Judy Chiasson
Ph.D.
Los Angeles Unified School District
Judy Chiasson
Dr. Judy Chiasson (she/her) leads LA Unified School District’s office of Human Relations, Diversity and Equity which designs district-wide initiatives, authors policies, and curates resources to support affirming learning and working environments for LGBTQIA+ students, staff and families. She advances identity-affirming schools that celebrate the richness of racial, ethnic, cultural, neurological, sexual and gender diversities that represent our community. Dr. Chiasson is recognized as a national leader, scholar and author on creating public schools that are affirming of sexual and gender diversity.
SESSION OVERVIEW
Building Bridges
School leaders have a professional and ethical obligation to safeguard the children we serve. The tremendous strides we have made toward advancing the protections and dignity of LGBTQIA+ students, staff and families are being undermined in parts of the country. California has excellent protections, yet there is great variability throughout the state in the extent to which inclusive curriculum and protections are being implemented. Many school leaders and teachers feel ill-prepared to address community stakeholders’ questions or resistance.
This workshop will capacitate school leaders to employ the principles of empathic listening to build allyship toward a shared vision of safe schools for all.