The Safe Schools Project is proud to present the workshops (teaching a skill or about a topic) and caucuses (a group of people with a shared identity discussing a topic together) for the October 10th Queer, Trans, & Allied Student Virtual Summit of the Central Coast. Presenter bios follow the workshop and caucus descriptions.
Caucuses: 12:30 – 1:00pm
Trans / Non-Binary Caucus
Presenter: Reyes Moraes Warne (He/They)
Youth Led
Level: Intermediate
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: The Trans / Non-Binary Caucus is a group for Trans identifying folks to meet up and talk about things going on in their life. With the pandemic going on it has been hard for Trans people to get the support they need and be able to socialize with other people. This group will be able to provide peer support as well as let youth talk about what is going on in their life without judgement.
Lesbian Caucus
Presenter: Aislinn Barnes (She/Her)
Youth Led
Level: Intermediate
For: This Caucus is open to all sexualities and gender identities, but more targeted towards lesbian. But, women loving women in general (pan sexual, poly sexual, bisexual, etc.) may find this conversation insightful and interesting.
Description: This discussion will focus on the complexities of identifying as a lesbian and the issues within the lesbian community. Topics of discussion may include, but are not limited to, biphobia within the community, femininity and masculinity, fetishization of lesbians via the media, and transphobia within the media. While this caucus focuses on lesbian issues, it is open to any and all identities.
ACE/Asexual Caucus
Presenter: Carter Frost (He/Him)
Adult Led
Level: Intro
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: The ACE/Asexual Caucus is a group for of ACE/Asexual identifying folks to meet up and talk about things going on in their life. This group will be able to provide peer support as well as let youth talk about what is going on in their life without judgement.
Session #1: 1:00 – 1:45pm
Simple Self-Care for Strange and Difficult Times
Presenter: Max Brandt (He/Him)
Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: Self-care is hard, and being nice to yourself is hard, and the world is hectic and uncomfortable right now. I have worked very hard on getting to a point in my life where I can take care of myself and not add to the stress and problems I have to deal with daily. In this workshop I will talk about how to start taking care of yourself even if it is really, really hard right now. We will start with the basics., and trust me, I get it, this is hard.
Virtual GSA 101 Support
Presenters: Cielo Flores (He/They) & Marinarde Espinosa (She/Her)
Adult led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: This is an intro level workshop open to all! Come learn some new ways that GSA clubs and LGBTQ+ youth spaces are moving online. Practice some helpful recruitment tools and review some resources to keep your club going in this virtual moment.. Come connect to the GSA Network staff and join our team of youth leaders across California.
Crash Course LGBTQ+ History: The Stonewall Riots
Presenters: Georgia Brown (She/Her), Gloria Panttaja (She/Her) & Holy Boyd (They/Them)
Youth Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: An essential part of self-care and sustainable activism in the LGBTQ+ community is understanding the history of Pride Month and LGBTQ+ Rights. The Stonewall Riots are an often overlooked part of history, and most LGBTQ+ youths have little to no knowledge on the subject. The goal of this workshop is to inform LGBTQ+ youths on The Stonewall Riots, Marsha P. Johnson, and the rights our community fought, and are still fighting, for.
Become an LGBTQ Student Speaker
Presenter: Ron Indra (He/Him)
Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: The Safe Schools Projects receives ongoing requests to hear from LGBTQ students as part of a panel. This workshop will provide background information and ideas of ways to be an excellent panel member. There will be lots of discussion and interaction in this workshop. After this workshop, we are hoping students will volunteer to be part of future panels for schools and school districts.
Community Cooking Show
Presenters: Ashlyn Adams (She/Her) & Wren Reeve (They/Them)
Youth & Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: Come through for a special edition of our Instagram Live show! Cook along with the youth program team and special guests as we learn new techniques and make some delicious, low-cost foods from various cultures. Join us 2+ Wednesdays per month after the Summit for more of the Community Cooking Show and even host your own recipes!
Flashback! Theatre and LGBT Activism
Presenters: Molly Sharfstein (Any Pronouns) & Camila Snyder-Alaniz (She/Her)
Youth Led
Level: Intermediate
For: High School Students
Description: Art–specifically theatre– has been used as a form of activism for generations. It has a lasting impact and is a productive and healthy way to express oneself. During our workshop, we will discuss how plays have played a part in LGBT activism throughout history and how the students can apply that to their personal experiences. We will highlight specific influential plays and their background, and what that means for us today.
FEARLESS: Portraits of LGBT Student Athletes, a book and artist talk
Presenter: Jeff Sheng (He/Him)
Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Student
Description: FEARLESS: Portraits of LGBT Student Athletes, is a photography book and personal memoir by American artist Jeff Sheng. Recalling his experience as a closeted high school student athlete in the 1990s, Sheng uses his own story as a foundation for a wider exploration of the current LGBT rights movement. Woven throughout the 316-page book are photographic portraits of 202 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender high school and college athletes from the United States and Canada taken by the author over a 13-year span between 2003 and 2015. The book also includes intimate writings from some of the featured athletes and concludes with an afterword essay by retired professional NBA basketball player Jason Collins. This workshop will be a book and artist talk with a chance for participants to ask questions about the making of the project.
Session #2: 2:00 – 2:45pm
Queering Self-care
Presenter: Jamie Cutter, M.Ed. (She/Her)
Adult Led
Level: Intermediate
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: This workshop will briefly cover the queer history of self-care, define and break down barriers to self-care, and provide an opportunity for participants to reflect on their own needs for self-care. Participants are invited to examine the ways in which self-care is a revolutionary act that sustains queer communities and our ongoing fight for equity and justice for marginalized people.
Tour the Queer Santa Cruz Exhibit
Presenter: George Camany (He/Him)
Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: The Santa Cruz MAH opened the Queer Santa Cruz online exhibit in March. The exhibit highlights queer history from around Santa Cruz County. Join this session to go on a virtual tour of the Queer Santa Cruz exhibit and learn some queer history. This workshop is designed to be interactive and will include discussions.
LGBTQ+ Immigrant Justice
Presenters: Cielo Flores (He/They) & Marinarde Espinosa (She/Her)
Youth & Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: This is an intro level workshop! We will build awareness of Trans and Queer leaders’ contributions to the immigrant rights movement in the United States. Together we will explore the crossing and mixing of our intersecting identities as LatinX and Trans or Queer people, migrantes, or belonging to mix-status families. This will be a space of sharing and practice! Join us! Vengan!
LGBTQ History Game
Presenter: Brandon Bowen (He/Him)
Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: Join this session to play an LGBTQ history game and learn some LGBTQ history in the process. Play on your own or bring a team of your friends.
The Purple Sticker Project: Making books and other media with positive LGBTQ+ representation more accessible to K-12 students
Presenters: Q Licht (He/They) & Angela Gates (She/Her)
Youth & Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: This workshop will teach students how to be activists by implementing The Purple Sticker Project in their schools. The goal of the project is to make books and other media with positive LGBTQ+ representation more accessible by applying identifiable purple square stickers to media with positive LGBTQ+ representation in school libraries, and providing an online list of current books with positive LGBTQ+ representation.
Sharing Circle Online
Presenter: Jacob Agamao (Any pronouns with positive intent)
Adult Led
Level: Intermediate
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: Sharing Circle Online is The Epicenter’s weekly LGBTQ+ youth social support group. In this workshop we will demonstrate the process of our Sharing Circle Online meetings and provide guidance to help students form their own social support networks.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Meetup
Presenter: Angela Soto Cerros (They/Them)
Adult Led
Level: Beginning
For: Both High School & Middle School Students
Description: The debut of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March of this year has been a welcome escape from life during shelter-in-place, and the online community continues to grow and thrive as the months pass. For our youth who have been playing Animal Crossing this year, we have created a space to talk about the game, share resources, and build a community of young LGBTQ+ gamers!
Presenter bios:
Reyes Moraes Warne (He/They)
San Lorenzo Valley High School Student
Caucus: Trans / Non-Binary Caucus
Bio: Reyes Morales Warne (he/they) is a Junior attending SLVHS in Felton California. After attending GSA Networks activist camp in 2019, they became highly interested in how they can make their local community safer for LGBT+ people as well as fellow POC. Besides activism they enjoy playing music, reading, and riding bikes with friends. In the future, they want to study marine biology and become an educator.
Aislinn Barnes (She/Her)
San Benito High School & SBHS GSA Club
Caucus: Lesbian Caucus
Bio: I am 17 years old and a Senior at San Benito High School. I identify as a lesbian, a conclusion that I reached at 14 years old after questioning my sexuality for two years. My passions besides being an activist for the LGBTQ+ community include Theatre, Politics, and a continuous education on racial inequality within the United States. I am so proud to be me, and even prouder of your identity, in my heart, you will ALWAYS be valid!
Carter Frost (He/Him)
Cabrillo College/UCSC Student
Caucus: ACE/Asexual Caucus
Bio: Hello everyone my name is Carter Frost. For over 10 years I’ve worked in cybersecurity doing private key infrastructure like national ID systems, Certificate management and private key storage systems called HSMs. So I work on systems that establish and maintain trust. I have been teaching at Cabrillo/PVUSD engineering camps for the last 5 years, as well as teaching as a supplemental instructor for Cabrillo College. For the last 3 years I’ve been working on robots initially through Cabrillo College’s robotics club. Now I’m working with the Computational Biological laboratory at the University of New Mexico with NASA’s Houston space center on a new class of rovers for the Moon.
Max Brandt (He/Him)
College Student
Workshop: Simple Self-care for Strange and Difficult Times
Bio: Max is a transmasc young adult who grew up in Santa Cruz. He has volunteered with the Diversity Center and the Trans Teen Project. As a teen he regularly attended the Santa Cruz Diversity Center youth group. Now he is attending college in Minneapolis, MN but still tries to make time for activism which holds a big place in his heart. He is currently working on a BA in psychology, hoping to eventually specialize in working with queer and neurodivergent children and teens.
Cielo Flores (He/They) & Marinarde Espinosa (She/Her)
Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network
Workshop: Virtual GSA 101 Support AND LGBTQ+ Immigrant Justice
Bios: Cielo is a Trans Salvadorian organizer, artist, and community member from Oakland, Ca. He is the Statewide Organizer for the GSA Network, and supports students and clubs through online training. They love gardening, making jewelry, finding new music, and stretching! You can ask them about GSA things or family and wellness tips! Marinarde is a community advocate and passionate organizer from the Central Valley. She is currently the statewide organizer for GSA Network. She enjoys building with trans and queer youth to move for change! Marinarde is on a journey to learn how to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie. She hopes when things go back to normal she can bring these to meetings and sweeten people’s day.
Georgia Brown (She/Her), Gloria Panttaja (She/Her) & Holy Boyd (They/Them)
Students, Harbor High School
Workshop: Crash Course LGBTQ+ History: The Stonewall Riots
Bios:
Georgia: This is Georgia’s third year attending the Queer Youth Summit and fourth year as a member of the Harbor High School’s QSA. She uses her passion for graphic design to create digital informational posters about different LGBTQ+ topics.
Gloria: Gloria is a senior at Harbor High School. She’s been a member of the QSA for three years now. As well as her work in the LGBTQ+ community, she also does climate activism with Youth For Climate Justice and spends a lot of her time in theatre.
Holly: Holly Boyd is a junior at Harbor High School who has been involved with multiple QSAs and LGBT activism since 6th grade, with specific interests in informational topics such as LGBT history, art, music, and education.
Ron Indra (He/Him)
Director of Safe Schools Project
Workshop: Become an LGBTQ Student Speaker
Bio: BA in Philosophy and Political Science with a minor in Business. JD in Law. 43 years teaching at Harbor High School in Social Studies, retired in 2016. Director of the Safe Schools Project, Chair of SCCS’s LGBTQ+ Task Force. Adviser to the longest running GSA in the county. LGBT consultant to PVUSD, SCCS, SCCOE, UCSC. Treasurer and Board member of the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz County.
Jamie Cutter, M.Ed. (She/Her)
Safe Schools Project
Workshop: Queering Self-care
Bio: Jamie Cutter is the director of Health Curriculum and Safe School Initiatives at the Safe Schools Project, an English and health teacher and QSA advisor at Delta Charter High School, and the author of Inclusive Sex Education: A Comprehensive Sexual Health Curriculum Guide.
George Camany (He/Him)
The Diversity Center
Workshop: Tour the Queer Santa Cruz Exhibit
Bio: George Camany was born and raised in Watsonville and graduated from Watsonville High School. After pursuing an acting career in New York, he returned to Watsonville where he works in retail. He enjoys giving back to his LGBTQ community and is a member of the Diversity Center Board of Directors.
Ashlyn Adams (She/Her) & Wren Reeve (They/Them)
The Diversity Center Santa Cruz County
Workshop: Community Cooking Show
Bio: Ashlyn raised herself in the Bay Area and came to Santa Cruz for college at UCSC. She considers herself a professional in the arts and sciences of connecting people with resources, movie watching, helping you fix your computer, fitting everything in the car, and providing basketball commentary. She lives with her wife and two pretty cute dogs.
Molly Sharfstein (Any Pronouns) & Camila Snyder-Alaniz (She/Her)
Students, Santa Cruz High School
Workshop: Flashback! Theatre and LGBT Activism
Bio:
Molly Sharfstein is a senior at Santa Cruz High School, a member of Santa Cruz High theatre committee, and a director. She is a nonbinary Jewish lesbian, and has been involved with SCHS’s rainbow alliance for two years.
Camila Snyder-Alaniz is a junior at Santa Cruz High. She has participated in theatre every year she has attended, and she is also a member of the theatre committee. She is a bisexual Latina, and an aspiring artist.
Q Licht (He/They) & Angela Gates (She/Her)
Scotts Valley High School; Soquel High School
Workshop: The Purple Sticker Project: Making books and other media with positive LGBTQ+ representation more accessible to K-12 students
Bio:
Q Licht is a sophomore at Scotts Valley High School, a Girl Scout Senior, and BSA Scout Tenderfoot.
Angela Gates is the Library Media Assistant at Soquel High School. She graduated in 2016 from San Jose State University with a master’s degree in library and information science.
Brandon Bowen (He/Him)
Safe Schools Project; North Monterey County Unified School District
Workshop: LGBTQ History Game
Bio: Brandon Bowen has been an educator for the past 20 years. He currently teaches 6th grade in the North Monterey County Unified School District. His interests include writing, script writing, and performance.
Jeff Sheng (He/Him)
American artist and photographer
Workshop: FEARLESS: Portraits of LGBT Student Athletes, a book and artist talk
Bio: Jeff Sheng is an American artist whose photographic work over the last decade has focused on the 21st century LGBT rights movement. His photographs have been featured in international publications, including The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and The New Yorker. Since 2006, his photo series Fearless, which this book and artist talk is based on, has been exhibited at over 70 different venues, including the headquarters of Nike and ESPN, as well as select locations at the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. His other well known series, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell(2009-2011), about closeted United States military service members, was profiled in 2010 by the New York Times, ABC World News Tonight, and CNN.
Angela Soto Cerros (They/Them)
The Epicenter, Salinas
Workshop: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Meetup
Bio: Angela Soto Cerros is a member of the Queer & Trans Youth Collective, a group of young people who act as a steering committee for Our Gente, The Epicenter’s LGBTQ+ youth services program. They are a graduate of Salinas High School and are currently in their second year of studies at Cal State Monterey Bay.
Jacob Agamao (Any pronouns with positive intent)
The Epicenter, Salinas
Workshop: Sharing Circle Online
Bio: Jacob Agamao is the LGBTQ+ Services Coordinator at The Epicenter, a youth resource center in Salinas. Their background in empowerment for queer youth began in high school as president of one of the first GSA programs in Monterey County, and continued with work at the Monterey County AIDS Project and with Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations.