The LGBTQIA+ community is facing an unprecedented number of attacks. In fact, in June 2023, the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States. Join us during LGBTQIA+ History month to learn about the current state of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the United States and in Connecticut, the impact on young people's mental health, and how activists and artists are building community and fighting back.
Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work
Gio Iacono is an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. He completed his MSW and PhD from the University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. His areas of practice and research specialization are LGBTQIA+ youth mental health, youth resilience, promoting diversity and inclusion within social work education, and mindfulness-based treatment approaches. Gio primarily focuses on intervention and community-based participatory research. He has worked as a psychotherapist, clinical social worker, educator, community organizer, and researcher in a variety of health and community-based settings for over 15 years. His community development work has been focused on promoting the mental and sexual health of diverse and excluded communities. Gio has also been a mindfulness meditation practitioner for many years, and integrates mindfulness in his work as an educator, researcher and clinician.
Ace Ricker, CLAS '18
Educator and Advocate
Ace Ricker (he/him) has been an educator and advocate for the past twenty years. Through his company A.C.E (Awareness through Communication & Education) LLC, he has worked with a wide variety of organizations, religious forums, K-12 schools, colleges, medical facilities and nonprofits and now has also just obtained his real estate license. He has delivered a vast array of workshops, speeches, and consultations on diversity, inclusion, empowerment and a number of other conversation topics. Ace uses his experience as an openly queer multiracial trans man to personalize his workshops, and uses his curiosity, empathy, and humor to create content tailored to each unique audience. He is dedicated to continue working to eliminate ignorance and empower people throughout Connecticut by creating ‘Confident Conversations’ around topics like suicide prevention, LGBTQ+ awareness, safer sex and consent, sexism and gender, and religion and spirituality. Ways to stay in contact with Ace, is through his website: acericker.com
B Diaz, CLAS '22
UConn Alumni & Human Rights Advocate
B Diaz (they/them) is a recent Political Science graduate from the University of Connecticut. They are a scholar-activist and human rights advocate. They have experience in community organizing, legal research, and social justice education. B strives to protect and advance universal human rights through policy, education, and social movements.
M. Mick Powell, CLAS '15
Award Winning Author & Assistant Professor-In-Residence, WGSS
M. Mick Powell (she/they) is a queer Black Cape Verdean femme, a poet, an artist, an Aries, and author of the award-winning chapbooks threesome in the last Toyota Celica (Host Publications, 2023) and chronicle the body (Uni. of South Carolina, 2019). A 2023 Tin House Resident and assistant professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at UConn, mick enjoys chasing waterfalls and being in love. Keep up with them at www.mickpowellpoet.com or on IG @mickmakesmagic.art.
Unfortunately, online registration for this program is currently closed. For additional information, please contact Kate Gannon viaemail.