Michigan Community College Gender & Sexuality Conference

At LGBT Detroit, Dionta is the Program Coordinator for the LGBT Detroit Leadership Academy. The Academy provides professional development, support, and dynamic education centered on HIV stigma to LGBT+ young adults. Dionta is also a C.R.I.B.B. Fellow (Creating Responsible and Intelligent Black Brothers), where he will learn about health disparities impacting black MSM's and how to engage and educate on topics such as HIV and HIV Stigma. Dionta is passionate about finding new and compelling ways to stimulate community minds regarding issues impacting the LGBT+ community and aims to bring youth and young adults together to problem-solve them together.

I have been conducting HIV prevention in Michigan for as long as I have been living with HIV about 30+ years.

Cristy Lindemann has been teaching at WCC in the construction program since 2004. Prior to that she worked in construction as a project manager. Cristy is always looking for ways to serve the community through her students' construction projects and other volunteer work. One of her mantras is to never stop learning, and she tries to encourage that interest and passion in her students.

Jason currently serves as a Washtenaw County Commissioner, an instructor at Washtenaw Community College, a Northern Michigan University Trustee, and as a Flotilla Vice Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Commissioner Morgan was the first-ever LGBTQ+ Washtenaw County Commissioner and served as the County's first-ever LGBTQ+ Chair of the Board in 2019. Morgan led the County through the coronavirus pandemic and has been a champion of youth engagement, environmental and economic justice, advancing racial equity, and increasing investments in human services.

For over fifteen years, A. Popkey has been immersed in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area. He has been a part of many pockets of our community, from roller derby to the local food scene. However, A.’s primary presence has been as an educator, a performance artist and an organizer on the Ypsi Pride board.

Latitude is a graduate of Washtenaw Community College and now attends Eastern Michigan University, majoring in Children's and Young Adult Literature. They live with three roommates and four cats, and dream of becoming a librarian. Their favorite color is pink.

Crystal Clear goes to Washtenaw Community College (came back 😊) She’s going for graphic design–finally after years of soul searching she’s going after it 🥰 Crystal has a very passionate interest in & love learning more about demisexuals, which she feels links to understanding her own psychology through an ancient personality. It is very deep and yet so simple and her favorite part is that it has so many layers 😁 Her other interests include watching long TV series or movies series just so she gets to enjoy the characters for a while 🥰

Eli attends WCC and plans on doing Film for his major. He likes to draw and stand up for what's right. He is 15 and in 10th grade, though is also in ENG 111, a college course at WCC. Eli wants to make a difference, and also share his story as a trans person.

Maryam Barrie lives in the woods, and teaches writing and literature at Washtenaw Community College. She's a married mother who writes and reads.

Amy Finkenbine (she/they) is the Coordinator for Eastern Michigan's LGBT Resource Center. Before moving to Michigan, they worked at community colleges in Illinois for several years and still have a passion for supporting and empowering LGBTQ+ community college students. Amy and her wife are current foster parents with a 7 year old deaf doggo and love spending time outside!

Liz Jacoby is a Professor of English at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, MI.

Mary Mullalond has been teaching in the English & College Readiness Department at WCC since 2005. As faculty advisor of the college's Outspace+ club, she loves getting to support the queer students at WCC. She enjoys reading children's books and spending time outside with her wife and two kids.

Elise Sampson has been teaching at Washtenaw Community College for over six years. She is in the behavioral science department where she teaches lifespan development, child psychology and intro psychology. About four years ago, she attended a conference where she saw a speaker talk about inclusion in the classroom and how it made a huge difference in his life. After that conference she started to look at her classes and look for ways to improve inclusion. Elise has been part of several trainings that focus on creating inclusivity in the classroom. Inclusivity and creating a community in the classroom have become important to her and her teaching.

KD Williams is a non-binary writer who teaches English and Humanities classes at Schoolcraft College and Washtenaw Community College. They are an active member of WCC’s Poetry Club and a passionate union organizer. They live in Ypsilanti with their partner and pets.

Tom teaches English and directs the Writing Center at WCC. He also edits The Huron River Review and The Big Windows Review as well as serving as faculty advisor of the WCC Poetry Club. He has been teaching at WCC since 1992. He was a high school English teacher in the 1980s and early 1990s. He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and a retired racing greyhound.