2nd Central Texas LGBTQiA+ Youth Leadership Summit coming to our city soon
Max Casero was the driving force behind the 1st LGBTQiA+ Student Leadership Summit on October 27th, 2018 and is in the initial planning stages for the next Summit on April 25th, 2020, at Sarah Lively Middle School.
We met for their interview at the Buzz Mill off of South Lake Shore Dr. I haven't been to that area of town in a loooong time, and it has changed since Oracle moved in. I brought my daughter Beatrix with me to the interview, so we all got drinks and sat down to chat.
I found out that Max identifies as a gay, non-binary, non-gestational parent. For those who are new to these designations, non-binary means not identifying as man or woman, and non-gestational parent means they are also the non-genetic parent of the child that their partner carried (Max's partner Julie, with whom they have been in a relationship for 5 years, carried their baby). As Beatrix is working on a paper involving how LGBTQ+ parents are treated differently, we chatted about this area of their life for a little while. For instance, the non-gestational parent in a same-sex relationship has to adopt their own child, but it is assumed to be your child biologically if you are a straight couple. The adoption process took approximately 10 months, and on August 23rd, Max was able to adopt their daughter Amatheia.
When I researched them before the interview, I noticed they went to the University of Michigan for graduate school in social work and asked if they were from there (since this is where I'm from). They said no, and this had been a bone of contention in their family because they are from Ohio, and there is a huge rivalry (think UT/A&M) between Ohio State and U of M. Max went to Ohio Wesleyan University and graduated with degrees in Journalism and Politics & Government. They also played varsity softball in college and were a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, and then did AmeriCorps Vista for a year before graduate school.
Max started working at Communities in Schools® of Central Texas at Sarah Lively Middle School (formerly Fulmore Middle School) and then moved to Mendez Middle School. "Communities In Schools® works directly inside schools, building relationships that empower students to succeed inside and outside the classroom."
During their fourth year at Lively, Max organized a diversity lunch bunch every Friday. These groups are more flexible than a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance, or Gender and Sexuality Alliance) and also GSAs are usually student-led. The group discussed a wide range of topics including race politics, refugees, the intersections of race and identity, ableism, etc. As the group developed, there was a core cohort of queer students who wanted to spend more time together, so they expanded the program to include an after school monthly program that focused on queer-related topics. The principal, Lisa Bush, was very affirming and helpful and supported the programs. She wanted to make sure they were offering programs for LGBTQ+ teens.
When Max met with their peers from other schools in Austin, they realized that students in the other schools had limiting factors: policies in schools did not allow GSAs, acceptance of queer youth was different at each school, and kids were being bullied at some of the schools. The seeds for the first LGBTQiA+ Student Leadership Summit started to germinate.
Max was able to get funding from the Texas Pride Impact Fund, community partnerships, and private donors to pay for the program (including security and translation services). Lively Middle School donated the space and also technology support. The summit was a full day (8:30 am - 4:30 pm)and provided programming for students ages K-12, parents, and educators. Max wanted to create an event where the queer AISD community could come together for at least one day, commune, and feel accepted. It included health and wellness, breaking bread, and creating a tighter safety net for students. Max created this program themselves and is looking to have this be more of a collaborative, community-based process for the second summit.
As Max is now in private practice as the owner and lead therapist at Prism Counseling Services, LLC, they are running this summit outside of the Communities in Schools® program (but some members of the planning team are CIS employees). Other non-profits that will be involved are PFLAG Austin, Planned Parenthood, UnHushed, Out Youth, and Austin Sexual Health and Wellness. As before, the summit will be for all youth K-12, parents, educators, and community members that work with K-12 aged children. Based on feedback from the last summit, they are hoping to include more advanced topics, things specifically for elementary, middle, and high school, and programs for educators.
If you are interested in doing a workshop, donating money, donating your time as a volunteer, or informing Max about new resources, please contact them at Mcasero@prismcounselingservices.com.
The goal is to raise $6,000. If you would like to contribute, please go to this gofundme page.
Julie