journey as a filmmaker, an ex-mormon mom, and a famous drag queen unite to overcome the mental and physical impacts of enduring conversion “therapy.”

Find out more here: (https://www.conversionmovie.com/)

Elena Joy Thurston

Featured in the award-winning documentary, CONVERSION, Elena Joy Thurston is an inspirational diversity & allyship speaker, trainer,executive coach and author that specializes in Inclusive Leadership.

Elena Joy inspires her audiences & participants to learn how they can improve their organization's morale and productivity, changing members' lives in a practical way. A Mormon mom of four who lost her marriage, her church, and her community when she came out as a lesbian, her viral TEDx talk on surviving conversion therapy has been viewed more than 45,000 times and landed her media and speaking opportunities with ABC, CBS, FOX, Forbes, HuffPost, Denver Broncos, Penn State, Michael’s, Logitech, and more.

‌Dustin Rayburn

Dustin Rayburn is an entertainer and activist, best known by their stage name Dusty Ray Bottoms. Dustin's story of going through conversion therapy first came to prominence while on the Emmy Award winning show "RuPaul's Drag Race." Since then, Dustin has used their platform to support organizations both in the US and abroad, including The Trevor Project and The Amandla Development.

Zach Meienrs

Zach Meiners has been finding creative ways to tell stories since he learned to talk, having directed his first feature before the age of 21, for which he won a student Emmy Award. Since then, Zach has gone on to become an accomplished director, producer, and entrepreneur as the founder and president of Chronicle Cinema. Zach has worked with politicians and community leaders in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and continues his commitment to amplify queer voices and put an end to conversion therapy.

Yass, Jesus! is hosted by Danny Franzese and Azariah Southworth. Our producers are Ross Murray and Meredith Paulley. Sound, music, and post-production by Chris Heckman. This episode was produced by the World of Wonder Podcast Network.

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