Josh Rodriguez (he/him) lives with his wife, Laurie, and youngest child, Rae. Josh and Laurie have three adult children and two small dogs. Two of Josh and Laurie’s children are LGBTQ+. Josh was born and raised in the LDS church, where he was very involved in performing and leading sacred music for over three decades. Professionally, he has degrees in Spanish language and linguistics, including a PhD in Spanish linguistics from Ohio State University. He has taught for many years both at the university and secondary levels, and currently teaches at a high school near Rockford, Illinois. He teaches Spanish to Heritage Spanish speakers (students who have grown up speaking Spanish at home). He is also the faculty advisor for the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Club at the high school. His love for languages and linguistics has most recently motivated him to study Modern and Biblical Hebrew, and he practices his spoken Hebrew weekly online with conversation partners in Israel. He is looking forward to his own bar mitzvah this summer (2023).
