Lt Dan Choi To Appear At Iowa LGBT Youth Conference

12/22/09- by Paula Brooks

Photo by Back2Stonewall.com

Lt. Dan Choi has been scheduled to be the keynote speaker at Iowa’s 5th Annual Governor’s Conference on LGBT Youth on February 18th, 2010 at Drake University.

Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran fluent in Arabic, attracted national attention last March when he came out publicly on an episode of The Rachel Maddow Show.

Since coming out, Choi, has been notified by the Army that discharge proceedings have been brought up against him, even though Lt Choi was one only of only eight soldiers from his graduating class who majored in Arabic and personnel with language skills considered critical to the military’s mission worldwide.

This year’s conference is expected to attract hundreds of educators, parents, students, social workers, counselors, psychologists, policy makers, and others concerned about the safety of LGBT youth in Iowa.

In addition to Choi, Iowa Governor Chet Culver, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, and Congressman Leonard Boswell have also been invited to address the conference.

The 2010 Governor’s Conference is themed Proud to Change the World, Creating an Accepting Future. LGBT students and students from LGBT families have many different barriers that do not allow them to join such career fields as the military, politics, or business. While in school and at home, we often times teach our children that they can become whatever they want to and that they will change the world. It is important to address the different barriers facing LGBT students including discriminatory policies, homelessness, HIV risk, bullying and harassment, and suicide risk.

Workshop Topics this year will include HIV/Aids, Transgender Transitioning, Sexting/Social Networking, Raising a Transgender Child, Communities of Faith, LGBT Youth Homelessness, anti-bullying programs for schools, and several others related to LGBT youth and youth-serving professionals.

Exhibitor booths that will be available will include Iowa-based resources, organizations, and communities of faith, corporations, plus other important information for anyone working with students.

For more information or to register for the conference…. go to www.iowasafeschools.org