Washington State University Vancouver will host the Queer and Trans Youth Leadership Summit from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 24 in the Firstenburg Student Commons. The free event is for teens in grades nine through 12. Register by March 6 as individuals or groups at bit.ly/QTYLS.
The summit provides a day for youth to connect with community, participate in workshops that draw on queer and trans cultural wealth, develop leadership skills, and engage in activities that will encourage further youth-led community action in the region.
Ace Schwarz, recipient of the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network 2019 Educator of the Year Award, will be the featured speaker. Schwarz teaches seventh grade science and manages an educational platform called Teaching Outside the Binary, which shares resources, blog posts and reading lists to help educators deconstruct the gender binary and support LGBTQ+ students through the creation of more inclusive educational environments. Schwarz will discuss LGBTQ history from the 60s to today and how history informs current opportunities for youth-led activism.
As a committed leader for inclusion and diversity, WSU Vancouver’s goals include recruiting and retaining students who are reflective of the diversity in the region. For the past six years the university has offered the Queer and Trans Youth Leadership Summit to address both the college-going goals of queer and trans high school students in the area, and to develop leadership capacity that will support the continued development of Southwest Washington as a place where people of all genders and sexual orientations are not only welcome, but highly valued.
About WSU Vancouver
WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave. in Vancouver, east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-TRAN bus service. Find a campus map at vancouver.wsu.edu/map. Parking is available at meters and in the Blue Daily Pay lot for $4 a day.
As one of six campuses of the WSU system, WSU Vancouver offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations.
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MEDIA CONTACT(S)
Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communication, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@wsu.edu