The Team
Who We Are
Ace Reba-Jones, SWLC
(he/him)
Compassion, Strategy, Leadership
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Behavioral Clinician
Ace Reba-Jones (he/him) is a Social Worker Licensure Candidate (SWLC) who offers compassionate, affirming therapy for individuals, couples, and families, grounded in trauma-informed, strengths-based care. As a queer clinician, he centers feeling seen, safe, and respected, with a focus on identity exploration, gender-affirming care, and navigating minority stress, alongside support for grief, chronic illness, systemic oppression, and high acuity needs. His integrative approach draws from DBT, CBT, ACT, attachment, narrative, and systems frameworks, shaped by experience across schools, inpatient, hospice, justice, and post-hospital care. Together, you’ll build practical coping tools, deepen insight and self-compassion, and strengthen connection and meaning. He’s currently accepting new clients.
Caitlin C. Budde
LCSW, CTRI, ES
(she/her)
Clinical Director
Equine Therapist (Springhill Wellness)
Caitlin Budde, MSW, LCSW, CTRI, ES is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Clinical Director for Montana Queer Alliance with over 15 years of experience in mental health across outpatient, residential, and community-based settings. She believes healing grows through safety, connection, and community. Guided by developmental science, attachment theory, somatic approaches, and animal-assisted interventions, Caitlin helps individuals navigate life's complexities with compassion, curiosity, and evidence-informed care. An international conference presenter, she is passionate about building trauma-informed systems of care, advancing ethical equine-assisted services, and expanding access to inclusive behavioral health for all communities.
Kali Welch, CBHPSS
(she/her)
Peer Support (Springhill Wellness)
Throughout her career, Kali Welch, a Helena native, has been driven by a simple question: What helps people feel genuinely safe enough to learn, heal, and grow? As co-owner of Interdependence Assisted, Kali designs and facilitates experiential programs that foster resilience, connection, and personal growth through meaningful interactions with animals, nature, and one another. Her work blends evidence-informed practice, lived experience, and experiential learning to create environments where curiosity, authenticity, and relationship become catalysts for lasting change. Kali holds multiple certifications in Equine Assisted Learning and Equine Experiential Services and is a state-licensed Peer Support Specialist. Her professional background includes service as an Army Preventive Medicine Specialist, Child and Family Specialist providing intensive in-home family services, meditation and life coaching, and experiential facilitation. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Human-Animal Bond Studies from Carroll College. An educator and speaker, Kali has presented at national and international conferences, served as an assistant for field-wide educational panels during the COVID-19 pandemic, and hosted the inaugural Spirituality in Equine Assisted Services panel discussion in 2025. She is also the developer of Cultivating Safety™, an educational framework informed by Polyvagal Theory that explores how experiences of safety shape learning, resilience, relationships, and well-being in everyday life. Whether working with individuals, organizations, or communities, Kali believes that transformation is rarely something we force—it is something that emerges when people experience enough safety to become curious, connected, and fully engaged in the process of discovery.
Connor McSweeney, LCSW
Public Relations Director
Strategic Behavioral Clinician
Connor McSweeney, LCSW, is an independently licensed clinical social worker providing therapy in Helena, Montana, a storyteller with deep Montana roots, from the Hi-Line to the capital, who brings genuine neighborliness, humor, and hard work to every client relationship.
Connor earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Montana (2018) before heading across the country to complete his Master of Social Work at the University of New England in Portland, Maine (2022), and achieved full independent licensure in November 2024 after completing over 3,000 hours of supervised clinical practice.
He works with individuals across the lifespan and from diverse backgrounds, with particular skill navigating complex family dynamics — whether in individual, couple, marital, or family settings — and brings both competency and humility to supporting historically traditional and historically unrecognized families alike, including LGBTQ+NB individuals, aging caregivers, and those impacted by substance use or incarceration.
As a neurodivergent and queer clinician, Connor uses a client-centered, relational approach grounded in feminist and queer theory and psycho-education to help clients work through the "is this normal?" questions of life, identify their values, and build the self-advocacy skills to define their own path forward — long after they leave the therapy space.
Beth Brenneman, SWLC
(she/her)
Autonomy, Empowerment
Trauma-Informed Movement
Behavioral Clinician
I am lucky to have had a childhood and upbringing that celebrated the endless beauty of humankind. That beauty is grounded in our difference - in culture, tradition, music, gender, ethnicity, expression, ideology, values, familial ties. It is spectacular and humbling. I am convinced that much heartache and strife would be alleviated if we all embraced and respected our differences as human beings. This view brought me to my first profession as a civil rights lawyer and lobbyist and my second profession as a mental health counselor.
I believe that everyone has the tools to live their fullest life and that no one can determine a person’s path but themselves. I want to help people to develop and use their skills to be fully aware and empowered to direct their own lives. This self-awareness and self-direction are not just human rights but everyone’s entitlement as human beings.
Joseph Wagner, SWLC
(he/him)
Resilience, Recovery and Healthy Living
Behavioral Clinician
Joe Wagner, MSW, SWLC, DTR has been a healthcare provider for 15 years with a wide range of experience. Joe is also a United States Marine veteran and purple heart recipient with two combat tours in Afghanistan during the operating enduring freedom conflict. Joe has been a leader in the Helena, MT veteran community for almost 10 years now and currently works as a therapist specializing in health psychology, sociology, and disordered eating. Joe very much likes working with minority population due to his representation of multiple groups. Please come down and set up a appointment today.
You?
Provider
Montana Queer Alliance is actively looking for more providers, programs, volunteers, and people who are looking to improve their community.
Nick Stevens
(they/them)
Co-Founder Emeritus
The Montana Queer Alliance was founded through the shared vision of Ace Reba-Jones and Nick Stevens. The organization would not exist in its current form without Nick's foundational contributions and tireless commitment to building a safe and affirming space for the LGBTQ+ community in Montana. After dedicating time to MQA while living apart from their family, Nick made the decision to reunite with them in Seattle in February 2026. Nick continues to be honored with the title of Co-Founder Emeritus in recognition of their enduring impact on the organization and the community it serves.
Contact
We want to hear from you. Any question is welcome about our services but if you were wanting to say hi and connect please do so, we always are wanting to meet new people and make new friends. Give us a call, shoot us a text, or send an email to the info below.