Celebrate Brown Pride
with
Kelly Garrett, Program Director
and
Je-Shawna Wholley, Program Coordinator
of the Brown LGBTQ Center
and the
Brown LGBTQ History Timeline
Brown TBGALA is proud to present a special exhibit of the Brown LGBTQ History Timeline. This traveling exhibit offers a peek into the growing LGBTQ History Archive. A project of Brown University’s LGBTQ Center, the archive is a collection of documents, photos, and other memorabilia that showcases the history of LGBTQ presence and activism at Brown. Begin the evening by exploring the exhibit during the opening reception.
The recent release of Brown’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan Annual Report offers an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and successes related to diversity and equity on campus. Kelly Garrett and Je-Shawna Wholley, of the LGBTQ Center, will host a special conversation focused on the various ways the University is working to cultivate a culture that facilitates and promotes social justice and inclusion at Brown. We'll look back at the history of student activism and social-justice work at Brown, particularly over the past 40 years, and look ahead to ongoing work and pressing issues on campus.
Time
6:30 pm – 7:45 pm: Exhibit and Wine and Hors d’Oeuvres Reception
7:45 pm – 9:00 pm: Opening remarks and presentation, followed by discussion and Q&A
About Our Speakers:
Kelly Garrett
Program Director, Brown University LGBTQ Center
Hired as the first full-time staff Coordinator for the Center in 2004, Kelly has spent the last 12 years developing the program through policy development, student development, advocacy, advising, education, programming and general support and mentorship for students. She serves as a consultant to departments across campus assisting them in providing the best support possible for LGBTQ students at Brown. She received her Master's degree in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she concentrated in teaching about issues of racism, heterosexism and ableism. She has been working in Student Affairs for over 23 years and has been providing direct support services for LGBTQ students, staff and faculty for 18 years, first as the Assistant Director of the Spectrum Center at the University of Michigan and then in her current position at Brown. She has taught social justice education courses at the University of Massachusetts, the University of Michigan and Brown’s Summer Pre-College Leadership Institute. Kelly is passionate about providing support for students experiencing oppression and bias so that they may have a positive and successful college experience.
Je-Shawna Wholley
Program Coordinator, Brown University LGBTQ Center
Je-Shawna is the new Program Coordinator of Brown University’s LGBTQ Center. Prior to that, Wholley served as the Programs Manager in charge of the Emerging Leaders Initiative and Special Projects at the National Black Justice Coalition. Je-Shawna provides strategic insight on outreach and issues affecting Black LGBT young people. A graduate of Spelman College where she received her Bachelors of Art in comparative women's studies, Wholley served as president of the LGBT student union, Afrekete. In 2009, alongside Morehouse College’s Safe Space organization, she spearheaded the first LGBT Pride Week in the Atlanta University Center. Wholley has been honored as the recipient of the 2011 Campus Pride Voice & Action National Leadership Award for her tireless efforts to make Spelman College and the Atlanta University Center a more inclusive environment for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) gay and transgender student body. Additionally, she was instrumental in the research and planning of the historical Audre Lorde HBCU Summit, which focused on the social climate regarding LGBT affairs on HBCU campuses. Dedicated to the empowerment of LGBT youth of color, Wholley travels across the nation to keynote and conduct workshops on creating safe and inclusive campuses for all students to thrive. Je-Shawna has a Master of Arts in gender and women's studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Can’t make it? Join the discussion at #BrownDiversity.
This event is co-sponsored by the Brown Club of New York, Brown Transgender Gay and Lesbian Alumni (TBGALA), the Brown Alumni Association’s Multicultural Alumni Committee, and the LGBTQ Center.