The Lambda Bridges LGBTQA Programs Office is sponsoring three presentations during October, celebrated nationally as LGBT History Month. They address the theme “Rights to Respect … Inclusivity for All.”

Scheduled from 11 a.m.- noon (common hour) in the Vulcan Theater, the free talks are open to the campus community and to the public. Visitor parking is available in the Vulcan Garage, off Third Street near the campus entrance.

LGBT History Month speakers

Oct. 6
“LGBT Community, Religion and Spirituality”
Alex Patchin McNeil, executive director, More Light Presbyterians

Alex Patchin McNeill is the first openly transgender person to head a mainline Protestant organization. He is a lifelong Presbyterian and a nationally known educator and advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Christians.

McNeil has trained hundreds of Christians to become community leaders and organized faith communities to advocate for legislation promoting LGBTQ rights.

He holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. He and his wife live near Washington, D.C.

Oct. 20
“How 2013 and 2015 U.S. Supreme Court Rulings Have Impacted the LGBTQA Community”
Ted Martin, executive director, Equality Pennsylvania

Longtime activist Ted Martin leads Equality Pennsylvania, the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) political advocacy organization and recently was appointed to serve on Pennsylvania’s business diversity commission. 

Martin started his career as a legislative assistant and then deputy chief of staff for a subcommittee of the Education and Labor Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Since then he has worked in the fields of architectural preservation, communications and marketing.  He serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, and in 2011 Philadelphia Gay News named him a Person of the Year.

Married since 2008, Martin and his husband live in Camp Hill, Pa. 

Oct. 26“LGBTQA Arts and Literature,”
Jewelle Gomez, writer and activist

Jewelle Gomez is the author of seven books including The Gilda Stories, a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Bones and Ash, a play adapted from that work, has been performed in 13 U.S. cities.

Her new play about singer-composer Alberta Hunter, Leaving the Blues, is scheduled to open next year.

The former president of the San Francisco Public Library Commission, Gomez has taught creative writing at universities in New York and California. She and her partner were litigants in the first marriage equality suit against the state of California; they now are married.

About Lambda Bridges

The Lambda Bridges LGBTQA Program Office promotes a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. The office provides diverse, thought-provoking and educational programs, activities, services and resources centering on LGBT-related issues.

For more information, contact the office at 724-938-5758 or e-mail lambdabridges@calu.edu.