I was surprised to read the letter in the April 4 PGN in reference to the Creating Safe and Welcoming Schools Conference at Arcadia University on March 22. The conference drew more than 120 college and high-school students, educators, administrators, family members, faculty and staff. It was a huge success, and the response by presenters, panelists and participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing a need to create more opportunities like the one offered by Arcadia’s School of Education.
It was while planning our conference in collaboration with the Mazzoni Center’s Louis Ortiz and Jaymie Campbell that we were thrilled to learn about the LEAD conference the center organizes every year. The beauty of this is that it allows us an opportunity to build on each other’s strengths to reach wider audiences. This collaboration could help us to share best practices on how to create school spaces that are inclusive, affirming and welcoming of LGBTQ youth, families and educators. Also, Jaymie, Louie, and Kira Manser — also from the Mazzoni Center — did an outstanding job facilitating two workshops for high-school and college students at the Arcadia conference, and we are grateful for all of their work.
We look forward for future collaborations with the Mazzoni Center and any other organizations that share our vision of a future where everyone feels safe and affirmed to be who they truly are. I would be happy to speak with you in more detail about this potential opportunity.
— Graciela Slesaransky-Poe, Ph.D. Associate Professor, School of Education Arcadia University