Third annual TransAction conference to be held March 5

02/22/2021 

SUNY Cortland’s third annual TransAction conference about the needs and experiences of transgender and gender queer students in the college environment will be held virtually on Friday, March 5.

Registration is free to all participants and may be done online.

“We are excited to be holding our third TransAction conference virtually this year,” said conference organizer Erin Morris, assistant professor in the Sport Management Department. “We hope that will allow more people to attend and learn from the event. We hope that many members of our campus community will attend and learn how we can all better support our transgender and gender queer students, whether in student teaching, field work, physical activity, or general everyday campus life.”

The focus of this year’s conference is how to support trans students, particularly in higher education.

The schedule:

• 9:10 to 10 a.m.: “Best Practices in Higher Education Right Now for Trans Students”
• 10:20 to 11:10 a.m.: “Trans Students in Fieldwork and Student Teaching”
• 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Keynote speaker Harrison Browne, “Discussing Access to Athletics and Recreation of Trans Students”
• 12:40 to 1:30 p.m.: Student panel

Keynote speaker Harrison Browne, an actor, LGBTQ+ advocate and retired athlete, was the first transgender athlete in professional hockey. He led both the Metropolitan Riveters and the Buffalo Beauts to National Women’s Hockey League championships.

Browne has since been appointed Inclusion Leader to the NWHL’s advisory board and serves as special ambassador to the National Hockey League’s Hockey is for Everyone Initiative. His acting credits include an appearance on the upcoming FX television show “Y: The Last Man.”

Participants may attend the entire conference or individual sessions.

Previous keynote speakers at TransAction include SUNY Cortland graduate Court Pineiro ’18, a model, artist and writer, and Maybe Burke, a New York-based writer, actor and human rights advocate.

The event is presented by the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Committee (SOGIE) and receives additional support from the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office, the Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies and a grant from Cortland Auxiliary.

For more information, contact Morris or visit RedDragonNetwork.org/Transaction.