Center for Trans and Queer Advocacy

Become part of our vibrant community.

JOIN

About Us

The Center for Trans and Queer Advocacy strives to be a catalyst in enhancing the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, queer, questioning, agender, asexual, aromantic, and intersex students, staff, and faculty at West Chester University and beyond.

While we explicitly name specific identities, we support all people within LGBTQIA+ communities and in our efforts to move from allyship to advocacy, we invite all WCU community members to actively engage in exploration and education around the intersections of gender, sexuality, and other social identities.

Through visibility, outreach, programming, education, and community building, we work collectively to create an environment where trans and queer people feel supported and validated.

We celebrate trans and queer identities through our values of intersectionality, social justice, advocacy, and wholistic wellness, and we encourage all people to hold themselves accountable and actively work towards a more equitable society.

Advocacy

We unapologetically aim to lift up, center, and give support to trans and queer students, staff and faculty. We approach our work with an understanding, awareness and consciousness of the systematic ways oppression marginalizes members of our LGBTQIA+ community.

While gender and sexuality are foundational, our broader commitment is to create safer spaces on campus and work in solidarity to build an inclusive and equitable environment where all members feel valued and have agency over their own experience. We serve as active engaged members of our larger WCU community and work within an ethical framework to not only provide resources for those who may not have equal access, but to stay accountable to supporting underrepresented and underserved community members.

Social Justice

We are dedicated to celebrating and validating the intersections of one's identities while actively working towards dismantling the structural inequalities that disproportionately affect communities that have been impacted by deep-rooted, systemic oppression. We recognize that social justice examines the interconnectedness of one's social identities and the impact it has on their daily experience. Through education, action, advocacy and accountability we work to liberate trans and queer people from systems of oppression, so they can freely live their lives.

Ultimately, we aim to work in solidarity to reimagine a globally and socially just campus environment and world.

Intersectionality

We utilize an intersectional framework as a foundation. This word, though often misused and over-used, is rooted in Kimberle Crenshaw's work that originally addressed the relationship between race and gender, particularly for black women.

For us, intersectionality highlights how our social identities are woven and interconnected to power structures and systemic oppression that impacts people with marginalized identities. In order to obtain a socially just campus and world we cannot silo our work, but must advocate for all people who have been impacted by our society's oppression.

Wholistic Wellness

We are committed to the personal and professional well-being of trans and queer communities. We care about the entirety of their experiences and acknowledge the ways in which prioritizing self-care within marginalized communities is often overlooked, de-valued, and neglected, which is a direct result of systemic oppression.

We believe the very act of reclaiming self-care is a radical, progressive action towards self-love. We offer opportunities to deepen one's individual sense of wellness, and encourage communal engagement in learning, development, fulfillment, and academic success.

10

Officers

814

Members

285

Events

44

Emails/Newsletters

Our Team

Lia Pecarsky Profile

Lia Pecarsky

Graduate Assistant
Aries Powell Profile

Aries Powell

Associate Director
August Harlow Profile

August Harlow

Peer Educator
Kristin English Profile

Kristin English

Director
Kathryn Griffin Profile

Kathryn Griffin

Peer Educator
Meagan Lavin Profile

Meagan Lavin

Peer Educator
Chloe Winters Profile

Chloe Winters

Peer Educator
Soozie Davidson Profile

Soozie Davidson

Position
Em Reynolds Profile

Em Reynolds

Peer Educator
Shelby Lewis Profile

Shelby Lewis

Peer Educator