Kevin Jennings  Founder & Executive Director  of GLSEN KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Kevin Jennings is a writer, a teacher, and a leader in the fields of K-12 education and civil rights. He is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and has earned degrees from Harvard College, Columbia University, and NYU’s Stern School of Business.

He was the advisor to the nation’s first Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) began in 1988 at Concord Academy in Massachusetts.  As more and more educators and students began to contact him for help, he saw a need that wasn’t being met and in 1990 founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, GLSEN.

In 1994, Kevin left teaching to work on building the all-volunteer GLSEN organization into a national force.  Under his leadership, GLSEN has made safe schools into a national issue, increased the number of students protected from harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity.  

Kevin  was named to Newsweek magazine’s “Century Club as one of “100 people to watch in the new century” and is also the recipient of the Human and Civil Rights Award of the National Education Association.

He has authored six books and helped write and produce the documentary Out of the Past, which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.  He also is the principal author of Making Schools Safe for Gay & Lesbian Youth.

www.KevinJennings.com