Teresa Ma is of Chinese descent and emigrated to Australia with her parents and younger sister when she was 9. Teresa pushed the LGBTIQ aspect of her life aside until well into adulthood due to her strong Catholic beliefs and the fear of upsetting her strict Catholic family. Teresa engaged with a Catholic organisation called Courage which sought to promote celibacy for same sex attracted people, but eventually discovered Acceptance Melbourne which is an organisation committed to supporting LGBTIQ+ Catholics across Victoria. She is the current President of Acceptance Melbourne and works in the drug and alcohol addiction space.
In 2013, Temple Beth Israel hosted the first ever LGBTQI Jewish commitment ceremony performed in Victoria, and followed it in 2014 with the first Pride Shabbat.