LGBTQIA+ Equity

Shubham Choudhary ’20 is the Founder and CEO of Safe Access, a community-led, non-profit organization that enables equitable healthcare for LGBTQ+ communities across India. Safe Access offers a free and confidential Peer Support Service to strengthen community resources and respond to the emotional struggles queer-trans individuals face due to societal stigma and discrimination.

Gulnar Feerasta '23 piloted the Queer Living program at The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. Youth ages 14-18 participated in an in-person or virtual 11-workshop series that included topics such as finance essentials, life navigation, mental and physical health resource navigation and civic engagement. After completing the course, participants have learned and practiced several necessary skills to support them as they begin their independence journey.

As a clinical psychologist, Nick Grant ’23 knows the importance of finding an LGBTQ+-affirming therapist. However, there is no official credential or standard educational checkmark that anybody would be able to achieve to fit within the framework of affirming versus not. He offers advice on how to find resources that affirm people’s identities and experiences.

Qusai Hammouri ’21 established Pride Ortho, a proactive community of musculoskeletal specialists that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusivity to improve the quality of care for LGBTQ+ orthopedic patients and opportunities for LGBTQ+ physicians.

Liam Heim ’20 surveyed older LGBTQ+ adults living in the Southern United States to inquire about their anticipation of discrimination and willingness to utilize long-term care (LTC) services. 78.6% of respondents anticipated discrimination. Higher anticipation was associated with a greater preference for using LTC services offered by LGBTQ+ providers or for LGBTQ+ older adults. LTC staff and researchers can craft outreach and policies to protect LGBTQ+ LTC residents.

Jordi Luke ’18 believes in the importance of listening to the communities they visit around the globe. They use that knowledge to help gather supplies and resources to support LGBTQI2S + communities in places such as Cuba, Dubai, Egypt and Mexico, as well as their home in the United States with Haus of Transcendent.

In response to anti-transgender bills in the U.S., Scott Nass ’17 works with interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth to raise the voices of intersex kids who are fighting for change. He wrote that prioritizing patients means focusing on what they say they need and supporting each patient and their family in age-appropriate ways.