Rainbow Families Town Hall: Conversations about Our Families, Our Schools, & Our Mental Health

Rainbow Families Town Hall: Conversations about Our Families, Our Schools, & Our Mental Health

Date: Saturday, November 15th
Time: 9:00 AM - 12:45 PM
Location: Headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036

Sponsored by Toler Financial Group

Please note Registration Closes at 5:00 PM on Thursday, November 13th.

Rainbow Families' Town Hall will feature:

• A special presentation from HRC's Welcoming Schools Program on school advocacy for LGBTQ+ parents.
• A presentation on protecting your marriage and your family from LGBTQ+ legal expert, Summer Abel of Offit Kurman.
• A panel of experts discussing mental health and resiliency during difficult times.
• Light breakfast and snacks provided at event. Please note, this event will not provide lunch.

Cost: Rainbow Families Members - FREE (Included in membership dues) | Non-Members $25 per person
If cost is a barrier for you attending the event, please reach out confidentially to Ted Lewis (ted@rainbowfamilies.org) for a fee waiver. 

Childcare: Childcare will be provided by Jovie of DC, a trusted local childcare service. Their vetted, background-checked sitters will ensure children are safe and cared for while parents participate in the Town Hall. Learn more about Jovie at http://jovie.com/washingtondc. Childcare is limited to children ages 5-12 years old and is $10 per child. Space is very limited. If childcare cost is a barrier for you attending the event, please reach out confidentially to Ted Lewis (ted@rainbowfamilies.org) for a fee waiver. 

Accessibility: HRC's Headquarters is accessible for those using a wheelchair or other devices to aid in mobility. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will be available to interpret remarks from keynote speakers and panelists. No animals allowed, but service animals are welcome. If you need additional accommodations, please contact Ted Lewis (ted@rainbowfamilies.org) and we will do our best to meet your needs. 

Parking Information: Limited street parking available near the building. Closest paid parking is Colonial Parking Garages at 1730 Rhode Island Ave. and at 1701 Rhode Island Ave. (Please note, neither HRC nor Rainbow Families is affiliated with Colonial Parking)

Metro Access: Red Line - Farragut North (8 minute walk). Orange/Blue/Silver Lines - Farragut West (9 minute walk).

Speaker Bios:

Cheryl Greene serves as the Senior Director for School-Based Programs and Partnerships at the Human Rights Campaign. She has spent her career in education and is passionate about providing educators the tools to create LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive classrooms where all children can thrive. Cheryl leads the most comprehensive, bias-based bullying prevention program in the nation to provide LGBTQ+ and gender inclusive professional development, lesson plans, booklists and resources specifically designed for educators. The program uses an intersectional, anti-racist lens dedicated to actionable policies and practices. Under her leadership, the educators trained have impacted over 10.5 million students. Cheryl has also done extensive research on bullying prevention strategies and has led district and statewide initiatives to address bias-based bullying and worked to establish a bullying prevention certificate program at the collegiate level. 

HRC's Welcoming Schools initiative is the nation's premier professional development program providing training and resources to K-12 educators to embrace all families, create LGBTQ+ and gender inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, and support transgender and non-binary students. Learn more at https://welcomingschools.org/.

Summer Abel is an attorney in Offit Kurman's Family Law Practice Group, based in the firm's Bethesda, Maryland office. She offers a comprehensive range of family law services, including divorce and separation agreements, child custody and support, spousal support, property division, and pre-marital and post-marital agreements. Summer is dedicated to advocating vigorously for her clients in court while addressing the complexities of family law matters to achieve effective resolutions. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Summer is passionate about supporting families of all types. She recognizes the unique challenges each family faces and leverages her personal and professional experiences to guide clients through these challenges, aiming to achieve the best possible outcomes. Her approach to family law emphasizes empathy and practicality, ensuring that each client receives solutions tailored to their specific needs and goals. Learn more about Summer's work at https://www.offitkurman.com/summer-abel.

With over 16 years in the mental health field, SC Nealy is a queer, gender fluid psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and group practice owner in Arlington, VA. SC operates a team of all gay and trans-identifying therapists with the focus of bringing clinicians with lived experiences to the queer community and their families. They also work locally and nationally to advocate for queer rights, accessible mental health care, and bringing more awareness to the needs of the queer community. Their upcoming book published by Bloomsbury, Healing Sacred Wounds, focuses on giving folx a guide map for processing and exploring their experiences in religious or spiritual trauma. As a therapist, they specialize in religious trauma, female and genderfluid-identifying couples counseling, mixed orientation marriages, complex-PTSD, interpersonal process group therapy, and non-faith based premarital counseling. In their personal life, they are a parent to two children, happily partnered, and write romance novels for fun. Learn more at https://lgbtcounselingdmv.com/.

Tara Sullivan is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park, under the mentorship of Dr. Ethan Mereish. Prior to beginning their doctoral program, Tara graduated from Stanford University, and worked for several years assisting with research studies aimed at exploring how intersectional experiences of discrimination influence mental health outcomes and substance use patterns for queer and transgender Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) communities. As a researcher, educator, and mental health advocate, Tara is broadly interested in understanding how converging systems of oppression (i.e. racism, heterosexism, and cissexism) can contribute to health disparities for QTBIPOC communities. Simultaneously, they are interested in using strengths-based research approaches to explore protective factors at the structural, community, and individual levels, which can inform culturally-affirming and scalable interventions to bolster the flourishing and resilience of QTBIPOC communities. Their lived experiences as a Black, multiracial, queer, and genderqueer person inform their desire to work in tandem with community-based partners to support the mental health, radical healing, and liberation of all QTBIPOC community members.

Kyle T. Collins, is a Clinical Social Worker and the Owner of HeartWerq, a psychotherapy practice focused on sex and relationship therapy, serving the LGBTQ+ community, and those with alternative family and relationship structures. Kyle is a former Board Member of Rainbow Families, and currently serves as a Board member of HIPS. Kyle received his Masters of Social Work from the University of Maryland and is a current PhD candidate at the National Catholic School of Social Service, where he studies the phenomena of professional trauma. Kyle has been an active community member and leader in the DC area for over 14 years; he currently resides in PG County with his 2 partners and 4 dogs.

More to be announced soon.