GSA Network is a nonprofit organization that assists students with starting

gay–straight alliance A Gay–Straight Alliance, Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) or Queer–Straight Alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organisation, found in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. These are primarily in the United ...

s (GSA) to fight homophobia and

transphobia Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger to ...

in schools. GSA Network originally focused on supporting youth in California, and still has its headquarters in Oakland, California, but is now active nationwide.

History

GSA Network was founded by Carolyn Laub in 1998 working with 40 GSA clubs in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. The organization expanded and in 2001 GSA Network became a statewide organization. In 2005, GSA Network began operating programs nationally. In 2008, GSA Network incorporated as a

501(c)3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 5 ...

non-profit organization. Prior to that, GSA Network was a fiscally sponsored project of The Tides Center. In 2015, Ginna Brelsford and Geoffrey Winder assumed the roles of co-executive directors of GSA Network. In the spring of 2016, GSA Network changed its name from "Gay Straight-Alliance Network" to "Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network" to better reflect the diverse range of identities of the youth participating in its programming. At the same time, the organization adopted its current tagline of "trans and queer youth uniting for racial and gender justice." GSA Network currently has staff based in Oakland, Fresno, and Los Angeles, California, as well as New Orleans, Louisiana, and Chicago, Illinois.

Programs

GSA Network activities and programs currently active include: ; Supporting GSAs : Helps students start GSA clubs and provides resources and opportunities for GSAs to network and receive support. As of 2012, there are over 880 GSA clubs in California alone. ; Student leadership training : Provides students with training on most effective ways to operate a GSA club. ; Safe schools advocacy : Helps GSA clubs become activist clubs that can educate teachers and students to improve the school climate. ; Public policy advocacy in California : Youth-led advocacy of non-discrimination laws. The organization supports the youth by providing resources to help address issues related to creating safer schools. ; Supporting the national GSA movement : Helps build the capacity of organizations in the United States to network and support GSAs in states other than California. As of 2012, 37 states have organizations in the National Association of GSA Networks. ; #GSAs4Justice campaign : Supports student advocacy for school districts to adopt recommendations around restorative justice and push back against punitive discipline policies that create a "school-to-prison pipeline" for youth of color, youth with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth.

References

{{reflist LGBT youth organizations based in the United States 1998 establishments in the United States LGBT political advocacy groups in the United States

History

Programs

See also

References