Understanding Gender

A free bilingual conference for parents, guardians, adult allies, and educators who want a deeper understanding of gender and youth in Monterey, San Benito, & Santa Cruz Counties.

Saturday, October 8, 2022

9:30 am – 2:00 pm

Watsonville High School, 250 E. Beach St., Watsonville, CA 95076

Registration Open — Sign up today!

Find us on Facebook

For more information, contact us at gendersummitsc@gmail.com or call (831) 427-4004.

Have a 3rd-5th grader? Stay tuned to learn about the Glitter Kids Corner event, happening during the parent summit!

Haga clic aquí para información en español

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About the Summit

Understandings of gender are changing rapidly and it can be challenging to keep up! All children are limited by traditional gender roles and stereotypes, whether they are transgender, gender expansive, or not. Parents and adult allies play a crucial role in creating a safe and supportive environment for all young people around their gender.

We hope you’ll join us for a day of learning, conversation, and reflection about youth and gender, including such topics as:

• Understanding the dimensions of gender
• Learning common terms and concepts 
• Affirmative parenting practices around gender
• How your own experiences with gender may affect your parenting
• The personal experiences of transgender and non-binary youth
• Suggestions for talking with children and teens about gender
• Making schools more gender inclusive and safer for gender expansive youth
• Strategies for navigating the school system with transgender or gender nonconforming students
• Understanding puberty blockers and hormones

Simultaneous Spanish translation provided

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Presenters

Roselyn Macias (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a leader for Conexiones, a support group mostly made up of Latina transwomen in Monterey County who are dedicated to raising awareness and visibility in the community for transgender, non-binary, and queer women of color. She is a passionate and active advocate in her community and for more than 7 years has worked with marginalized women to educate them about health and leadership, and to create safe spaces where they can express themselves. Roselyn also works with the Translatina Coalition on policy change and leadership development. Additionally, she raises awareness of the issues affecting her community in the local media.

Ashlyn Adams (pronouns: she/her/sir) is the Youth Program Coordinator at the Diversity Center. Ashlyn raised herself and her siblings in the Bay Area and came to Santa Cruz for college at UCSC. In addition to her role at the Diversity Center, Ashlyn works as a commissioner on the Justice And Gender county commission, digital literacy and access educator, filmmaker and film distributor, and EDI trainer. She considers herself to be 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.

Jen Hastings, MD, is a Volunteer Clinical Professor at UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine and is actively involved in supporting transgender services around the country.

Jen is a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, a consultant for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), and is the Director of Medical Conference Programming for Gender Spectrum. Jen works to increase medical access and understanding about the gender journey.

Jen Salinas-Holz founded and co-advises the first elementary school GSA in Pajaro Valley Unified School District at Watsonville Charter School for the Arts (WCSA). Additionally, Jen is also an advisor to three other GSAs in PVUSD: Alianza QSA, Lakeview Middle School QSA, and WCSA Middle School GSA. Jen’s advocacy and affirming presence as an openly queer adult on these campuses has helped create a safer space for LGBTQ and ally students to express themselves and feel accepted in school.

Since Spring 2019, Jen has collaborated with TransFamilies of Santa Cruz and Gender Spectrum to present several annual Understanding Gender parent/educator summits. Jen was a 2019 Santa Cruz County Ally to Queer Youth Awardee, serves on the PVUSD LGBTQ Task Force, was honored with a proclamation from the Watsonville Mayor for Pride month in June 2021, and has most recently served on the City of Watsonville Ad-Hoc Committee on Policing and Social Equity. Jen’s tireless commitment to serving queer and trans youth puts her at the forefront of positive change in the Watsonville community.

Michelle Brandt is the Co-Facilitator for Transfamilies of Santa Cruz County, a supportive parent, and a tireless ally to LGBTQ+ youth. Michelle often spends her weekends tabling at events to help support local families in understanding gender diversity so they are better able to support their gender expansive youth. In addition to advocating at events and supporting her own gender diverse child,

Michelle has collaborated with the Safe Schools Project and Gender Spectrum to create several “Understanding Gender” adult summits to better reach local parents and families and educate them on gender. Michelle’s years of work and commitment to helping the families of trans and gender diverse kids have undoubtedly improved the lives of countless youths and made our communities stronger and our world better.

Andrea Damon is a leader with TransFamilies of Santa Cruz County, facilitating support group meetings, providing individual peer counseling to parents, and participating in community outreach, advocacy, and education on behalf of gender diverse children and youth in our community. Andrea also volunteers with Gender Spectrum, co-facilitating their national parent support group meetings. This is Andrea’s second year as part of the Understanding Gender summit organizing committee.

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Summit Schedule

• 9:30 am – 10:00 am 
  • Registration, Resource Fair, and Light Breakfast
• 10:00 am – 10:15 am
  • Welcome and Introductions
• 10:15 am – 11:15 am (choose one) 
  • Overview of Gender (in English) with Ashlyn Adams
  • Entendiendo el género desde una perspectiva Hispana/Latina (en español) con Roselyn Macias
• 11:30 am – 12:30 pm (choose one)
  • Hormones and Puberty Blockers Q&A with Dr. Jen Hastings
  • Keeping Schools Safe with Jen Salinas-Holz
• 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm
  • Lunch will be provided
• 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
  • Youth panel with Jen Salinas-Holz
• 2:00 pm
  • Closing

Presented by TransFamilies of Santa Cruz County and Gender Spectrum

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Registration Open — Sign up today!

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Summit Resources

Handouts for the Summit in English and Spanish

Community Resources to Support Youth and Families

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Community Sponsors 

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Download and share the Summit Flyer on social media — thank you for helping get the word out!

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Queer, Trans, & Allied Student Summit of the Central Coast — Fall 2022

Thank you for helping get the word out to LGBTQIA+ and allied students about the Fall 2022 Queer, Trans, & Allied Student Summit taking place the same day, time, and location as the Parent/Guardian & Adult Allies Summit on Saturday, October 8th, 2022!