Born in Celaya, Mexico and raised in the small town of Waynesboro, Georgia, Jonatan is a proud DACA recipient whose passion for creating inclusive and affirming spaces sparked from the lack of representation he had growing up in the deep South.

After graduating from the Art institute of Charleston, his career in the fashion industry took off as he collaborated with industry leaders through design, styling, and production which led him to work alongside partners such as Charleston Fashion Week, Southern Living Magazine, Bravo TV, Nickelodeon Studios, Buzzfeed, NPR, BEAU Magazine, and many others. While working in fashion, he realized how powerful his voice was and started volunteering with We Are Family (WAF), a Charleston based organization that provides direct support to LGBT+ youth. While volunteering he was able to use elements from the fashion industry to empower youth and uplift their voices to be more confident in order for them to thrive unapologetically in the world.

In March 2019, Jonatan officially joined the WAF staff to open up the organization’s social enterprise Closet Case Thrift Store. His idea of creating a space where folks could have a gender inclusive shopping experience, while being sustainable, and supporting queer youth led the Closet Case to be a 5-star rated thrift store and a staple in the community.

Jonatan is an honoree of the Honor41 list and named one of Charleston’s Best and Brightest 35 under 35 by Charleston Business Journal. He is proud to share his story, which has been highlighted in Univision and Hola News, in the hopes it will fuel younger generations to keep moving forward and to take action to do their part to create the world we want to live in. His passion for helping youth find their purpose extends into the classroom where he teaches with YoArt Inc. as an adjunct teacher. He also shares his skills by providing support to other organizations throughout the nation such as Latinos in the South, FWD.Us, ACLU and many others. Seeing the positive direct impact of his advocacy and social work fuels his mission of creating Queer Southern Magic.