Eighth Annual Gender and Sexual Minorities Conference to Spotlight Advocacy

Eighth Annual Gender and Sexual Minorities Conference to Spotlight Advocacy

September 25, 2024

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Kutztown University's LGBTQ+ Resource Center and Women's Center will host the eighth annual Gender and Sexual Minorities Conference Oct. 2-4, McFarland Student Union. This year's conference will highlight being your authentic self and includes keynote speaker Ashleigh Strange, director of the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on LBGTQ Affairs, who will present 11 a.m. Friday Oct. 4, 218 McFarland Student Union.

KU alumnae Diona Akens, owner and wellness consultant of Divinity and Balance Co., will lead two virtual LGBTQ Affirming Yoga sessions. Letecia Garcia, KU alumnae and Healing Companion and director at Precipice Healing and Insight, will present "Attraction V Attachment: Demystifying the Toxic" 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, 223 MSU.

A full schedule is available online.

The conference taking place at KU will serve as an educational opportunity for members of the LGBT community and their allies to learn more about struggles, issues and movements toward change, while approaching aspects of wellness from personal, to relational, to political, to organizational.

This year's theme and focus is "Authentically You. We all deserve the right to live our lives genuinely, completely and honestly." This includes the exploration of authenticity related to gender identity, sexual identity and all forms of expression of self. How we strive to live authentic work, personal, family, cultural and political lives, without sacrificing our full sense of self or beliefs, and the intersection of our identities.

Strange is the executive director of the Governor's Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs. Strange engages with federal, state and local agencies to promote effective utilization of government programs impacting LGBTQ Pennsylvanians and works with the Commission to educate the community on existing resources. Strange previously worked as communications director for Pennsylvania Stands Up and Make the Road Pennsylvania.

Strange graduated in 2016 from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism. They serve as board chair on the PA Stands Up Institute board and vice chair of the Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates Board. Strange is from Fairbanks, Alaska. They currently reside in Allentown, Pa., with their partner Chloe, cat Nike, and several failing plants.

The GSM conference serves as an educational forum for members of the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to explore issues surrounding struggles, progress and movements toward equity, visibility and change.

If you would like to attend the conference, register online. Attendees who do not RSVP on Engage will be required to register in person at the registration table in the lobby outside of 218 MSU on the day of the event.

For more information about the event, contact the LGBTQ+ Resource Center at 484-646-4111 or [email protected].