About Kernel

Kernel Collaborative was sprung from a little seed in the heart of a little town known as New Paltz, New York. It's a unusual place bursting with welcoming artistic energy, and a safe bubble where queer and marginalized people find each other and express themselves freely. It's a place where supportive community thrives and people come together to celebrate each other.

This kind of community is essential in harrowing times, and offers a precious opportunity to share our creative endeavors with each other and the world. The forces that be are pushing every day to assimilate, normalize, and vanish those of us who do not fit the status quo. Bringing light to the bountiful energy of the marginalized is essential to creating a world where everyone is respected and supported.

Kernel was founded by Milo Axelrod, a long-time resident and a designer, writer, and artist. Milo has been a local since '16 and befriended countless people, from artists to activists, from those down-and-out to those on-their-way, from sprouted seeds to creators in full bloom. The wealth of skill and ambition in this fertile valley is extraordinary. Kernel Collaborative is on a mission to uplift voices longing for a platform to speak their truths, starting local but reaching wherever our seeking shoots can spread.

Our Team

Milo Axelrod
(they/he)
Founder, Editor in Chief, Designer

Milo is an artist, writer, and designer living in New Paltz, NY. They love to travel as much as they love being home with their fluffy dog (matching hairdo included) and the piles of projects that do, in fact, get done. They're a frequent face in the queer & trans community, and usually in the mood to casually interview you. Yes, you. Catch them in a coffee shop or at a local open mic.

Elizabeth Dee
(she/her)
Writing Editor, Artist

Liz is a fiction editor, writer, and artist who grew up in the publishing world and hopes to one day understand it. You can hire her for all levels of editing. In her spare time, she has a real job. She lives with her baker spouse and their sweet dumb cat in the Hudson Valley, scolding friends into eating a hot meal, reading to kids, and gluing things into an extremely fat journal.

Michael Simpson
(he/him)
Writing Editor

Michael is a writer & illustrator based in Boston, MA. He lives a life of relative seclusion writing weird fiction from the attic of his family home. He craves authenticity and writes towards it, drawing from neuroqueer perspectives. When not working, he unwinds with long walks, gaming, and quality time with loved ones—friends, family, a beloved dog, and two pet beetles.

Sam Crohn
(she/her)
Art Editor

Sam Crohn is a multimedia artist living and working in the Hudson Valley. She weaves all of her areas of expertise into her practice, which include painting, assemblage, and tattooing.