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GLSEN (specific to educators) offers PD in person OR online.

Topics include:

identifying exclusion grounded in racism, ableism, transphobia, and other systems of oppression

Gender identity/expression, pronouns, and gender inclusive language

Leading conversations with young people and adults about inclusion

Students’ and educators’ legal rights, on the basis of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and more

Differentiated, role-specific best-practices and resources for school staff

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GLSEN currently offers its Intentional Inclusion Professional Development Series to schools, districts, and other youth-serving agencies and organizations.

The GLSEN Intentional Inclusion PD Series is intersectionality forward with an emphasis on advancing racial, gender and disability justice.

"This has been one of the most meaningful PDs I have attended in a long time. I wish everyone in my district had to attend."
- PD Participant in September 2022

Covered topics include:

Identifying exclusion grounded in racism, ableism, transphobia, and other systems of oppression

Gender identity/expression, pronouns, and gender inclusive language

Leading conversations with young people and adults about inclusion

Students' and educators' legal rights, on the basis of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and more

Differentiated, role-specific best-practices and resources for school staff, including:

Sample LGBTQ+ affirming lesson plans

Grade-aligned, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC affirming book lists for teachers and school librarians

Model school policies for student records, dress codes, bathroom/locker room access and sports participation

Resources for supporting student-led GSA clubs

GLSEN Facilitators

GLSEN facilitators have all gone through a rigorous preparation process and have a range of 5 to 30 years of experience in education and youth programming work. Organizations/schools/districts that partner with GLSEN for PD will have a virtual Pre-PD meeting with their facilitators approximately 2 weeks prior to their first PD date.

Funding for GLSEN PD

Various state and federal funding streams can be used to bring GLSEN PD to your school/district/organization. These include Title II-A, Title IV-A, and ESSER funds.

Process for Requesting GLSEN PD

Once you fill out the form at the below link, you will be invited to schedule a PD intake call with a GLSEN teammate. On that call, we'll hear more about your school/organization/district's specific needs, answer your questions about our training, and discuss pricing. Given demand for GLSEN PD, we recommend completing the GLSEN PD Request form as far in advance of your target PD date as possible.

"Great resources and excellent dialogue. Definitely keeping the participant guides--they're awesome! It will give me a solid framework for supporting staff, students, and families."
- PD Participant in June 2023

"The opportunity to explore so many resources and learn how to use new tools for analysis was wonderful. These topics are so large that it's easy to go down a rabbit hole online; having tested and validated resources to use makes a huge difference."
- PD Participant in June 2023

"I enjoyed the data that was shared about [my] state and LGBTQ+ youth. The terminology shared and what gender inclusive practices means gave me a lot to think about."
- PD Participant in June 2023

"I loved having the time to deep dive into the materials and apply to MY own work."
- PD Participant in June 2023

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The GLSEN Intentional Inclusion PD Series is intersectionality forward with an emphasis on advancing racial, gender and disability justice. "This has been one of the most meaningful PDs I have attended in a long time. I wish everyone in my district had to attend."

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Educational articles for parents and supportive adults

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Educational articles for parents and supportive adults

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International LGBTQ safe space/community, suicide prevention among LGBTQ young people.

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LGBTQ Community Resources Archives | Page 2 of 3 | The Trevor Project

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Explore what support can look like. The Trevor Project offers several resources for members and allies of the LGBTQ community, including self-care guides, educational articles for parents and supportive adults, and other informational pieces regarding LGBTQ young people facing homelessness, creating safe spaces in schools, and developing healthy relationships.

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Elementary and Secondary School LGBTQ+ and Gender Inclusive Professional Development Training

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Elementary and Secondary School LGBTQ+ and Gender Inclusive Professional Development Training

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Training Modules Available for LGBTQ+ and Gender Inclusive Professional Development

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HRC Foundation's Welcoming Schools Certified Facilitators are located across the country. They offer practical and interactive professional development to create gender and LGBTQ+ inclusive schools using the following Welcoming Schools...

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Provides some context to terms that you may not know or may not be comfortable with! Afraid of saying the wrong thing? It's always best to ask.

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Last updated: 5/31/2023

Many Americans refrain from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity or expression because it feels taboo, or because they're afraid of saying the wrong thing. This glossary was written to help give people the words and meanings to help make conversations easier and more comfortable. LGBTQ+ people use a variety of terms to identify themselves, not all of which are included in this glossary. Always listen for and respect a person's self identified terminology.

Ally | A term used to describe someone who is actively supportive of LGBTQ+ people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as those within the LGBTQ+ community who support each other (e.g., a lesbian who is an ally to the bisexual community).

Asexual | Often called "ace" for short, asexual refers to a complete or partial lack of sexual attraction or lack of interest in sexual activity with others. Asexuality exists on a spectrum, and asexual people may experience no, little or conditional sexual attraction.

Biphobia | The fear and hatred of, or discomfort with, people who love and are sexually attracted to more than one gender.

Bisexual | A person emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one gender, though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree. Sometimes used interchangeably with pansexual.

Gay | A person who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to members of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.

Genderqueer | Genderqueer people typically reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People who identify as "genderqueer" may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.

Gender binary | A system in which gender is constructed into two strict categories of male or female. Gender identity is expected to align with the sex assigned at birth and gender expressions and roles fit traditional expectations.

Gender dysphoria | Clinically significant distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify.

Gender-expansive | A person with a wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or expression than typically associated with the binary gender system. Often used as an umbrella term when referring to young people still exploring the possibilities of their gender expression and/or gender identity.

Gender expression | External appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, body characteristics or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine.

Gender-fluid | A person who does not identify with a single fixed gender or has a fluid or unfixed gender identity.

Homophobia | The fear and hatred of or discomfort with people who are attracted to members of the same sex.

Intersex | Intersex people are born with a variety of differences in their sex traits and reproductive anatomy. There is a wide variety of difference among intersex variations, including differences in genitalia, chromosomes, gonads, internal sex organs, hormone production, hormone response, and/or secondary sex traits.

Lesbian | A woman who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.

LGBTQ+ | An acronym for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer" with a "+" sign to recognize the limitless sexual orientations and gender identities used by members of our community.

Non-binary | An adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. While many also identify as transgender, not all non-binary people do. Non-binary can also be used as an umbrella term encompassing identities such as agender, bigender, genderqueer or gender-fluid.

Outing | Exposing someone's lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender or gender non-binary identity to others without their permission. Outing someone can have serious repercussions on employment, economic stability, personal safety or religious or family situations.

Pansexual | Describes someone who has the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree. Sometimes used interchangeably with bisexual.

Queer | A term people often use to express a spectrum of identities and orientations that are counter to the mainstream. Queer is often used as a catch-all to include many people, including those who do not identify as exclusively straight and/or folks who have non-binary or gender-expansive identities. This term was previously used as a slur, but has been reclaimed by many parts of the LGBTQ+ movement.

Questioning | A term used to describe people who are in the process of exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Same-gender loving | A term some prefer to use instead of lesbian, gay or bisexual to express attraction to and love of people of the same gender.

Sex assigned at birth | The sex, male, female or intersex, that a doctor or midwife uses to describe a child at birth based on their external anatomy.

Sexual orientation | An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to other people. Note: an individual's sexual orientation is independent of their gender identity.

Transgender | An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.

Transitioning | A series of processes that some transgender people may undergo in order to live more fully as their true gender. This typically includes social transition, such as changing name and pronouns, medical transition, which may include hormone therapy or gender affirming surgeries, and legal transition, which may include changing legal name and sex on government identity documents. Transgender people may choose to undergo some, all or none of these processes.

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This glossary was written to help give people the words and meanings to make conversations about sexual orientation and gender expression easier.

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The Cortland LGBTQ Center offers trainings on LGBTQ+ topics to schools, medical providers, health & human service organizations, local government offices, law enforcement, first responders, businesses, religious organizations, families, and more! If you're unsure which training would best fit your group, please reach out to us. We can accommodate most requests to tailor our trainings to your unique needs.

Available Trainings

LGBTQ 101

This training goes over the very basics of LGBTQ terminology, common misconceptions, the impacts of discrimination, and how to create a more welcoming environment for LGBTQ people. If you're unsure how to define each letter in LGBTQ or struggle with transgender terminology, this is the perfect training for you!

LGBTQ 102

If you already know the basics (or, even better, you've already completed our 101 training!), LGBTQ 102 delves into additional terminology (such as pansexual, asexual, and genderqueer) and explores how to show up as an active ally to the community. This training is perfect for those who want to be more supportive of LGBTQ people but aren't sure how to comfortably speak up or advocate for change.

Talk Saves Lives - LGBTQ

Talk Saves Lives™ is a 60-minute education presentation from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) that covers the general scope of suicide, the research on prevention, and what people can do in their communities to save lives. Talk Saves Lives™ - LGBTQ discusses the many stressors that LGBTQ people face, and how these contribute to a higher suicide attempt rate among this population. It also covers protective factors that can help lower the suicide rate and what communities can do to support LGBTQ people. The LGBTQ Center staff is trained to provide this program for you!

It's Real: Teens and Mental Health

Intended for middle or high school classes, or community settings with groups of teens ages 1 1 to 18, It's Real: Teens and Mental Health is a 45-minute program from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) that provides young people with mental health education and resources. The program raises awareness about mental health issues, how to start a conversation about mental health, the importance of self-care, and how to reach out for help. The LGBTQ Center staff is trained to provide this program for you!

& More!

We will design a training with your learning goals in mind. Previous topics have included "Supporting LGBTQ Youth", "LGBTQ Healthcare Disparities," and "Understanding Gender Identity." Submit a training request below!

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LGBTQ+ trainings, workshops, and presentations - White Plains, NY

Possible Training Areas:

LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency

Transgender 101

Non-Binary 101

Understanding Pronouns

Becoming an LGBTQ+ Ally

Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ+ Relationships

LGBTQ+ Aging

TGNCNB Health Access

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*Due to a high volume of requests, LOFT trainings, workshops and presentations between now and October 2023 are fully booked. We highly encourage completing our request form here, and a member of The LOFT staff will reach out upon your submission to coordinate your LGBTQ+ educational program for the Fall. Thank you!

The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center offers LGBTQ+ trainings, workshops, and presentations to organizations wishing to enhance their services and supports for the LGBTQ+ community.

The LOFT is an expert in LGBTQ+ needs and experiences, and strives to further the center's mission to Advocate, Educate and Celebrate the diverse LGBTQ+ community. LOFT Staff members are available on an as-needed basis.
To schedule a training, please complete The LOFT's Professional Training Request Form here. For questions, contact Sarah Mazzella at [email protected] | 914-948-2932 ext 23 Possible Training Areas:

LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency

Transgender 101

Non-Binary 101

Understanding Pronouns

Becoming an LGBTQ+ Ally

Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ+ Relationships

LGBTQ+ Aging

TGNCNB Health Access

Testimonials:
"The informative teaching session given to us by Shepard and Jesse from The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center was very educational and brought a lot of ideas, with both substantial and in-depth knowledge together with case studies. This was one of the best training workshops on the Transgender community I have ever attended. The materials & facilitation were excellent and learning in our personal environment made the training very comfortable. I very much liked the approach. I recommend this training to all those in the fertility fields who want to learn more about the topics of Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Sex Assigned at Birth, just to name a few as well as understand on a human level some of the daily struggles of the Transgender community. We would welcome the LOFT back for future training sessions anytime and look forward to a wonderful relationship with the LOFT."
-Michele Faust of CT Fertility, Transgender Fertility and Best Practice Training

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LGBTQ+ Community Center of Westchester County and surrounding areas

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[Music] Blurring the Binary: Transgender Students

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[Music] Blurring the Binary: Transgender Students

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This website was created by Melanie Stapleton: for any music educator looking to get an idea of how best to instruct a transgender student in their music classroom.

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Teaching Transgender Students in the Music Classroom Teaching Transgender Students in the Music Classroom Teaching Transgender Students in the Music Classroom

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Not specific to educators: this guide was put together by NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. This is a citywide directory of organizations and services for LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming individuals. Includes access to housing, the arts, and youth support.

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[Music] Ways to Better Support LGBTQ+ Youth in Music Classrooms

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[Music] Ways to Better Support LGBTQ+ Youth in Music Classrooms

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My highlights:

Don’t divide the students by boy/girl for seating, lines, or teams.

Don’t perpetuate instrument or voice-type gender stereotypes. Boys can play the flute and girls can play tuba.

If a student comes out to you, ask if anyone else knows. Just because they were ready for you to know does not mean they are ready for other teachers or their parents to know.

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Ways to Better Support LGBTQ+ Youth in Music Classrooms

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Ways to Better Support LGBTQ+ Youth in Music Classrooms By Shawn Royer & Sarah Breann Royer When it comes to working with LGBTQ+ youth, even small effor…

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Comprehensive listing of LGBTQ+ affirming services available in Westchester and the surrounding area.

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Westchester's LGBT Community Calendar and Resource Guide

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In 2003 Big Apple Performing Arts and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center's Center Youth program came together to create the Youth Pride Chorus. To date, YPC has performed as guest artists at the GLAAD Media Awards, alongside Cyndi Lauper and Broadway stars, GLSEN's Respect Awards, Broadway Backwards at Lincoln Center, and much more!

Youth Pride Chorus harnesses the power of the performing arts to galvanize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight young people ages 13-22 as agents of change. YPC refuses homophobia, bullying, and all forms of hate by boldly asserting the joy, diversity, strength, and pride of today's youth. YPC singers discover their own power by empowering others in schools, online, and for the general public through electrifying performances of the highest calibre.

To learn how to join the Youth Pride Chorus, click here.

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In 2003 Big Apple Performing Arts and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center's Center Youth program came together to create the Youth Pride Chorus. To date, YPC has performed as guest artists at the GLAAD Media Awards, alongside Cyndi Lauper and Broadway stars, GLSEN's Respect Awards, Broadway Backwards at Lincoln Center, and much more!

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Looking for recordings to show your students? Be mindful of who is being represented in the examples you give. Exposure, exposure, exposure!

Pride Bands promotes LGBTQ+ Music, Visibility and Pride by providing a network of LGBTQ+ community bands at all stages of development, promoting music as a medium of communication among people, improving the quality of artistic and organizational aspects of member bands and stimulating public interest in the unique art form of community band music in our culture.

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Pride Bands Alliance is a membership organization of LGBTQ+ community concert and marching bands from cities around the world. Formerly Lesbian and Gay Band Association, we were founded in 1982 as Lesbian and Gay Bands of America when seven independent bands met formally in Chicago.

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Organizations advocating for LGBTQIA+ composers and artists

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Organizations advocating for LGBTQIA+ composers and artists

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The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Study Group is a recognized special interest group of the American Musicological Society. Their objectives include increasing awareness of sexuality and music in the academy, promoting contact among music scholars working in LGBTQ studies, and establishing a forum for the presentation of such research. They also intend to provide an environment in which to examine the process of coming out in academia and to contribute to a positive political climate for affirmative action and LGBTQ curricula.

BTFA is a community-based arts organization that builds community and mobilizes resources to support Black trans femme artists (artists who were assigned male-at-birth and now identify somewhere underneath the femme umbrella). They organize programming that centers and highlights Black trans femme artists, executive produce projects led by Black trans femme artists, and provide direct support to Black trans artists.

ClassicalQueer provides a space for queer+ people working in the classical arts to tell their stories in their own words. It is an archive of instrumentalists, performers, administrators, composers, writers, and conductors from around the world who have a diverse and complex set of experiences working in the classical arts.

GALA Choruses leads the North American LGBTQ choral movement. They cultivate the artistic development of 10,000 singers from more than 190 choruses in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. They serve choruses small or large, offering help whether you have 5 members or 250, a budget of $10,000 or $3 million.

This site is the world's largest encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture and history with its own section for arts.

More than 128 member choirs from 20 countries with approximately 4120 singers look to LEGATO for support and leadership. They promote art, culture, and understanding between nations, staging choral singing events with participants from many European nations. They maintain an up-to-date list of LGBTQ+ Choirs in Europe and publish events being run by these Choirs locally, and encourages people to go and support the events. They connect new LGBTQ+ Choirs with more experienced ones so that they can avoid some of the pitfalls of starting a new Choir. They are actively supporting the development of LGBTQ+ Choirs in Eastern Europe, where in many countries to be LGBTQ+ is considered a crime, and people are persecuted. They work for the emancipation of LGBTQ+ individuals in Europe and combat discrimination against these groups.

Lesbian and Gay Band Association (LGBA) is a musical organization comprised of concert and marching bands from cities across the United States and the world. Formed in 1982 as Lesbian and Gay Bands of America when seven independent bands met formally in Chicago, the Association has grown to 38 member organizations including international bands. LGBA remains dedicated to its original goals of providing a network of lesbian and gay bands at all stages of development, promoting music as a medium of communication among people, improving the quality of artistic and organizational aspects of member bands, and stimulating public interest in the unique art form of community band music in our culture.

The intent of the project is to compile a list of pieces by composers who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and additional gender/sexuality minorities) community and who have written works for band. This project will be treated as a working document and resource for conductors, educators, performers, and scholars interested in the music of LGBTQ+ band composers.

The LGBTQ+ Music Study Group was established in 2016 and receives support from professional bodies throughout the UK and Ireland: the British Forum for Ethnomusicology (BFE), the Royal Musical Association (RMA), the Society for Music Analysis (SMA), and the Society for Musicology in Ireland (SMI). The Group's mission is threefold: 1) to promote academic inquiry into issues of gender and sexuality in the study of music; 2) to create a safe space and support system for LGBTQ+ people within the scholarly community; and 3) to serve as a consulting body for wider issues of diversity and inclusion within music research, education, and performance. Aspiring toward queer politics informed by feminist and decolonizing efforts, the Study Group provides a space for cultivating and developing cutting-edge academic, political, and social work.

OUTMUSIC - The LGBT Academy of Recording Arts (LARA) is registered as Outmusic Inc. a 501c3 non-profit organization that serves as an umbrella to support the work LARA (LGBT Academy of Recording Arts), the Outmusic Awards and the Outmusic Foundation. Their mission is to increase visibility and promote the advancement, contributions, and appreciation of LGBT+ music, entertainment, culture, and heritage as an equivalent entertainment platform. With a focus on creating opportunities to support the development of young aspiring artists, in a safe space where they can thrive and become industry professionals in the field of their interest.

OutVoice! is the internet GLBT musician's top twenty chart and service network which has been online since 1996.

Pride in Music is a non-profit charitable collective working to create a cross-industry network for the LGBTQ+ community, artists, and allies working within British Music. Pride in Music aims to provide a support network to break down stereotypes, to work as an educational service to employers and staff, as an entry point to the industry for underprivileged youth, and to provide peer mentoring, networking, and an industry-wide social group to help those who may struggle with the anxieties and stigmas that generally arise with these topics. They also work with a number of up-and-coming and developing artists to showcase new music by those who may not normally be afforded that opportunity.

From January 2000 until March 2015 "Queer Music Heritage" was both a radio show and a website, and the goal of both was to preserve and share the music of our culture. It has become the resource on the net for the history of LGBT music. Each month's page gives the playlist and additional pages of info, and you can stream or download every show; there are over 580 hours of programming available.

QueerSounds is a podcast on queer folks' taste in music. A great love for music and the need to offer other LGBTQIAP+ people a place to talk about this is what brought this podcast into being. Music plays a huge role in queer life. With so many memories, anecdotes, and other stories that have songs attached to them, it would be a shame if no one would ever share them.

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LGBTQIA+ Resources - Boulanger Initiative

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Boulanger Initiative has curated a list of resources for LGBTQIA+ musicians and composers to help amplify the impact of their work.