In collaboration with FORGE, Dezjorn International is facilitating a panel discussion – “Black Trans/NB Panel: How to Lead at Any Level!” This online event will highlight Black Trans & Nonbinary leaders from across the country. The panel will cover a wide range of topics focused on BlackTrans leadership, what makes a great leader, and some challenges of being a leader. Additional content will focus on why diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential in any industry and what non-BlackTrans people and systems can do to promote conversations and change about social justice. Moderator and Host: Dezjorn Gauthier, Dezjorn International Dezjorn Gauthier is the CEO of Dezjorn International LLC, a small business firm compiled of several subsidiaries jointly committed to helping clients reach their goals of branding, public relations, investing and global influence. He is also the founder of The DIF Inc, a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate, empower, and inspire people of marginalized communities […]

In this session, we will discuss the history of carceral responses to suicide and crisis. Beginning with the conflation of madness and queerness, we will explore the ways queer and trans people have been targeted by carceral psychiatric and psychological “interventions.” We will trace the persistence of this historical trauma’s legacy in current crisis response models. After grounding in historical and contemporary responses to crisis and suicide, we will imagine liberatory frameworks for responding to suicide and crisis that resist paradigms of punishment and pathology. Presenter: Jess Stohlmann-Rainey. I am Jess (she/her) and I love to talk about suicide. I am a mad, queer, feminist, care worker. I am a trainer and consultant, and work as Director of Peer Services at Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners (who provides the statewide crisis and peer lines, RAINN hotline, Colorado Lifeline, and others), and an instructor at the University of Denver’s School of Professional Psychology. I live as a […]

For nonbinary and transgender people of all ages putting our stories onto the page is important and can even be personally transformative. Creative daily art journaling is a way that we can document our queer lives for memory and self-reflection. Art journaling involves combining words, photos, drawings, cut/paste from magazines/newspapers/mail, stickers etc. onto the page to document memories. Especially during the pandemic which has brought so much isolation and uncertainty, art journaling can be a personal (or collaborative) way of documenting the special and mundane moments of daily life. In this workshop we will explore tips for no/low-cost ways of getting started with art journaling, techniques for art journaling, and strategies for queerly incorporating creative journaling into your life. ---------------------- Register in advance for this meeting: https://forge-forward.zoom.us/.../tZ0rf... After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. ---------------------- SUPPLIES NEEDED: -- Notebook of any kind and size (optional) -- Paper (lined […]