Archive of 2021 Summit Programs
Advocacy Stories: The Long and Winding Journeys of Leading Change Initiatives
Kelly Munson (she/her) Student Life Advisor
Skylar Darrow (she/he) Student
Bryn Thomas (they/them)
Quinsea Pratt (she/her) Safe Place & Queer Resource Center Supervisor
Mox Andrea (she/her) IT Director
Butte College
Most change does not happen overnight, especially in higher ed. It can be an arduous process for students who are only on our campuses for 2 +/- years. Yet, when there is enough outrage, passion and support, change CAN happen. Former student leaders with members of the Gender & Sexual Equity Taskforce from Butte College will share the stories of their journeys to successfully create the Chosen Name Project and the Queer Resource Center at Butte College. Q & A will follow.
Before and After COVID-19: How to Initiate and Sustain a Successful LGBTQIA+ Initiative on Campus
Salvador Navarro (he/him) Counselor
El Camino College
In this workshop, I will be sharing the ins and outs of starting an LGBTQIA+ initiative on a college campus. Topics of discussion will include: sponsorship/budget, marketing, branding, engagement, buy-in from key stakeholders, the process of forming a committee, partnerships and much more. Specifically, I will be sharing the work we have done face to face and how we are rendering our services and hosting our events in an online format due to our current COVID-19 situation. This workshop is designed for staff, administrators and students who also wish to be a voice for the queer services they wish to see on their campus grounds.
Beyond "Checking the Box": Advancing LGBTQIA+ Data Collection at MiraCosta College
Lisa Trescott (she/her) Research Analyst, Student Equity and SSSP
Kristina Londy (she/her) Program Manager Student Success & Equity, LGBTQIA+ Campus Liaison
MiraCosta College
In this session the staff of MiraCosta College will share our best practices for collecting useful data on the LGBTQIA+ Community. Given the historical obstacles with collecting reliable data on this community and the limited data that CCC’s get from the chancellor's office, colleges are often left on their own finding creative solutions to this problem. During this session we will share with you the inspiration for our data collection practices, how we’ve been able to collect data to help us better understand the LGBTQIA+ student population and their needs, as well as how we plan to use this data to inform our future initiatives.
Centering Student Voices: Our Journey in Creating a LGBTQIA+ Disproportionate Impact Report
Dr. Roger Davidson (he/they) Dean, Natomas Education Center
Alejandra Fernandez Garcia (they/them) Pride Center Specialist
Bee Curiel (they/them) SPA, Student Ambassador Program
American River College
This presentation will cover the framework that led our campus to request a disproportionate impact report for our LGBTQIA+ students, the data we used to drive the report, and the process we used to hear student voices. We will touch on the challenges our team faced and how we learned to overcome them. Our presentation will conclude with the recommendations that report provided back to our campus community which focused on QTBIPOC students as a intersectional way to improve the student experiences of all students in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
Challenges and Opportunities in Educating the Educators on LGBTQ+ Experience
Dr. Steph Anderson (they/them) Assistant Professor of Psychology
Students from the Gender Sexuality Alliance
Santa Monica College
As a collective of LGBTQ+ student leaders, we engage in a variety of institutional spaces (e.g., student government, student clubs, advisory boards) at Santa Monica College (SMC). Our goal is to make SMC a safer and more inclusive campus for queer and trans students, in particular for those of us who experience the most marginalization. In this workshop, we discuss our leadership and advocacy efforts at SMC. Specifically, we reflect on our experience designing and implementing “LGBTQ+ 101” Workshops on campus and the challenges and opportunities inherent in partnering with faculty, staff, and administrators in these efforts.
A Collaborative Approach to GSAs: Benefits of Queer Community Connections
Kelly Ramnarine (she/her) President, Community Officer Gender Sexuality Alliance and QueerSCV
Katie Lookholder (she/her) Adjunct Professor
College of the Canyons
This session will encompass the beneficial relationship between the College of the Canyons Gender Sexuality Alliance and QueerSCV, a Santa Clarita Valley LGBTQ+ community organization.This collaborative approach to LGBTQ+ student support services has resulted in beneficial outcomes that may not have otherwise been possible, including but not limited to:
• On-Campus Event Support: COC LGBTQ+ Pride, National Coming Out Day.
• Collaborative Projects: 2020 Queerantine Zine, SCV Virtual Pride.
• Connection to the Greater LGBTQ+ Community: Safe Adult LGBTQ+ Mentorship, Santa Clarita Valley Pride, Fieldtrips(Zoo, Beach, etc.), LGBTQ+ Bookclub, Queer Friendsgiving."
Creating a learning community to support the retention and persistence of LGBTQIA+ Students
Dr. Guadalupe Corona (She/Her/Ella)Director, Office of Student Equity Programs and Services; Southwestern College
Kimi Rodriguez-McSwain (she/her) Chel Coordinator/Counselor; Southwestern College
Dr. James Wilson English Faculty; Diablo Valley College
Dr Corona leads the office of student equity at Southwestern. In collaboration with Ms. Rodriguez Mc Swain and Dr. Wilson, they will share their efforts to support an LGBTQIA+ learning community. Both faculty members are leaders in developing a learning community to provide safe space for students. And Dr. Corona will share the role of student equity in supporting these efforts.
Cultural Identities: Creating success in the midst of institutional and financial barriers
Ernesto Nery (he/him) Director, Financial Aid
Merritt College
Being of multi-racial, first-generation, and a gay college student of undocumented parents has been a struggle in my young adult life. This has led me to internally explore my multiple identities, which often has caused discrimination, stigma and rejection. Further, the lack of parental and financial support made it difficult to afford college expenses, causing social and psychological barriers. Therefore, working in the Financial Aid Office, I have had the privileged to interact with students who face similar experiences. Cultural norms have a significant effect on the success of students, resulting in LGBTQIA+ students to often receive inadequate tools needed to succeed in college. This session will focus on available financial aid resources to support LGBTQIA+ students, primarily students who have little to no financial support from their parents or have become homeless as a result.
Fostering Resiliency in the LGBTQ ASD college student
Bryan Scheihing (he/him) Licensed Therapist and Training Director
Dr. Laurie Stephens (she/her) Senior Director of Autism and LGBTQ Programs
The Help Group's Kaleidoscope Program
How can we best support LGBTQ+ youth with autism in the college environment? Being LGBTQ+ is often met with adversity and maybe even rejection in multiple settings. Individuals with autism may face a broad range of challenges and stigma as well. Research indicates that people who experience the intersectionality of being in both of these populations benefit greatly by receiving affirming support from others. Join us to learn about the importance of providing affirming support for the population of LGBTQ+ young adults who are also diagnosed with autism, including examples of how to do so.
Incorporating LGBTQ+ Content in Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training
Dr. Cindy Vyskocil (she/her) Vice Chancellor of Human Resources; South Orange County Community College District
Flavio Medina-Martin (he/him) Director of Diversity and Inclusion;College of the Canyons
Gregory Smith (he/him) Vice Chancellor of Human Resources; San Diego Community College District
Jake Knapp (he/him) General Counsel; Los Rios Community College District
With the recent Supreme Court Decision (BOSTOCK V. CLAYTON COUNTY) and legislation mandating sexual harassment training for all employees (SB1300 and SB 1343) join us for a panel discussion on federal and California laws and regulations regarding sexual harassment and strategies to incorporate LGBTQ+ content into our harassment trainings.
Intersectional Roots: LGBTQ+ Elders Share Their Journeys
Mason Funk (he/him) Executive Director; The Outwords Archive
"Intersectional Roots: LGBTQ+ Elders Share Their Journeys" will look at the origins of intersectionality, both as a concept, and in the lived experiences of three queer California elders with intersecting identities. These individuals include a Chinese-American lesbian poet, a Latinx mental health provider, and a transgender Latinx/Indigenous community organizer. The subjects' stories will be presented in their own words via short (3-4 minute) videos and through in-person participation in the panel (subject to confirmation). Their stories will provide inspiration and orientation for students and others living with intersecting identities, and delve into the queer community's responsibilities for anti-racism work.
Intersectional Safe Zone
Magdalena Munoz (she/her) Counselor
Jason Reyes (he/him) President of Associated Students of Rio Hondo College (ASRHC)
Rio Hondo College
The Intersectional Safe Zone training explores the various experiences of Queer students of color with various *isms (racism, classism, sexism, and more) in higher education. Queer students also make comprehensive recommendations to address inequalities and provide holistic support in their journey.
LGBTQ+ Visibility in the Community College Classroom
Wendy Silva (she/her, they/them) Assistant Professor, English
Robert Hyers (he/him) Assistant Professor
Dr. Andrea Dillon (she/her, they/them) Associate Professor, Life Sciences
Dr. Bryan C. Keene (he/him) Assistant Professor
Diana MacDougall (she/her) Professor; ASL/Interpreting Program Coordinator
Riverside City College
In our panel, we will discuss how, within our given disciplines at the community college, which include ASL, Life Science, English & Composition, and Art/Art History, we’ve worked to bring LGBTQ+ visibility into our classrooms and interrogate it using the same intersectional lens we use to interrogate other identities within our classrooms. We aim to move beyond representations that tokenize, exotify, or “other” our community, into authentic, empowering representations that affirm the identities and experiences of our LGBTQ+ students. We will share concrete examples of how we have examined and critically re-imagined LGBTQ+ visibility in our classrooms and on campus.
Mental Health Needs Among LGBTQ+ College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Emilio Loret de Mola (he/him)
Lena Robertson (they/them)
Vanderbilt University
Following the closure of many colleges and universities in the spring of 2020, our team conducted a study to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic may have placed some LGBTQ+ college students in unsafe or unaccepting environments that could negatively impact their mental health and wellbeing. The data collected from our first survey shows that more than half of our sample experienced psychological distress, anxiety, and depression at the beginning of the pandemic. We recommend that universities adapt resources and services to provide LGBTQ+ students better access to mental health support as learning continues in various environments outside of the classroom.
Moving Forward: Starting an LGBTQ+ Association on Campus
Al Weyant-Forbes (he/they/she) EOPS Specialist
Wendy Silva (she/her, they/them) Assistant Professor, English
Deborah Brown (she/her, they/them) Assistant Professor, History
Riverside City College
Progress can be slow sometimes, but it happens! In absence of an LGBTQ campus center or a unified LGBTQ campus-wide organization, Riverside City College recently created an LGBTQ+ Association for Student Success and Equity (LASSE) comprised of classified professionals, faculty, students, and administrators. Come learn the steps we took to create the Association, along with the work that LASSE is currently doing - including a pilot mentor program, events, and advocacy for campus-wide positive change. Let’s also have a discussion about the work of attendees’ campuses, and how we can individually and collectively continue to work toward equity for LGBTQIA2+ students.
Queer Chisme as a counter space of Resistence
Ángel Gonzalez (he/they/elle) Graduate Research Associate; San Diego State University
Yolanda Cataño (she/her/ella) Interim Associate Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Equity, and Student Success; Imperial Valley College
SergioGonzalez (el/him) Research Associate; Rutgers College:Center for Minority Serving Institutions
As queer Latinx individuals, we want to share space, coutnerspace to engage in what we call, queer chisme as a tool to hold, disrupt, and demand space with my participants for our survival and existence (Gutierrez, 2017). Rooted in feminist knowledge production, queer chisme serves as a disruptive tool towards homosocial practice permitting us, QTPOC folx, to share experiences that “exposes the violent impact heteronormative ideologies have material reality” (Gutierrez, 2017, p. 130). Chisme is not seen as a true form of knowledge and is marginalized as “silly, trivial, and unreliable” within our cisgenderheteropatriarchal society; therefore, it serves as a counterspace to exist, resist, and transform current practices (Gutierrez, 2017). Although research around gossip as discourse exists, chisme looks again at the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Engaging in queer chisme with our chismosxs in this context then possesses the power to transform community colleges and our work.
Rebuilding Campus Services with and for LGBTQIA+ Students Mid-Pandemic
Dr. Gregory J. Langner (he/him) Full-Time Instructor
Dr. Carina Karapetian Giorgi (they/them) Faculty & Department Chair of Sociology, Anthropology, Administrative Justice and Psychology
Dr. Jill Zimmerman (she/her) Dean of Student Life
Allison Burch (she/her) Instructor / Librarian
Antelope Valley College
As California Community Colleges labor to maintain services supporting Queer students, the Antelope Valley College LGBTQIA+ Committee — a joint endeavor between students and faculty — works to institutionalize Queer-affirming programs and policies that have primarily until now been promoted and practiced informally. Sharply aware that remote learning made necessary by the pandemic disproportionately impacts LGBTQIA+ students (The Trevor Project, 2020) — whom already often manage higher levels of anxiety, isolation, and even violence (Seaman, 2017) — we aim first and foremost to signal to the campus community at large our steadfast support for our Queer and questioning students.
Show Me the Data!
Dr. Valerie Lundy-Wagner (she/her) Assistant Vice Chancellor, Research and Data;
Educational Services and Support
Dr. Shuai Li (she/her) Research Data Specialist; Educational Services and Support
California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
Show me the data! Campuses are increasingly focused on making “data driven decisions”, however, data on the queer and trans community on our campuses can be hard to obtain and hard to understand. This presentation will present historical and background information on the sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the CCC apply (AB620)- highlighting some of the limitations and issues faced with these questions and how the data is collected. Data on the number of queer and trans student across the CCC system will be presented as well as findings on the success and retention rates of queer and trans students relative to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts.
Square One: Building Integral Support for LGBTQ+ Community College Students from the Ground Up
Dr. Kyle Livie (he/him) Professor of History/Co-Director, Lytton Center for History and the Public Good
David Irving (he/him) Counselor/Mental Health Coordinator
Dr. Sandra Chacko (she/her) Associate Professor of Anthropology
Ohlone College
Do you look around your campus and think "where do I even start?" This presentation will explore practical strategies for creating and maintaining integrated LGBTQ+ programming on community college campuses with histories of limited or sporadic support for queer and trans students. The goal of this presentation is to help YOU envision, design, and implement programming that can be integrated with other efforts on campus including professional development, equity, mental health services, and curriculum development. You will learn about ways to assess your own knowledge about LGBTQ+ identity and issues as well as your campus climate, approaches to increase awareness in your community, and strategies to use your work to provide support to other disproportionately-impacted populations. The presenters will share tips, experiences, and identify key ways to build services/supports/spaces for LGBTQ+ students, including approaches that can translate to online modalities, ways to overcome institutional obstacles, and techniques for working with different stakeholders. Let’s get started together!
Successful Employee Resource Groups for LGTBQ+ Employees
Dr. Claudia Mercado (she/her) Interim Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Harper College
LGBTQ+ employees need to have visible counter spaces throughout the college. Counter spaces provide safe spaces that simultaneously validate and critique one’s interconnected self and group identity that would enable radical growth. (Keels, 2019). Counter spaces allow for LGBTQ+ employees to unpack other challenges/questions they have. These counter spaces can be through providing a LGBTQ+ employee resource group (ERG). ERG’s are employee recognized groups that center on employee identities such as race, ability or sexuality. ERG’s help provide an inclusive workplace which increases employee engagement, commonalities across divisions and intersections across an employee’s identities.
Throwing a T-Party: How to Build Trans Spaces On-Campus
Charlie Garcia-Spiegel (he/him) Student Lab Aide
Juan Fernandez (he/him) Coordinator OF Queer Resource Center
City College of San Francisco
Recent widespread campus closures, as well as a previous displacement of City College of San Francisco’s Queer Resource Center (QRC), have resulted in a student-led push to re-establish the QRC. Drawing from the QRC’s 15 year history as the first LGBTQ+ resource center in the CCC system, a student worker created the T-House: a virtual space for transmasculine and masculine-of-center people. This presentation will showcase programming from the T-House’s initial semester, highlight its contributions to the establishment of a trans-affirming campus culture, and provide a framework for establishing physical and virtual trans-centered spaces throughout California.
Trans-Affirming Facilities
Arien Reed (he/him) President of LGBTQ Allied Staff & Faculty Association
Fresno City College
What kind of campus facilities benefit our trans students, employees, and visitors, why is it so important that colleges provide them, and how do we advocate for them? How do we request costly change to existing facilities on a campus possessing limited financial resources? Come learn and share what kinds of facility renovations and policies trans folks need you to advocate for, why these modifications are so crucial to our well-being, and how to make them both a priority and a reality.
TRANSforming the Classroom: Teaching Strategies that Support Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming Students
Catherine Lamar (she/her) Psychology Instructor; Pasadena City College
Shelby Lamar (they/them) Assistant Director, Preparing Future Faculty Program; Claremont Graduate University
Have you checked that your classroom environment, syllabi, activities, and teaching practices are inclusive to transgender, nonbinary, agender, and gender nonconforming students? This workshop will discuss best practices in creating a safe, inclusive, and open classroom environment for students of all gender identities. Co-facilitators, Catherine Lamar and Shelby Lamar, will discuss strategies that educators can use when designing course materials, syllabi, first-day-of-class activities, and student resources that support and affirm LGBTQ+ students. Attendees will leave this session with tangible practices to implement in classrooms, including a checklist to design your course with gender-inclusive practices.
Uplifting LGBTQ+ Student Voices: LGBTQ+ Student Experiences with the San Diego Community College District
Jaime Seiverd (they/them) Research and Planning Analyst
San Diego Community College District
The San Diego Community College District conducted focus groups in Spring and Fall 2020 to better understand diverse LGBTQ+ student experiences to inform future programming and support services for LGBTQ+ students. Students discussed their intersecting identities and how those identities informed their experiences with campus climate, the curriculum and classroom, various support services, and extracurricular activities. This presentation will detail the methodology and intention of this project, themes that emerged from student participants during analysis, and next steps for continuing intersectional research on LGBTQ+ students in the San Diego Community College District.
