Educating Educators

SSNC believes that educating other educators about LGBTQ+ issues and inclusive learning environments is one of the best ways to make schools welcoming for all students. Whether you are an individual educator, a school administrator, or a district superintendent, we'd love to talk with you about how SSNC can help you support K12 students.

Linking You To Resources

SSNC wants to help anyone connected to a K-12 NC school--students, parents, teachers, counselors, administrators, school board members, etc--find the resources or support they need to feel safe or help others feel safe in school.  If we can't help you, we'll find someone who will.  
​Please reach out!

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Meet The Board

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The board of Safe Schools NC is a hardworking, dedicated group of individuals who are driven by their own personal stories to make the voices and stories of ALL LGTBQ+ Staff and Students heard and valued.
​Feel free to contact us all at   board@safeschoolsnc.org ​

Board Chair

Holly Jordan   ​

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Holly (she/her) has been a public school teacher for thirteen years, all of them at Hillside High School in Durham, NC, where she teaches International Baccalaureate English and the AVID elective, and advises the Hillside Gay-Straight Alliance. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and English at Concordia University Wisconsin and is a National Board Certified Teacher. ​

As a white, cisgender, able-bodied, middle class woman, Holly came of age in Illinois and Wisconsin with very little understanding of systemic racism or of her own privilege. Her experience teaching the phenomenal students of Hillside High, Durham’s historically Black high school, changed the trajectory of her whole life. Now, she is passionate about social justice both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to chairing the SSNC Board, she has been active in the Durham Association of Educators, Organize 2020 (the social justice caucus of the North Carolina Association of Educators), and the NC Moral Monday movement.

​In her free time, you'll find Holly reading in her hammock, at the thrift store, or obsessing over Janelle Monae.

Board Vice-Chair

Emily Chavez   ​

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Emily Susanna Chávez (she/her) is the Associate Director in the Center for Multicultural Affairs at Duke University, where she oversees day-to-day operations in the Center and provides social justice education and leadership development training to students. She previously served as the Outreach Program Coordinator in the Duke Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and as a high school English teacher. Emily holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College, an M.A.T. from Duke University, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from North Carolina State University.

Treasurer

More Information Soon​

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The SafeSchoolsNC is currently selecting a new treasurer.   Information about our new Treasure will be coming soon!

Secretary

Courtney Parker West

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Courtney Parker West (she/her/hers) is a writer, consultant, and community organizer. She is a first-generation college graduate from The University of Iowa, where she studied Religion Studies, English, Creative Writing, & African American Studies. In 2008, she relocated to North Carolina where she taught middle school language arts for 5 years in Vance County, NC, before joining staff with the Eastern NC regional team of Teach For America as a teacher coach. After 4 years of coaching, she worked as Director, Alumni Impact - Racial Equity & Values-based Leadership. Currently she works for the TFA National team as Managing Director, Leadership Development Strategy. Courtney is a Selah fellow and Leichtag grant recipient. ​Courtney is most passionate about intersectional anti-racist work, coalition-building, and activism especially as it pertains to communities who have been subjected to multi-generational trauma. She lives with her spouse, a public school leader, in Zebulon, NC.

Board Member

Michelle Henderson  ​

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Michelle (she, her) is a theatre teacher at Wake Forest Middle School, and has been in education ever since graduating from Meredith College in 2014 (Go ODDS!). She is also Fine Arts Department Head, part of the SIP team, director of all things theatrical, and advises her schools Sexuality and Gender Awareness club (SAGA). 

Growing up in a very small, rural town in North Carolina didn't do much for educating her on the differences of other people and experiences, nor did it incline her towards understanding her own preferences. College in a larger city made all the difference, and she has been a vocal advocate for students and their safety since pursuing education as a career (and life!) choice. Helping students grow within their own intersectionality, and helping them find their voices has been the most rewarding part of being an educator. 

She lives with her partner, also in education as an orchestra teacher in DPS, and one year old in Raleigh, plus their fur-babies. They live close to her family, whom they see A LOT of. When not busy with school things, she enjoys being outside (not in the heat though), watching animated films with the kid (Coco is her current obsession), and reading (trying to get through all 27 of the battle of the books books).

Board Member

Will Canady

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Will Canady is a graduate student and pre-service English teacher interning at Broughton High School for the 2018-2019 school year. He's worked in banking and finance for the last 8 years and making a long-awaited transition into education. A supportive high school teacher, writing for the school paper, and taking a Teacher Cadet course all helped develop his initial interest in becoming a career educator. He took an unconventional route after college, working as a licensed banker at Wells Fargo and most recently a senior account manager at Coastal Credit Union.

​Will’s graduate coursework focuses on emerging educational technology, exploring cultural aestheticism, instructional design, and creative writing.In addition to his board membership with SafeSchools NC he’s also a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in Education. As a pre-service teacher, he’s committed to supporting education and equity initiatives for underrepresented populations in and outside of NC classrooms. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and will graduate this coming spring with a Master of Arts in Teaching and graduate certificate in Educational Technology from North Carolina State University.

Board Member

JP Przewoznik   ​

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JP Przewoznik, MSW(she/her/hers, or anything respectfully), is a trainer, technical assistance provider, practitioner and program evaluator with over 20 years of experience working with and within LGBTQ+ and women’s communities. She is currently the Director of Prevention and Evaluation at the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA) where she provides training and technical assistance to rape crisis centers and college campuses working on sexual violence prevention efforts, co-chairs the NC Campus Consortium, and is NC’s technical assistance provider for CDC’s Rape Prevention Education (RPE) Program. JP is on the Board of Directors for Safe Schools NC and is on the National Leadership Team for Force: Upsetting Rape Culture. JP is also the founder of Switchback Consulting, a firm that supports professional and institutional growth in the areas of program design and evaluation, strategic planning, and LGBTQ+-affirming practice. She lives happily in Durham, NC, with wonderful friends, an incredible partner, and many fur babies. In her spare time you can find JP very unironically listening to The Boss’s Born in the USA on vinyl.

Board Member

Stephen Schloss

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Stephen’s (he/him/his) work focuses on empowering students to discover their authentic voice to advocate for themselves. He works in Durham, NC where he taught students with autism, and emotional, behavioral-related disabilities. He is now a district-level Instructional Specialist with the Exceptional Children's Department. Stephen’s experiences as an LGBT student and now professional led him to work as a an advocate for all students who are on our schools’ fringes. Stephen most recently earned a Master of School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additionally, he also holds an M.S.Ed. in Special Education from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Stephen lives in Durham, NC with his husband, Jamie, and their dog Cleo and cat Riff. In his spare time, he enjoys hanging out with friends, exercising/running, or binge watching reality TV with Jamie.

Board Member

Genevieve Larose

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Genevieve Larose (she/her) is an Instructional Design Consultant. Genevieve earned a Master of Education from UNC Greensboro and a B.A. in Communication Studies from UNC Chapel Hill. She has been involved in education for eight years, from elementary school instruction to corporate training. She combines her passion for education, technology and art to develop engaging learning experiences for all ages. Genevieve is very excited to be a part of SafeSchools and make a positive impact in the lives of LGBT educators and students. She enjoys cooking, cycling and traveling with her partner, Toni.

Board Member

David Balmer   ​

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David Balmer (he/him) has been in public education for six years and currently serves as an Instructional Technology Facilitator at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School in Wake County, North Carolina.  As a classroom teacher, David also served as GSA Advisor and many more student clubs. David earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Appalachian State University in History, Secondary Education and  a Master of Education in Digital Learning & Teaching from North Carolina State University.
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David strongly believes in the power of the human story and that every student has the right to live out their story on their own terms. His passion is to encourage students to find their place in history and live boldly no matter their sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, race, socioeconomic background, religion or place in life. David also encourages LGBT Educators to live proudly and go where you are celebrated, not just tolerated because you can make the difference in the life of students you may never even know about.

David loves to travel the globe, hang out with friends and family, and watch whatever the new Netflix Original Series is with his partner, Ryan. You can connect with David by following him on twitter @davidlbalmer or by visiting  www.synergyined.com

Board Member

Schara Brooks

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Schara (She/her/hers) graduated with honors from UNC Chapel Hill in 2014 with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and a focus on the self-esteem of African American middle school aged students in classrooms led by teachers that did not reflect their identity. After spending a year on this work, Schara went into the field of education and joined Teach For America as an Eastern North Carolina Middle School science and math Corps member. In 2016 Schara graduated with her Masters in Middle Grades Education from East Carolina University with a concentration in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) in order to better support the population of students in her region. Currently she serves as a Corps Member Coach for Teach For America's Eastern North Carolina Residency team and a Co-founder of the Eastern North Carolina PRISM Chapter which organizes Corps members, alumni, and members of the community to discuss the importance of making educational equity for LGBTQ youth a priority. Meanwhile she is still an 8th grade Science teacher and G.S.W.A.A.G (Girls Stepping with Attitude And Grace) step team coach in Durham, NC and is a proud representation of how being a part of marginalized identities can successfully fuel a passion for educational leadership and positively influence outcomes for all students.

SSNC Intern

Fiona Shauger

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Fiona (she/her) is delighted to join the Safe Schools NC board as its first intern. She is a senior at UNC Chapel Hill majoring in Human Development and Family Studies in the School of Education, with minors in French and Classical Humanities. She aims to become a high school French teacher and a GSA/QSA advisor, and has worked with students at elementary, middle, and high school levels. A lifetime public school student, Fiona believes strongly in the power of a positive public school education to change society for the better. She is very much looking forward to obtaining her teaching license and finally getting the chance to implement her social justice-centered pedagogy in a real classroom. Her passions include comprehensive sexuality education and serving as a role model for queer youth, for example by ensuring that children know Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” as a #1 hit and not as “the song from the lawnmower vine.”