The Pennsylvania Youth Action Conference, or “YAC,” is an annual social-justice conference that is designed to strengthen and grow a coordinated LGBTQ youth movement in Pennsylvania.
Hosted by the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition (PSEC), the YAC is the only statewide LGBTQ conference by and for Pennsylvania students and youth. This year, the focus of the YAC will be on rural youth issues within Pennsylvania’s LGBTQ movement. The 2015 YAC marks PSEC’s 20th statewide convening and fourth large-scale conference.
The 2015 YAC will be held at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa., a rural town about an hour east of Pittsburgh. The conference will begin with an opening session at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 and the rest of the weekend will be devoted to policy briefings, expert trainings, workshops, caucuses and committee work. The annual Keystone Award Banquet will be held 7 p.m. Saturday evening, and the conference will conclude at noon Sunday following the closing plenary.
Each year, the conference facilitates a number of sessions that foster group dialogue to explore important issues currently facing LGBTQ youth. The goal of the YAC is to create a positive, educational and safe space for LGBTQ youth to gain the tools and resources they need in order to become empowered leaders.
Victoria Martin, Conference State Operations co-chair, grew up in rural Franklin County, with few LGBTQ role models.
“My personal goal for this conference is to dispel the myth that, as an LGBTQ person, you can only thrive in a city,” Martin said. “Rural LGBTQ young people deserve positive representation in our culture.”
The YAC keynote speaker will be Mike Fleck, a former state representative (R-81st Dist.) who came out as gay in December 2010. He is Pennsylvania’s first openly gay legislator in the General Assembly and the second-known Republican state legislator in the nation to come out while in office. Fleck was also named as one of “12 State Legislators to Watch in 2014” by Governing Magazine.
Alison Bechdel, author of “Dykes to Watch Out For” and creator of the “Bechdel Test,” will be honored with the 2015 Altoona Award at the Keystone Award Banquet for promoting the visibility and welfare of LGBTQ youth in the commonwealth. Bechdel is a native of rural Beech Creek, Pa. As a prominent author on lesbian and women’s issues, Bechdel has been honored with a 2015 MacArthur Genius Grant and a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship.
Other featured guests of this year’s conference include: Candace Gingrich, director of youth and campus engagement for the Human Rights Campaign and author of “The Accidental Activist”; Terry Mutchler, former executive director of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records and the highest-ranking out public official in Pennsylvania; Dr. Karen Whitney, president of Clarion University of Pennsylvania; Erin Duran, director of LGBTQA advocacy and education at Gettysburg College; Joanne Caroll, president of TransCentral PA; Joe Burns, co-founder of the Pennsylvania Rural Gay Caucus; and Dr. Michele Angello, a renowned gender and sexuality specialist.
Registration can be completed at youthactionconference.com. The conference fee must be paid to confirm registration. Registration is $35 through Jan. 31 or $40 from Feb. 1-15. Registration will also be available in person at the conference with payment by cash, check or credit card starting at 4 p.m. Feb. 26 at the YAC Registration Center. The on-site registration fee is $40. Please note that the conference registration fee is non-refundable. Any questions regarding registration can be emailed to Mackenzie Godinez at [email protected].
The Pennsylvania Youth Action Conference Committee will be working to place all youth ages 25 and under who request housing with student hosts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. However, capacity and hosting confirmation will be filled on a first-come, first-register basis.
Victoria Martin is a senior at West Chester University studying public-health promotion and is the development coordinator for PSEC.
Tamara Hijazi is studying biology and women and gender studies at Bucknell University and is the manager of PSEC Keystone Student Voice.