LGBTQ+ Working Group
Established January 2019, the LGBTQ+ Working Group was created to advance the recommendations made by Dr. Kristen Renn following her campus review earlier that year. Renn’s visit resulted in a comprehensive 23-page report that was sent to then Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Patty Perillo. The working group, now led by Dr. Bing, Director of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, meets monthly and is composed of upper administration, faculty, staff, undergraduate, and graduate students.
Active Members of the LGBTQ+ Working Group
| Frank Shushock | Vice President of Student Affairs |
| Ellignton Graves | Office for Inclusion and Diversity |
| Karen DePauw | Graduate School |
| Laura Belmonte | College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences |
| Ashleigh "Bing" Bingham | LGBTQ+ Resource Center |
| Adam Masters | Graduate Student |
| Kathryn Polidoro | Equity and Access |
| Jenni Gallagher | Undergraduate Academic Affairs |
| Matthew Kwiatkowski | Housing & Residence Life |
| Chelsea Lambusta | Housing & Residence Life |
| Shaila Mehra | College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences |
| Jess Westcott | Cook Counseling Center |
| Jes Davis | VT Engage |
| Lindsey Gleason | VT Engage |
| John Gray | Recruitment |
| Kirsten Kelly | Virginia Cooperative Extension |
Below are the recently formed special task forces, their assigned tasks, and their membership.
LGBTQ+ Health Task Force
- Recruit LGBTQ+ Identified providers for Schiffert & Cook Counseling
- LGBTQ+ Inclusive Plans for Recreational Sports & Wellness programs
- Collect baseline data on Experiences of LGBQ and Trans/GNB Students at Cook & Shiffert
- Benchmark best practices of in college and community health and counseling
Consisting of:
| Swathi Prabhu | Hokie Wellness |
| Gabby McCollum | Recreational Sports |
| Nathaniel Soss | HokiePRIDE |
| Jess Westcott | Cook Counseling |
| Colleen Farmer | Schiffert Health Center |
| Kirsten Kelly | Virginia Cooperative Extension |
Professional Development Task Force
- Faculty & Staff development related to LGBTQ+ Inclusion, diversity, and equity
- Include LGBTQ+ education in diversity-related faculty & staff trainings
- Require LGBTQ+ education and training for all new faculty & staff
Consisting of:
| Weston Truss | Career and Professional Development |
| Michele Deramo | Office for Inclusion and Diversity |
| Blane Harding | Diversity Engagement |
| Sam Buchanan | Department of Student Affairs |
| Henry Yampolsky | Office for Equity and Accessibility |
| Jenni Gallagher | Office of General Education |
| Luisa M Havens Gerardo | Enrollment Management |
Corps. of Cadets Task Force
- LGBTQ+ Inclusion & Equity Training for Corps.
Consisting of:
| Chelsea Lambusta | Housing and Residence Life |
| Shaila Mehra | CLAHS |
| Alicia Cohen | Diversity Education Programs |
| Ben Janosy | H.E.R.O. |
| Lt Col Don Russell | Corps of Cadets |
| Frank Shushock | Department of Student Affairs |
| Anthony Scott | Dean of Students |
| Laura Belmonte | College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences |
Administrative Support Task Force
- Develop a plan and philosophy for communication from top leadership
- Develop clear standards for communicating about anti-LGBTQ+ incidents on campus and off as needed
- Featuring openly LGBTQ+ students, faculty, staff, and alumni in campus and alumni publications and media
- Conduct a campus audit and process map the experiences of LGBQ and Trans/Gender non-Binary (GNB) students, including students with intersecting minoritized identities, to identify policies, practices, and procedures that result in an unfriendly campus climate, microaggressions, invalidation, and hostility toward LGBTQ+ students.
- [ADDED 11/11/20] Explore possibilities for accessing Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) at Schiffert
Consisting of:
| Byron Hughes | Dean of Students |
| Kelly Oaks | Equity & Accessibility |
| Latanya Walker | Alumni Relations |
| Ellington Graves | Office for Inclusion and Diversity |
All Gender Restroom Task Force
- Provide and communicate clear expectations to the Virginia Tech community about the use of restrooms and locker rooms labeled "men’s" or "women's" by people of a diverse gender presentation
Consisting of:
| Dr. Bing | LGBTQ+ Resource Center |
| Adam Masters | Masters Student |
| Brian Kubecki | Architectural Planning |
| Kelly Oaks | Office for Equity and Accessibility |
| Lam Vuong | Campus Architecture |
Grad School/Professional Student Task Force
- Include LGBTQ+ education and training for graduate teaching assistants in department diversity plans.
Consisting of:
| Aubrey Knights | Student Affairs - Medical School |
| Karen DePauw | Graduate School |
| Shernita Lee | Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion |
| Laura Hungerford | Veterinary Medicine |