As an active athlete in the international wrestling community and Group leader for Rainbow youth alliance Akil is unlike many of his counter parts. His focus in life is making a change in the way LGBT youth are seen and the life that athletes are sometimes seen to be forced into to make. Akil works as a youth advocate when he is not on the wrestling mats trainning for the Olympics.
Dr. Sean Robinson is a Graduate Program Director and Professor in the Dept. of Advanced Studies, Leadership & Policy in the School of Education at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. His primary teaching and research areas include leadership and teaching for social justice, youth identity development, leadership development, organizational behavior, leadership in colleges and universities, and research methods. Sean has over 25 years experience in a multitude of educational settings at both the high school and university level. He has published over two dozen articles and book chapters, and presented over 50 presentations (locally, nationally, and internationally) focusing on LGBTQ identity development, media/pop culture’s impact on youth, and mentoring youth and young adults. In addition to his faculty role, Sean maintains a private coaching and consulting practice, which focuses on organizational development, strategic planning, human resource initiatives, and developing leaders. His clients are primarily entrepreneurs, non-profits organizations, and small businesses. Sean received his PhD in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and his MBA in Management & Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, he holds a Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology from the College of William & Mary. Sean’s BA is in Psychology from the University of Virginia.
Alexander Rey Perez (Divine, They, King, He), widely known as Lexlyrics, is an intentional light worker with an unwavering commitment to fostering positive change in every community they touch. Through embodying the values of presence and visibility, Alexander has emerged as a catalyst for transformation in artistic, spiritual, and social justice spheres.
Alexander comes from Dominican, Cuban, and Costa Rican lineages. Additionally, Alexander is a two-spirit individual with a trans experience. Despite facing challenges such as houselessness, extreme trauma, mental health issues, and surviving jail systems due to subsequent trauma, Alexander teaches us that, regardless of where you come from or what you endure, you get to decide what you make of it. That we are in fact creators of reality.
Alexander has been instrumental in creating impactful solutions within the DEI landscape.
Alexander is also a facilitator, event curator, and a creatrix at his core. He is a poet and soon to be published author.
His contributions extend across diverse areas such as LGBTQ+ mutual aid, public health, community building, and intentional healing through art. As an adept event curator and clairsentient spiritual channel, Alexander lends his voice to empowering discussions.
Moreover Alexander’s commitment to his spiritual journey, rest, joy, and love is how he models unity consciousness in everything they do.
Their engagements cover a spectrum of topics, including ethical and equitable philanthropy, the significance of employing and empowering individuals with diverse lived expertise, and the importance of heart-mind-body alignment in navigating various spaces.
Alexander is not just a speaker; they activate a frequency that inspires and uplifts while addressing critical issues with a passion that resonates.
Dana Beyer, M.D., a retired eye surgeon, is a well-known advocate for health issues as well as gender rights. She practiced medicine and surgery in D.C., Miami, Mississippi, Africa and Asia. She is currently a candidate for Maryland State Delegate, having first run in 2006. She is Vice President of Equality Maryland, former Executive Vice President of Maryland NOW, founding member of the Progressive Working Group, Maryland?s newest progressive alliance, member of the Board of Governors of the Human Rights Campaign, and board member of Mobile Med. She recently co-authored The Dallas Principles. She is currently on leave as Senior Adviser to Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg of the Montgomery County Council, to run her campaign. She lives with her two sons in Chevy Chase.
Brian Watson resides and works in Washington, D.C.’s Deanwood section of Ward 7. Since relocating to D.C. Brian has been a vocal and visible activist in the areas of social justice, youth, LGBT issues, and HIV/AIDS for nearly a decade. Brian is former Secretary and President of the D.C. Coalition of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Men and Women, the oldest Black GLBT group in the United States. Brian presently serves as Director of Programs at Transgender Health Empowerment, Inc in Washington, D.C. where has been employed for the last 6 years. In September 2008 he started the Wanda Alston House the 1st and only GLBTQ youth homeless transitional program in the DC, MD, VA area. He has worked with various target populations on various topics such including religion, sexual minority youth, HIV positive individuals, foster children, recently incarcerated, substance abuse users, transgenders and transgender youth. Brian has been a trainer educating homeless programs, police officers, foster care agencies, and department of corrections on working with GLBT individuals and cultural competency. He has experience working in health education, HIV and HEP C counseling, testing and referral, case management, cancer in African Americans, housing coordination, and conducting formative research. Brian was appointed by Mayor Anthony Williams and Mayor Adrian Fenty to sit on boards such as the Regional Health Services HIV/AIDS Planning Council, LGBT Executive Advisory Board, and by Mayor Vincent Gray to sit on the Interagency Council on Homelessness. He is also a member of the DC HIV Planning Group and Metropolitan DC Police Critical Incidents Team. Brian is frequently called on to travel across the United States to speak on HIV/AIDS in youth, the African American GLBT community, and the black church. Brian was named a Capital Pride Hero in 2007, and received a Distinguished Service Award from GLAA in 2008 as well as American Red Cross volunteer of the year award. Has been featured in such publications as the Metro Weekly, Washington Blade, Black Pride Guide, Washington Post, and GayAgenda.com. He has appeared on the Kojo Nnamdi Show, WPFW?s ?Inside Out? radio show, Fox 5 Morning News and In the Life. He is also a contributing writer for SWERV Magazine.
I have been a fierce advocate for social justice and civil liberties issues for 5 very creative years. A sample of issues I have organized around include the reproductive health needs of queer women, sexuality within disabled communities and queer people of color politics. I am a co-founder of American University’s Students for Choice and have served as Treasurer for our queer group Queers & Allies.
Hello, my name is Sara Cahanin. I am a licensed therapist in Maryland and currently, I work at Cheltenham Youth Facility in the school as a therapist. I also have a private practice. In addition to my work as a therapist, I have been a high school English teacher and also, have taught writing at a community college and private college in New York State. In 2006, I started a non-profit organization called, Martin Lyon Lesbian Support Services in Ithaca, New York. It was very successful and met the unmet needs of the lesbian community. We had planned to open it up to all GLBT people, but due to the economy the organization ceased operations. I feel that I have a lot to offer the GLBT community as a speaker and look forward to speaking soon to our community. Thanks for reading!
For more information, please visit my website at http://www.saracahanin.com.
Kevin Nunley serves as the Senior Director for Internships and Student Services at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. He has spent over 15 years in the Higher Education arena working with college students in advising and counseling roles. His areas of emphasis are on GLBT Identity Development, Coming Out Process, Leadership Development, and other topics of Diversity.
A 30-year community, human rights and HIV/AIDS activist/advocate in the metropolitan DC area, certified as an HIV/AIDS Peer Counselor & Educator and HIV Treatment Education Specialist; an award-winning writer and performance artist and a highly sought after lecturer and program facilitator for cultural diversity issues and concerns. Native of
Sapna Pandya, MPH is former Director of Programs for the South Asian Health Initiative (SAHI) at Center for Immigrant Health (CIH) of the New York University School of Medicine, which serves to help South Asian immigrants navigate barriers to health care in New York City through community-based participatory research and outreach programs. She recently relocated to Washington DC, where she is furthering her work by expanding to advocacy and capacity-building activities, including trainings and talks in the area of immigrant health. Sapna is also a co-Founder of two unique initiatives: 1) Jeena Circle, a giving circle-style foundation dedicated to raising funds for under-served South Asian immigrant communities in the United States; and 2) Humsafar International, a collective of trainers on sexual health, sexual identity and health access issues. She is actively involved in several of the area’s API LGBT communities and is passionate about addressing socio-political and economic determinants of health, particularly for marginalized communities globally. Her research and programmatic work on HIV/AIDS and gender, done over the last 10 years in India and Pakistan is ground-breaking and is something she remains firmly connected to. Sapna has a M.P.H. from the George Washington University and is an Alumni of the CORO Immigrant Leadership Training Program.
Guy-Oreido Weston has worked full-time in HIV/AIDS programs since1986. At present, he is a consultant in private practice that assists community-based organizations with developing and evaluating organizational infrastructure and programs. He is also a writer of essays, op-ed, and short stories about HIV and LGBT issues, whose work appeared the Philadelphia Gay News, Arise Magazine, and the Washington Informer, among others. As a speaker and workshop facilitator, he has presented on a broad array of topics, including, but not limited to various HIV/AIDS issues, cultural competency, HIV and LGBT issues with faith communities, community mobilization, and community planning.