Safe Zone

The Training Team

One of the special strengths of George Mason's approach to Safe Zone training is our large, diverse, committed team of training facilitators. LGBTQ office staff Ric Chollar leads and coordinates the Safe Zone team. A full day Safe Zone training session will include from eight to twelve different highly skilled presenters/facilitators, each with their own unique identity, experience, energy-level and style. Our full team currently consists of over twenty-five students, staff, and faculty, including:

 

  • Jen Barnard - Mason alum/staff, Modern and Classical Languages
  • Matthew Bruno - Mason alum/academic advisor/instructor, New Century College and LGBTQ Resource Office Program Coordinator
  • Tammy Dorough - community member, Pride Alliance member
  • Adrienne Douglass - LGBTQ Liaison with Counseling & Psychological Services
  • Corrine House - Mason staff, Student Activities
  • Mark Kidd - Mason faculty/staff, Associate Dean, University Life
  • Rachel Lindsey - Mason staff, Outreach Coordinator with Sexual Assault Services
  • Liz Moore - Mason alum
  • Rebecca Walter - Mason faculty/staff, Faculty Partners and Curriculum Development with the Multicultural Research and Resource Center
  • Shaoxian Yu - Mason staff, Associate Director for Asian/Pacific American and American Indian Affairs with the Office of Diversity Programs and Services

 

Allies

The MOST important component of the Safe Zone Program is the large organization of trained allies, displaying the Safe Zone stickers or buttons across the George Mason campus. Because all University Life staff are expected to complete the training (and even though NO ONE is required to post a sticker), the largest group of trained allies at this point are University Life staff.

 

Additionally, approximately one-third of those trained so far are students, seeking to show their support for their LGBTQ colleagues and friends. Safe Zone placards can also be seen in many academic departments, administration offices and buttons can be seen on the backpacks of some adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, and undergraduate students!!

 

Allies posting stickers may be of any gender identity or sexual orientation; neither are allies necessarily LGBT themselves, nor does one need to be straight in order to be an ally to LGBT folks. However, heterosexual and traditionally-gendered people are especially welcome to our program, as they may have as much or more power and privilege to use on behalf of LGBT folks and to affect change. We DO NOT ask Safe Zone participants to disclose their gender identity or sexual orientation.

 

What about people who do NOT have Safe Zone markers?

 

There are many reasons why students, faculty, and staff may not display Safe Zone markers; and our program makes NO judgments or assumptions about anyone who is not visibly part of the program. Plenty of progressive LGBTQ people and effective allies have simply not yet heard of, or found the time to participate in, our trainings. So there is NO intention to make any statements about the helpfulness or safety of people without Safe Zone signs.