Queer educators deserve more than just survival — they deserve celebration, visibility, and a community where they can thrive.

The Teaching While Queer: Queer Educators Conference is a first-of-its-kind gathering dedicated to empowering LGBTQ+ teachers and educational leaders across the country. Together, we are building a future where queer educators are supported, not silenced.

In October 2025, we will bring together teachers, professors, administrators, and advocates for two powerful days of community-building, resource-sharing, and collective joy — all virtually to ensure access for educators everywhere.

🏳️‍🌈 Your donation will directly fund registration scholarships, honorariums for queer speakers, digital materials, and accessibility services such as live captioning and ASL interpretation.

This conference isn't just an event. It's a lifeline. It's a chance for isolated educators to connect, heal, and return to their classrooms with new hope and strength — making our schools safer and more inclusive for every student.

✨ Hear From Our Board Members ✨

"Teaching While Queer isn’t just a conference—it’s a declaration that queer educators belong, that our voices matter, and that our leadership is essential in shaping the future of education. This space is a homecoming, a place where we don’t have to shrink, code-switch, or justify our existence. It’s where we strategize, build, and affirm one another in the fight for a more just and inclusive world. If you’ve ever questioned whether your queerness was a liability in education, this conference will remind you that it is, in fact, your greatest strength."

— Craig Aarons-Martin, TWQ Board Member, Education Leader

“I've spent years learning from seasoned educators throughout various PDs, and conferences, but had been searching for a space that represented and reflected the specific intersectional lens and experiences we as Queer educators face —this conference is that space.”

— Madi Bourdon, TWQ Secretary, School Counselor

"For years and years, I was taught that my voice was not important, that I was meant to be seen and not heard, that my life was shameful and guilt ridden. The older I get, the more I have learned that my voice is important and wish that I had learned so much earlier in my life. This conference provides an opportunity for everyone to come together, find a sense of community amongst others in our educational field, and find our voices as queer educators in this scary moment in our nation's history. Once WE find OUR voices, WE build confidence to encourage our colleagues and students to find theirs. This conference will provide an opportunity to RISE together and build strength in our voices to move forward with confidence and power as a community of queer educators."

— Brandon Box-Higdem, TWQ Vice Chair, Theatre Educator

"As an out educator, it's always been a difficult to find a community that speaks to my experiences and challenges. Teaching While Queer doesn't just provide comfort but creates solidarity and lights a spark that allows us to show up, fully ourselves, for our peers and students. The upcoming conference provides further opportunities to share, learn, and support one another as we face the uncertainty of the future. We are stronger together!"

— Mike Gagnon, TWQ Treasure, Educator

"When I started Teaching While Queer, I dreamed of creating the community I needed as a young educator — a place where LGBTQ+ teachers could feel seen, supported, and celebrated. This conference is that dream becoming reality."

— Bryan Stanton, TWQ Founder, Chair & Podcast Host, Educator & Leader

🌟 Here's how your gift makes an impact:

$25 – Advocate: Provides digital workshop materials for one educator
$50 – Ally: Supports virtual access for teachers nationwide
$100 – Champion: Helps sponsor a keynote speaker amplifying queer voices
$250 – Liberator: Funds registration scholarships for queer educators facing financial barriers
$500 – Amplifier: Supports conference accessibility services, including live captioning and ASL interpretation
$2,500 – Fairy Godmother: Fully sponsors a keynote session and helps expand conference outreach to queer educators nationwide

🎯 We need to raise $3,000 by July 31 to keep this dream moving forward.

Every dollar counts. Every voice matters.

✨ Donate today and share our campaign with your community. Together, we create change.

Build a Brighter Future for Queer Educators — Support the TWQ Conference!

Empower Educators, Advance Inclusivity by Donating $25

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