Michigan Community College Gender & Sexuality Conference

Rosalie is an 11 year old transgender middle schooler interested in music, and theater. She is a multi-instrumentalist that plays piano, trombone, and has recently started guitar. She recently got a role in an upcoming school play. This is the third production she has been involved in. Rosalie is also involved with the Grizzly Scholars program in Ypsilanti, as well as many after school clubs, including Queer Student Association.

Owlie Transdextrous is a Washtenaw Community College student involved in community grassroots organization, especially with Ypsilanti unions. Xey are currently a journalism student, scavenging the oligarchy for local and decentralized power systems, with an established praxis for supporting artists, examining language, and mobilization, not to mention an obsessive conviction for digital and pedestrian infrastructure reform.

Tea Brown (they/them/theirs) is a parent, educator, writer, and dedicated community member. They currently engage in equity work in central Ohio in their professional life. Tea is the co-founder of Community Justice Transformed, an organization dedicated to transformative justice. They have presented at many local and national conferences and are currently a board member of Trans Lifeline. Their passion is in education and facilitating systems change.

Phyllis Seven Harris is a Black lesbian feminist, nonprofit executive, and founder of Seven Forward, LLC. With more than 30 years of nonprofit and leadership experience in Cleveland, she currently serves as Executive Director of the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and is building a consulting practice, Seven Forward, to offer nonprofit leadership coaching, and organizational development support. Known for her grounded leadership and deep commitment to justice, Seven brings a powerful voice on community, equity, and leading with courage and care.

My name is Aleksandra, and I'm currently a student at Washtenaw Community College. I'm studying for Liberal Arts degree, and I'm hoping to continue my studies at a four year college later on.

Hello! I am Karina Lunt, a married Lesbian who is navigating neurodiversity and health problems. I figured out I was Lesbian later in life, and I’m here to both learn and share what I have learned with this wonderful community.

Dr. Julieanna Frost has been an educator since 1998 and teaches history at Northwestern Michigan College. Her main research areas include American Culture, Religious Studies, and Women’s Studies. Dr. Frost is an advocate for women's issues and environmental sustainability. She has hilarious adventures with her family and friends in her free time.

I'm a video production major at WCC, I am a peace activist with AVP Michigan and friends peace teams. I write political essays with the Brazilian news collective nova pleba. My life’s mission is to make the world a better place and help people understand the diverse landscape of modern America.

Shannan Byerly is a fourth-year student at Grand Valley State University majoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Writing. She plans to work in community shelters serving women and youth and is particularly interested in how systems of care intersect with identity and access. Shannan’s academic interests include queer history, resistance movements, and the ways policy and institutions shape the lives of marginalized communities.

I am the president of the GSA at North Central Michigan College. I'm also a psychology/pre-nursing major, with a particular interest in LGBTQIA+ health and history.

Gianna Mask is a peer educator at the University of Michigan-Flint’s Center for Gender and Sexuality. She is a rising senior, and she is passionate about the arts, mental health, and advocacy. Gianna is also passionate about working in theatre technology.

Laurence Wilson (he/him) is a senior Communications Media Production student at Lawrence Technological University and a proud alumnus of Washtenaw Community College (2020). While at WCC, he participated in the Health and Gender Alliance Conference as part of the Human Library, contributed as a writer for the Washtenaw Voice, and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Laurence is a Detroit-based certified community health worker, peer recovery coach, and HIV/AIDS decriminalization advocate who currently serves as Chairman of the Detroit Health Department’s Community Advisory Board, President of Lawrence Technological University’s LTU Unity Collective, and Chair of the Policy and Advocacy Committee for the Michigan HIV and AIDS Council. He is a past Chairman of the Southeastern Michigan HIV and AIDS Council, a graduate of NMAC’s ELEVATE program, a member of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network Community Advisory Board, and part of the United States People Living with HIV Caucus. Since 2019, Laurence has been a member of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Positively Speaking Bureau, and in 2022 and 2023 he represented the state of Michigan in the CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together media campaign. His advocacy centers hope-based storytelling and user-generated media through his platforms, Details at XI Media on YouTube and Make 2Day Great L.L.C.

Dr. Hale is a faculty member in the Department of English and College Readiness at Washtenaw Community College. She earned an M.A. in English from Indiana University (2023), an Ed.D. from Eastern Michigan University (2010) and a M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan (2003).

Victoria is currently a senior at Eastern Michigan University double majoring in English Literature and African American Studies. Their current research interests are centered around queer identities across the Black diaspora and Black literature. Victoria hopes to pursue a master in Library science in the near future.

Adrienne has spent most of the last 20 years working in the non-profit sector in a wide variety of roles, from marketing and communications to event planning, fundraising and grant reporting, volunteering, and more. Over the years, she has dedicated herself to empowering queer youth through her work with the Grand Rapids Pride Center youth group and has played a role in advocating for LGBTQ+ voices as a Board member of the West Michigan Voices of Pride chorus. Adrienne also has a wealth of experience in community organizing, event planning and advocacy, including producing large-scale arts and cultural events as well as educational programming and trainings.

My name is Madox and I am a sociology major at the University of Michigan-Flint. I am queer and transgender man. My identity has shaped much of who I am and what I want to do in the world. I hope to work as a Victim Advocate or as a Court Appointed Support Advocate after my time in college. I am very passionate about victim advocacy and victim rights. I work on campus in our Center for Gender and Sexuality as a Peer Educator, where I have learned the meaning of "community" and found a feeling of belonging.

Owlie Transdextrous is a Washtenaw Community College student involved in community grassroots organization, especially with Ypsilanti unions. Xey are currently a journalism student, scavenging the oligarchy for local and decentralized power systems, with an established praxis for supporting artists, examining language, and mobilization, not to mention an obsessive conviction for digital and pedestrian infrastructure reform.

Reece Gammicchia (he/him/his) is a University of Michigan-Flint student in undergrad studying Data Analytics and Sociology. On campus, he is the secretary of UM-Flint’s PRIDE club and active in campus-life. Reece works at his school’s Center for Gender & Sexuality as Peer Educator. He also works as a school substitute.

Icarus DiAngelo is a Fine and Performing Arts major and Peer Educator at the University of Michigan-Flint in the Center for Gender and Sexuality. They are passionate about the arts and creative spaces, human rights, queer history, Land Back, glassblowing, and creating their own fashion, among other things.