Workshops

***UNFORTUNATELY, OUR CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELED.***

Student Workshops

10:00 AM Sessions

1. Title: History of Drag

Description: TBA

Presenter & Bio: Gaysha Star (Bio TBA)


2. Title: Analyzing Dimensionality within MYSELF

Description: You are the most valuable. This workshop is a foundation, you are the creator. We will explore the various ways our lives have been impacted by the society we experience. I ask that you come prepared to analyze yourself. Together we will create and ask difficult questions that are intentionally designed to guide this workshop. Come join a fun journey. I am excited to meet you!

Presenter & Bio: ShaMarcia Scott, I am an Influencer. This is a great responsibility, and I chose to use my skills to provide honest support for youth persons. I believe in the power of creativity. I enjoy engaging in meaningful conversations with youth persons because they embody trustworthy creativity. I carry All of my identity unapologetically. Daily I chose to practice self-love.

3. Title: Love + Friendship

Description: What do we want from our friendships? What makes a friendship last or fade? And what do we want our social circles to look like? Come hang out with us and chat about platonic love and community! Get to know yourself a bit better by defining your values and expectations, and map out your social solar system.

Presenter & Bio: Elena Galano, The Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian, & Gay Survivors of Abuse

4. Title: Trans & Nonbinary Toolkit: Dating & Relationships

Description: In this interactive workshop facilitated by trans and nonbinary youth we’ll discuss and explore ways for trans and nonbinary folks to advocate for themselves and stay safe when dating. Topics include: Talking with a potential partner about your identity, body and boundaries; exploring language to define our own bodies; red flags to watch out for from current or potential partners and how to respond to them; staying safe when meeting someone you met online for the first time IRL; what consent looks and sounds like; and learning to advocate for and have confidence in yourself when it comes to dating and relationships. Join us to gain new tips and insights, and to share your own experience and the strategies that have worked for you.

Presenter & Bio: Vatsa Sreedhara; TYTAN Youth Leadership Team - Gender Diversity

11:00 AM Sessions

1. Title: Student Rights

Description: (Description will be available soon!)

Presenter & Bio: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)


2. Title: Leveraging Your Feelings and Role Models: An Emotional Intelligence Workshop

Description: This is an interactive workshop that exposes common blinders and fears that limit our possibilities and offers a principle-driven way to act on emotions in productive rather than dramatic ways. The workshop discusses a range of self-awareness concepts through monologue and fun interactive small group exercises, recasts emotions as powerful tools, and closes with a call to use those emotions to create change. The presentation uses interactive exercises to expose common barriers that limit the way we see and interpret the world, the stories and boxes we draw around ourselves, and cultural pressure to suppress or overly dramatize emotions.

Presenter & Bio: Ginger Chien is an open-mic storyteller, 80’s cover band keyboard player, LGBTQ and transgender/nonbinary diversity and inclusion speaker, and cell phone engineer. Her speaking experience includes technical lectures on emerging wireless technologies, presentations on D&I best practices, and workshops on emotional intelligence and storytelling. She finds much of her personal joy expanding perspectives through teaching about her experience as a transgender woman of color, creating connections and community through storytelling, and watching a certain rural Washington town light up year after year when her transgender rock band comes to play.

3. Title: INcluded, Sex Education for ALL students!

Description: Have you ever sat through a sex ed class and as the hour passed by, thought that none of the information felt relevant or real for you? Join us for a workshop all about LGBTQ+ specific sex ed! We’ll be discussing the tips, tricks, and tools for safer sex, with some hands on demonstration and practice about navigating some of the different aspects of our sexual health.

Presenter & Bio: Laura G. + Planned Parenthood


4. Title: Spectrum: Do All LGBTQ+ People Have the Same Beliefs?

Description: This is a spinoff of the Youtube series called Spectrum, in which people will converse various topics related to being LGBTQ+. Statements will be read aloud and students will showcase the range of their beliefs and values by understanding and expressing how they feel about each statement.

Presenter & Bio: Hello! Lillian Tran and Charlotte Sullivan are both sophomores from Nathan Hale High School. Both have created and attended clubs that fit their interests, such as K-Pop, writing, robotics, and more! They believe allowing student voices to be heard is one of the most important aspects in having a great school. V

1:40 PM Sessions

1. Title: Drag How To with Q&A

Description: Learn how to get started in drag and what it takes to be a star

Presenter & Bio: Gaysha Star (Bio TBA)

2. Title: LGBTQ+ Youth Talk About Experiences with Community engagement and Burnout

Description: Join our OutSpoken Speakers Bureau to discuss the importance of spaces that center the needs of queer youth. Our panel is comprised of a diverse group of LGBTQ+ youth, aged 13-24. Listen to their stories about how engaging in community activism has impacted their lives, both positively and negatively. After we hear from each panelist, we will have time for a short Q&A in which audience members can ask questions and engage in a dialogue with our panelists. We hope to create an environment in which we elevate the voices of queer youth and learn from their lived experiences.

Presenter & Bio: Nakita Venus is an Advocate and Youth Program Coordinator at The Northwest Network of Bi, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse. Before the Northwest Network, Nakita worked with youth on how to identify and address environmental racism in the Chicago area. Their work continues to focus on the liberation of Black and Brown people and LGBTQ+ youth liberation. Nakita Venus will be facilitating a panel of LGBTQ+ Youth speaking on their lived expertise pertaining to community engagement and burnout.

3. Title: GSA Outreach + Student Leadership

Description: Organizing GSA’s for Days of Action; Day of Silence (TBA)

Presenter & Bio: Tate Benson, GLSEN (Bio TBA)

4. Title: The power of the students’ voice

Description: How to organize student leaders and their peers. Shine team’s project for gender neutral bathrooms. (TBA)

Presenter & Bio: Shine Team (Names and Bio TBA)

Educator Workshops

10:00 AM Sessions

1. Title: Creating and Sustaining Safe and Supportive Environments for LGBTQ Youth in Public Schools

Description: Seattle Public Schools' Health Education Office has been working to create safer and more supportive environments for LGBTQ students for over 20 years. Come learn from the Health Education Specialist and Trainer for the district about different strategies you can take to make your environments safer and more supportive for LGBTQ youth. Learn how to scale this model up or down to improve classroom environments, school climate, and even district-wide shifts in safety and understanding.

Presenter & Bio: Brennon Hamm is the district’s Health Education Specialist. They provide Training and Technical Assistance to all schools around supporting LGBTQ2+ students, creating safe and welcoming environments, and interpreting school procedure as it relates to the rights of trans and gender expansive young people. Brennon also oversees our district’s GSA Advisors, GSA evaluation, our district’s School Health Education Task Force, coordinates HIV+ speakers for middle and high school health education, and coordinates big LGBTQ2+ related events (like our Pride Parade and the LGBTQ2+ Families Dinner Night).

2. Title: Queer! LGBTQ - Specific Sex Ed

Description: Tired of heteronormative sex education curriculum? Come find out what it means to deliver LGBTQ – specific sex education that meets the real needs of youth. IN·clued is a ground-breaking educational program that addresses the sexual health disparities impacting LGBTQ youth across the United States. Our workshop’s goal is to empower professionals, especially those who deliver sex education, to provide LGBTQ youth with sexual health knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe. We will address current research, lessons learned, and provide you with tools to take back to your communities.

Presenter & Bio: Laura Gardiner, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands

3. Title: Drawing Connections: Exploring Intersections of Gender, Race & LGBTQ (Part 1)

Description: Designed for all school personnel, this unique workshop explores the relationship and commonalities among gender, race, and LGBTQ issues, with an emphasis on enhancing race and gender awareness when addressing LGBTQ issues in schools.

Presenter & Bio: Tracy Hobbs (Michigan) and Dianne Schneider (New York) (Bio TBA)

11:00 AM Sessions

1. Title: Be Seen, Be Heard

Description: This workshop invites Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC) and those who want to be present as allies to come together and build community and awareness. Similar to the Consciousness Raising Circles used widely during 2nd Wave Feminism, we hope to connect the individual struggles we experience to shared roots in oppressive systems. We will provide the opportunity to share our stories of feeling invisible or helpless. Through learning about the resiliency of our community.

Presenter & Bio: Tamasha Emedia, Tamasha Emedi (she/her) was born and raised in Olympia, Washington. A proud graduate of Olympia High School, she went on to study political science at Gonzaga University, and Educational Leadership at Washington State University. She’s been teaching elementary school for the last 7 years. Tamasha is taking this year to explore powerful work that is already being done in and around the Puget Sound area. Tamasha worked with GLSEN for the first time last year, finding inspiration in meeting folx around the state furthering the movement.

2. Title: Safe Space Kit

Description: The Safe Space Kit is GLSEN’s Guide to Being an Ally to LGBTQ Students. The guide provides concrete strategies that will help you support LGBTQ students, educate about anti-LGBTQ bias and advocate for changes in your school. The kit not only guides you through making an assessment of your school’s climate, policies and practices but it also outlines strategies that you may use to advocate for change.

Presenter & Bio: GLSEN WA, Drew Griffin, Taylor Philpott (Bios TBA)

3. Title: Drawing Connections: Exploring Intersections of Gender, Race & LGBTQ (Part 2)

Description: Designed for all school personnel, this unique workshop explores the relationship and commonalities among gender, race, and LGBTQ issues, with an emphasis on enhancing race and gender awareness when addressing LGBTQ issues in schools.

Presenter & Bio: Tracy Hobbs (Michigan) and Dianne Schneider (New York) (Bio TBD)


1:40 PM Sessions

1. Title: From Clueless To Advocate: One Person's Journey Into Understanding Gender

Description: In this session I will share some of the "Aha!" moments I encountered as I came to understand what being transgender can encompass. Along the way I gained some valuable insights into the conflicts between society's expectations of gender expression and our own understanding of ourselves.

Presenter & Bio: Gordon Glasgow (he/him) is a retired software developer who went on to volunteer with Peace For The Streets By Kids From The Streets (PSKS), Gender Justice League and PFLAG. He is the creator of the "Quick Start Guide to Understanding Your Transgender Friend/Relative/Co-Worker" and the supporting Web site learningabouttrans.com.

2. Title: Inclusive Curriculum

Description: Ways for your students to engage with your course and show positive representation in history, literature, and more!

Presenter & Bio: Oliver Miska (Bio TBA)

3. Title: Safe and Supportive Working Environments

Description: A safe and supportive working environment must be guaranteed for school employees to achieve to their greatest potential. This session provides participants with ideas on how to create a safe and supportive working environment and protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees.

Presenter & Bio: Tracy Hobbs (Michigan) and Dianne Schneider (New York)