Language is powerful. It’s how we tell our own stories and learn about others’ lives. It’s how we connect, inspire and build bridges. But sometimes, we don't know what the right language is - particularly if we have a colleague or friend who identifies as LGBTIQ+. 

People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ+) face many unique challenges, one of which is what degree to which they should share their identity in the workplace, and how and when they should assert their gender expression. At the same time, for people not familiar with common LGBTIQ+ terminology may be confused about how to respectfully talk to - or, if you are a communications professional, talk about - various gender expressions.Plus, terminology within the LGBTIQ+ community varies and changes over time. 

This panel will give a broad overview of LGBTIQ+ terminology and usage within particular communities. We will talk about the importance of correct pronoun use and what various pronouns mean, clarify concepts like gender expression, gender identity and gender transition, and pro­mote the use of accu­rate, authen­tic and inclu­sive lan­guage in and about the LGBTIQ+ community.

Panelists

Kristin Jones (she/her) is a Registered Nurse in the Burns, Plastics, and Pediatric Trauma unit at Harborview Medical Center. As well as caring for patients with trauma and burns, the medical team on Kristin’s floor also performs plastic reconstructive surgery—including gender-affirmation surgeries--and Kristin has been a strong advocate for the development of policies and safety precautions for caring for post-operative transgender and non-binary patients. While in nursing school at UW, Kristin was a founding member of unicoRN, an LGBTQIA+ student organization. Additionally, Kristin is the parent of a transgender child. 

Amanda C. Potter (she/her) is thrilled to have worked at Harborview Medical Center for 25 years. For the past 15 years, she's worked in the Quality Improvement department managing and building metrics within the Access to Excellence Dashboard (A to E). She's proud that A to E was one of the first dashboard locations within UW Medicine to add demographics into our clinical data to look for disparities in care. She has since become an EDI Peer Trainer with the Office of Healthcare Equity. Her life was forever changed for the good when her stepdaughter, Colleen moved to Seattle looking for gender affirming care. UW Medicine has provided excellent care to her family and Amanda is thrilled to be able to share that experience with others.

Val Schweigert (she/hers, they/them, siya) is a queer, “mixed” Filipinx American and scholar and the Interim Director & Associate Director of the UW Q Center.  They seek to center marginal and underrepresented identities through transformative praxis and best serve students by addressing their needs with intersectional approaches. Val currently finds themself on Duwamish lands by way of South Texas (Karankawa and Coahuiltecan territory). Val has lived on the East Coast, specifically the finger lakes of New York (Cayuga Nation, Haudenosaunee) and spent summers working on pre-college programs at the Penn campus in Philadelphia (Lenni-Lenape). They hold a B.A. in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from Wells College and received their M.Ed. in Multicultural Education from the University of Washington in 2017. Val’s research interests include investigating students of color identity construction and development—specifically for mixed identified, transnational students of color— and how that impacts their cultivation of community, sense of ‘belonging’, and navigation of undergraduate experiences at PWIs. Val loves providing direct student services, collaborating on passion projects that enliven the Q’mmunity, and talking about people’s culinary or creative pursuits. They live with their partner and 2 pawpanions, Lumpia and Luna.

Zoom link will be sent in your confirmation email following registration. 
Thank you to AT&T for supporting The Whole U and making programs like this possible.