Registration & Call for Programs Now Open for 2019 CCC + LGBTQ+ Summit

Online Registration and the Call for Programs are now open for the 2nd California Community College LGBTQ+ Summit, hosted by UC Riverside on November 23, 2019. The Summit is a free, higher education conference to support and create resources for LGBTQ people at California Community Colleges.

Please note that November 23 is the Saturday before the Thanksgiving holiday!

Interested in planning the Summit? Please contact Nancy Tubbs at nancy.tubbs@ucr.edu or 951.827.2267.

Archive of 2017 Summit Programs

Workshops presented at the 1st CCC + LGBTQ+ Summit in 2017 are below:

First Person Plural: Using LGBT+ Literature to Affirm and Connect POC Students in a Rural Community

Jamie Moore, Professor, College of the Sequoias
Jorden Dungan, Augmented Instructor, College of the Sequoias

This presentation will outline the intentional collaboration and curriculum planning of a queer-identified professor and a trans* identified student instructor to disrupt the conservative narratives of a rural student population. Emphasizing how to create a brave and critical-thought focused classroom that supports POC students, they will share tools and handouts around using LGBT+ literature to break away from the "us vs. them" conversations common in college classrooms. While also describing ongoing challenges, they will discuss how using this literature to create "we-" based conversations allows for deeper connection, empathy and understanding among students.

Getting Started: Creating Space for QTPoC on Campus

Jack Lam, UCLA (Fullerton College Alum)

Navigating spaces at college can feel stressful and isolating for many queer folks of color. We often deal with not only academic challenges, but also personal challenges that many cishet folks and student administrators cannot understand. Using my own experiences at my community college, I will be sharing tips and resources on how to create a community space that is geared to support the needs of the LGBTQ+ community on your campus, and create a sense of belonging and family.

It IS a Big Deal: The Impact of Microaggressions on LGBTQ Mental Health and Academic Success
Patrick F. Rock, Glendale Community College
While many people are able to identify signs of explicit anti-LGBTQ discrimination, it can be difficult to identify the subtle ways in which LGBTQ individuals are marginalized. This workshop will address the topic of microaggressions—the minor slights that occur on a daily basis to members of marginalized groups. We will talk in this workshop about anti-LGBTQ microaggressions that are common in the college setting and I will present research on the profound impact of these experiences on individuals’ mental health and academic success. The workshop will conclude with best practices for supporting LGBTQ individuals who mention experiencing microaggressions and with a discussion of how to successfully engage with peers or supervisors who fail to see the importance of this issue. 

LGBTQ Sensitivity for Faculty

Hasmik Arakelyan, Los Angeles Valley College

This workshop is designed to provide educators with tools to better serve LGBTQIAA* students. We will increase our sensitivity towards LGBTQ students and their experiences, recognize and address bias and discrimination in class settings, use more inclusive language in the classroom, and use students’ preferred gender pronouns.

Make it Work: Creatively Leveraging District Resources

Steven Deineh, MiraCosta College
JP Schumacher, MiraCosta College

With little-to-no institutional or ongoing support for LGBTQIA+ programs and initiatives, campus stakeholders have had to be creative in developing and sustaining them. Learn about what MiraCosta is doing (and has done) including: early inclusion of sexual minorities in its 2014 & 2015-18 Student Equity Plans; the adoption of a Campus Liaison for LGBTQIA+ Needs; a brand new 18 hour staff position focusing on LGBTQIA+ Equity; a robust set of student-driven & funded programs annually; three $25,000+ scholarship endowments, with a 4th (QTPOC) in the works; and a large LGBTQIA+ Safe Space Program which received a public commendation from a 12-person AACJC accreditation team in Spring 2017.

Non-Binary Identities Workshop: Bridging the Gaps of Gender Diversity
Rex Wilde, TransCanWork
Many societies, including the US, have a history of only recognizing people as "male" or "female".  Even within the transgender community people are often only recognized as either transwomen or transmen.  However, it is estimated that non-binary individuals make up 25-35% or more of transgender populations.  In this workshop, we will explore the history and spectrum of gender diversity, needs specific to non-binary individuals, and tools for ensuring respect and support to non-binary folks.  

Point Foundation - Leadership Through Scholarship

Point Staff & Scholars

Point Foundation (Point) is the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit. Point empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society. During this session, recipients of Point's community college and 4-year scholarships will share stories of how they've utilized the Point network to advance LGBTQ issues on campus and beyond through leadership, advocacy, and activism.

The Spectrum Archives: Narratives of Courage
Johnnie Terry, LGBT Studies, Sierra College
Angie Coughlin, Applied Art and Design Faculty, Sierra College
The Spectrum Archives is an LGBT Focused Oral History Project that unites Career and Technical Education, Videography Faculty with LGBT Studies Faculty, the greater Sacramento regional LGBT Community and a former California State Legislator with a Community College, and a cadre of student interns with key LGBT Rights Activists. Sierra College teamed up with key allies to start an Oral History Project capturing the stories of LGBT Rights Activists. This presentation describes the project, shows key moments in several of the histories captured and showcases a panel of participants, community members and project interviewees. Note: 90 minutes over 2 workshop sessions 

Teaching Narcissism – Pedagogical Approaches for Classroom Queer Spaces
Ryan D. Sullivan, Mt. San Jacinto College
In “Radical Narcissism,” Raquel Gutierrez tells of “finding herself” in a support group for Latina Lesbians, explaining: “I had to work to carve out a space where we can stop and think about what it meant to be…And the stopping to think was truly a revolutionary act….We give each other space, but we give our own selves permission to take what we’ve been give and have a good sense to demand more” (153). Thinking with Gutierrez's idea of "radical narcissism," this workshop considers the classroom as a space that is vitally important in the process of self-acceptance and growth, and questions some commonplaces--especially in how we approach writing--can unintentionally stifle and alienate students. This workshop will integrate work by scholars like Eve Kosofsky Sedgewick, bell hooks, Jennifer Doyle, Peter Elbow, and Michael Warner, and writers like Raquel Gutierrez and Frank O'Hara to propose a queer pedagogical approach. This workshop welcomes teachers interested in reconsidering pedagogical approaches, administrators interested in rethinking spaces and support structures, and students interested in becoming more mindful writers and thinkers.   

Trans-Minded: A Deeper Understanding of Transgender and Gender Diverse Students
Erin Pollard, LMFT, LPCC, Irvine Valley College
Erin Pollard is a Gender Affirming Therapist in private practice as well as a Counselor at Irvine Valley College. This presentation will describe the difference between gender and sexuality and respectful communication around gender diversity. In addition, Erin will delve deeper into the effects that our society can have upon our trans youth in education as well as the mental health impacts of gender dysphoria, transitioning, and experiencing acceptance or rejection from family and friends.  

We’re here, we’re queer: Queering Academia

Brenda "B" Lopez, San Diego State University (Moreno Valley College alum)
Do the texts that you read in school present your identities? Do you know professors that you can safely talk to about sexuality, gender identity, and/ or such identities? Does your school have a LGBTQ+ club and does this club prioritize QTPOC issues? If you answered no to these questions, then you understand the difficulties of succeeding in academic institutions that were not created for you. Join my workshop to discuss the ways that we can queer academia, reclaim spaces, and create change for future QTPOC students.