Meet Cara (she/her) and Dani (she/her): two of our amazing Aslan Ambassadors! Cara and Dani both joined our Ambassador Program in February of 2022.
Cara and Dani with their sweet Bernese Mountain Dog George
Cara is originally from Mukilteo and currently works at Peace Health as one of two Pediatric Resource Nurses there. When she isn’t saving lives, you can find Cara wake surfing, snowboarding, playing some stellar campfire guitar, paddleboarding, brewery hopping, or hiking.
Dani grew up mainly in Kirkland and is also a nurse, working at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Labor and Delivery. Dani loves backpacking, trail running, skiing, and hanging out with her friends at local breweries. One of her biggest passions is spreading awareness about the need for more womxn and BI&POC representation in the outdoors.
Dani and Cara briefly met while both working at Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2019. A couple of months later they matched with each other on Bumble and have been together ever since! They moved to Bellingham just over a year ago to get out of the city. They live with their cat Arya and Bernese Mountain Dog George who just turned two. And they are currently planning their 2023 wedding!
Dani and Cara had the same idea of proposing to each other on a trip to Kauai. They even ordered each other rings within a couple of days of each other without knowing! Dani’s ring for Cara didn’t come in time for the trip though, so Cara technically beat her to it.
They are planning on having a small wedding up in the mountains by Artist Point and a celebration with friends and family afterward.
Showing off their wedding rings!!
With B Proud releasing this month in honor of Pride Month, Dani and Cara reached out to Aslan to help promote one of their favorite beers and create awareness for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Pride Month is such a special time of year. It really highlights the community as a whole. The progress and the awareness are so so important,” said Cara. “Pride for me is highlighting being able to be your true self fully and being proud of it, whatever those aspects are, sexuality, gender, or anything else.”
They both agree that although there has been a lot of progress with the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community over recent years, society still has a long way to go.
Dani’s advice to those who are still figuring out who they are is to not worry about the labels. “I felt like there was so much focus on what my label has to be. My advice would be to not worry so much about the label and just focus so much more on how you want to express yourself. I think societal-wise, everyone wants to know what your label is. But it shouldn't matter,” she said.
“Pride is about being proud to express yourself freely and not caring what anyone thinks,” said Dani.
Cara and Dani both were surrounded by supportive family and friends when they came out which they are extremely thankful for. That didn’t mean the process was easy though. Cara says that as a member of the LGBTQ+ community you are constantly coming out to people every day. People automatically assume one thing when they use the term “fiancé” but when they use the pronouns “she/her” it takes people off guard at times. It’s a learning opportunity, they said.
Cara’s biggest piece of advice is to find your support system. “If you've been struggling to find that support system, know that there are people who will love and accept you. You don't have to accept bullshit.”
Seattle’s 48th Pride Parade is coming up at the end of the month to perfectly finish off Pride Month! On June 26th the Pride Parade will be marching through downtown Seattle commemorating the past, celebrating new wins for equality, and getting encouragement for the work yet to come. Dani and Cara both say it’s so much fun, and so encouraging to see so many people come together for the LGBTQ+ community. If you make it to the Seattle Pride festival we recommend stopping by our Fremont taproom to enjoy a B Proud afterward!
