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2008 Celebration of Leadership
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Check out the pictures from our 12th annual Celebration of Leadership Awards Banquet! This year’s keynote speakers were Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Executive Director Steven Goldberg of CUNA Mutual Group. Thank you to everyone for making the 2008 Celebration of Leadership a great success!
This year 394 educators, students, business, political and other community
leaders attended our celebration. Gold Circle Sponsors of the event were: William Wartmann, Cohen-Leddy & Grossberg-Ziemke Families, Cuna Mutual Group, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Amcore Bank and Alliant Energy.
2008 Celebration of Leadership Student Scholarship Recipients
Angela Filer
 Angela Filer is described as an activist student who has endeavored to create an informed and safe environment at Evansville High School. She has increased awareness of LGBT issues by organizing the Day of Silence observation at EHS, including a viewing of The Laramie Project. Providing morning announcements publicizing upcoming activities and highlighting historical perspectives on LGBT issues, have insured that her school’s GSA is heard daily. She has also developed posters promoting respect, tolerance and diversity and encouraging student attendance at GSA meetings. Her advertisement of the organization and reaching out to new members contributes to a growing campus organization. Furthermore, she organized a group of students, entirely on her own, to attend the GSA for Safe Schools Conference this year. Angela believes that her efforts assist her community’s continuing movement toward fairness and equality. She looks forward to attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall.
Seth Stratton
 Seth Stratton started working on LGBT issues as a freshmen, after being elected treasurer of the River Falls High School GSA. That began his commitment to future leadership roles within the organization, and a promise to nurture it until it was flourishing. Seth became president his junior year, raising attendance from five to 40 members and increasing participation in the National Day of Silence from 50 to 130 students. In addition, he served as high school representative to the UW-River Falls GSA, bringing both GSA’s together around a Unity in the Community diversity event at the college. It is now an annual field trip. Seth also volunteered for Fair Wisconsin and worked with the Youth Advisory Council to educate young voters about making gay marriage legal. He has learned that diversity is more than a struggle; it strengthens our bonds with each other. This fall Seth will attend Hamline University.
Miles Walser
 Miles attended his first GSA meeting in seventh grade and has been involved with the queer community ever since. Whether organizing Day of Silence, presenting to health classes or working to get gender neutral bathrooms established, Miles has been a driving force behind making Madison West High School a safer and more inclusive environment for all students. Outside of school, Miles has helped plan numerous GSA conferences and was one of five Peer Mentors at Leadership Training Institute 2007. An athlete as well as an activist, Miles helped to co-found Young Queer Sports Club, an organization where LGBT high schoolers could explore their athleticism in a fun and open setting. Miles plans to continue his involvement with LGBT organizations when he attends the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the fall to pursue a double major in mathematics and graphic design.
Cassie Williamson
 In her four years at Hartford Union High School, Cassie has met adversity head on and overcome many obstacles. When she was told that students could not participate in Day of Silence, she worked with lawyers from the ACLU to convince her administrators otherwise. As Student Facilitator of her GSA, she has found herself on more than one occasion being interviewed by local papers or speaking in front of her school board. In 2006, she signed up to be a Student Representative with Fair Wisconsin and spent Election Day knocking on doors in Milwaukee, encouraging people to vote against the ban on civil unions and marriage. This past summer, Cassie returned for her third Leadership Training Institute to play the role of Senior Mentor, working with other students to design and facilitate the three-day retreat. Cassie will attend Lakeland College in the fall, with hopes of someday being a high school teacher and GSA advisor.
2008 Celebration of Leadership Community Activist Award Recipients
Craig Adamski
 Though his role as the co-facilitator of both Teens Like Us (TLU) and TopTEN might be part time, Craig has had a full-time impact on the lives of hundreds of LGBT and questioning youth. Weekly TLU meetings provide opportunities for both support and socializing while TopTEN allow youth to develop and deliver peer education programs and workshops. Both groups are programs of Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin in Madison. Craig is also a constant at GSAFE student events and helped develop HIV prevention curriculum for students and GSAs. Youth always come first for Craig. Youth see him as a mentor and role model and credit him for helping them reach a happy and healthy young adulthood. Through his tireless work he has taught young people confidence, self-respect, and resiliency. By example Craig has helped hundreds of teens come out and understand that it is more than merely okay to be gay.
Isabel Medina
 After helping restart her GSA in 7th grade Isabel (secretly) applied for – and was offered -- a position on the GLSEN National Jump-Start Student Leadership Team. As both a Co-Chair and Coordinator Isabel spent three years training students across the country how to organize for safe schools, and even appeared on Oprah. Back in Madison as a GSAFE student leader she regularly demonstrates how to organize across identities and has tirelessly educated others about the consequences of privilege and oppression. This Madison West High School student has also advanced statewide understanding about the needs of transgender youth and LGBT youth of color. As Youth Artistic Director for Proud Theater, a Madison-based LGBTQA youth-lead theater troupe, she works hard to ensure the group provides support, learning opportunities, and creative outlets for its performers. In schools and communities across both state and country Isabel has inspired artists to dream and activists to organize. She looks forward to attending Hampshire College and living her life in pursuit of social justice.
2008 Celebration of Leadership Educator Award Recipient
Colleen Capper
 Over the years UW-Madison School of Education professor Colleen Capper has taught more than one thousand k-12 administrators and staff about the challenges faced by LGBT youth as well as published articles about this population for both the public and school professionals. GSAFE staff regularly works with school professionals across Wisconsin who have been taught, moved, inspired, and challenged by Colleen over the past 18 years to make real change for LGBT and other marginalized youth. Colleen’s recent writings detail her research on the impact of sexually degrading name-calling on middle and high school boys perceived by their peers to be gay. In addition Colleen has risen over $12,000 for GSAFE by swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles in the last four Madison Ironman competitions. She does this because, as she puts it, “School should not have to be an endurance event for LGBT youth.”
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GSAFE Student & Staff Honored |
GSAFE student leader Cassie Williamson and Program Assistant Tim Michael have been recognized by Diverse and Resilient for their work to foster big lives for Wisconsin LGBT youth. Diverse and Resilient is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the healthy development of LGBT people in Wisconsin.
Cassie Williamson, a senior at Hartford-Union High School, received the Youth Leadership Award in recognition of her ongoing work to raise awareness about LGBT issues in her school. Since her freshman year Cassie has had to regularly struggle to win permission for HUHS students to observe Day of Silence, which included bringing in the ACLU to address students’ first amendment rights. Now a senior, she has been a leader in the Wisconsin GSA movement and has regularly taught her peers how to stand up for their rights.
Tim Michael, who joined GSAFE last May as a full-time staff member, was awarded the Youth Development Specialist Award for his above-and-beyond dedication to GSAs and the student leaders who help plan GSAFE’s numerous youth conferences and events. Youth leaders describe him as a sincere and great listener who really understands young people. He has been vital in supporting the growth and development of long-time and fledgling GSAs across the state and has helped GSAFE to double the number of youth directly involved in planning and delivering our student programs.
Congratulations and thanks to both Cassie and Tim!
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Congratulations to Colleen Capper!
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Recently Colleen Capper learned she was one of 150 people to win a lottery to participate in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii this October! Colleen, who is our 2008 Educator of the Year, will include her tireless support of LGBT students in her Kona venture. Yes, she will once again be raising funds for GSAFE. Back home we’ll be cheering and recalling her quote,
“School should not have to be an endurance event.” |
Walk/Run/Eat Has Great Turnout |
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On Saturday, October 13th, GSA for Safe Schools held its first walk/run event
since 2004. The weather was perfect, the crowd was full of energy, and the food was amazing.
We had more than 70 runners take part in the 5K, and nearly 100 people strolled, rolled or
power-walked the 1-mile course. Results for the 5K run can be viewed here. Here are more photos of the walk, run and eating.
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make the Walk/Run/Eat such a great event, and thank you
to Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation, Frontrunners and Frontwalkers of Madison, David and
Brodie at Berkeley Running Company, Bjørn Holtan of Training with Bjørn, and Sue Ryan, who designed
the Walk/Run/Eat brochure and t-shirt.
An extra special thanks goes out to the Walk/Run/Eat planning group: Brad Krueger, Jordan Bingham,
Linda Halsey, and Jaime Reich. We couldn't have done this without you.
And last but not least, thank you to Queen Anne's Catering who, in addition to printing all of
the Walk/Run/Eat brochures, created and donated a fantastic lunch for the nearly 250 participants
of this event. You're the best!
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GSAFE Recognizes Banned Books Week
GSA for Safe Schools, along with local literacy and education advocates,
media figures and free speech defenders recognized Banned Books Week by reading selections from classic literature and other books that have
been challenged or banned in our nation on Thursday, September 27th. Madison GSA student activist Bailey Roberts read from the often-challenged children's book "And Tango Makes Three" at this event organized by the ACLU of Wisconsin.
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Celebration
of
Leadership 2007
was filled with stories of courage, struggle, celebration, and inspiration. |
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Johnny Winston delivers keynote address at COL 2007 |
Scholarship and Award Recipients |
Past Award Recipients Tell Their Stories |
This year's Celebration of Leadership drew about 350 people, including high school and middle school students, school professionals, community leaders, corporate leaders and people of all ages who care about the present and future of our youth.
Johnny Winston, Madison Metropolitan School Board member gave a dynamic keynote address. He praised GSAFE for countering harassment and bullying in schools.
Every year, GSA for Safe Schools awards four Wisconsin high school seniors with scholarships for the
amazing work they've done to make their schools and communities safe for LGBTQ youth and their straight
allies. These four students will be honored and recognized for their achievements at the Celebration of
Leadership at the Monona Terrace. In addition to the scholarships, the Celebration of Leadership honors
one person with the Community Activist Award, and one person with the Educator Award. This year's
scholarship and award recipients are:
GSA for Safe Schools Scholarships
Community Activist Award
Educator Award
- Beth Franklin - Eau Claire Memorial High School
 As advisor to Eau Claire
Memorial High School’s GSA for six years, Beth Franklin has helped students of all
walks of life feel safe, appreciated, and welcome. During her tenure she coordinated bi-annual trainings
for UW-Eau Claire student-teachers, lobbied for and won a staff training on LGBT issues, rallied critical
support for a homeless club member, mentored student leaders and guided them through multiple national
events. She has put her job on the line numerous times for the safety and well-being of her LGBT students,
most recently in 2006 when she survived six weeks of media and public scrutiny for facilitating a lesson
about the challenges faced by transgender individuals in her English classroom during the 2006 Day of
Silence. This will be Beth’s last year teaching at Eau Claire Memorial, and her students consider
this award a wonderful send off and thank you on behalf of the community.
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