GLITS Inc Leadership Academy

The Leadership Academy addresses the deep ramifications of structural inequity by building healing, educational, healthcare, technology based and housing justice solutions for the TLGBQIA community, in a program that is dedicated to building TLGBQIA leaders ready to take on prominent roles in the fields of their choosing, including social work, academia, healthcare, tech, and advocacy and activism. The Leadership Academy holistically addresses the problems of racism, homophobia and transphobia, by healing the whole individual for each of our clients, building their capacity as leaders, and advocating for justice. This solution could be scaled globally as a prototype to address inequality and discrimination globally, and through the extensive networks GLITS is a part of, is already having international impact.

The Leadership Academy solves the longstanding inequity in access to education, healthcare, technology, and housing for the TLGBQIA+ community. This problem is global in scale and devastating in impact. The World Bank announced in 2016, “Due to persistent stigmatization and discrimination, LGBTI people are likely overrepresented among the poor.” This problem has only intensified under the additional burden of the Covid-19 crisis. According to Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review in 2020, “Violence against Black trans women has been accurately described as ‘a pandemic within a pandemic.’ This summer, six Black trans women, all under the age of 32, were murdered in the span of nine days. Their deaths are part of a horrifying pattern; hate crimes against transgender and gender non-conforming individuals have been on the rise for years, with the number of murders in 2020 already almost surpassing that of 2019. Of the 26 victims so far this year and the 27 victims last year, the majority have been Black trans women under the age of 30.” Creating access to solutions, including cutting edge technology, housing, and education, the Leadership Academy builds safety, sustainability and leadership in the face of this problem. 

The Leadership Academy incorporates housing, education, access to technology, healthcare, self-care and healing to build leadership and long term sustainability in the TLGBQIA+ community. Based in a 12 unit apartment building owned by GLITS Inc in Queens, NY, the Leadership Academy offers long-term housing as a foundation from which to grow leadership. The primary educational and study space in the building is under the design phase of construction, created in collaboration by architects, contractors, and members of the community. This space will incorporate technology to facilitate the educational, capacity building, and healing of community members. Each client engages with financial literacy, educational support, and counseling to achieve their individual leadership goals. Tech education is especially important for this community. Access to the latest tools is often complicated by identity based discrimination and a lack of resources, but career opportunities in tech can be of great importance, for instance, when Glassdoor, a widely used employment website, posted the 24 best companies for LGBTQ people to work for in 2020, 50% were tech companies. Overcoming barriers to access and building leadership for members of the TLGBQIA+ community to excel in their field of choice is a cornerstone of the Leadership Academy. 

The Leadership Academy serves the entire TLGBQIA+ community and particularly uplifts Black Trans leadership. According to the second iteration of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, a national, non-probability sample of U.S. transgender adults, released in 2016:  “Discrimination was pervasive throughout the entire sample, yet the combination of anti-transgender bias and persistent, structural racism was especially devastating. People of color in general fare worse than white participants across the board, with African American transgender respondents faring far worse than all others in most areas examined. Respondents lived in extreme poverty. Our sample was nearly four times more likely to have a household income of less than $10,000/year compared to the general population. A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population, with rates rising for those who lost a job due to bias (55%), were harassed/bullied in school (51%), had low household income, or were the victim of physical assault (61%) or sexual assault (64%).” The Leadership Academy is founded and led by Ceyenne Doroshow. As a Black trans woman, former sex worker and formerly incarerated individual Ms. Doroshow had experienced each of these crises herself, experiences from which she became motivated to become the community leader she is today. Centering Black trans leadership, GLITS is committed to building future community leaders and is grounded in a multi-generational approach to growth. Tech based solutions such as education on career opportunities in the tech industry, access to computers, and the use of platforms and tools for financial education, data and privacy security, and safety planning are components of this work which build access to technology for marginalized communities. The Leadership Academy addresses disparities in technology, housing, educational, healthcare and capacity building opportunities to create holistic, sustainable, and scalable change. 

The Leadership Academy creates long-term sustainable solutions that make sense for the TLGBQIA community. Incorporating housing, healthcare, education, therapy and social services, financial literacy, and healing and self care, the Leadership Academy cuts at the very root of structural generational inequality by providing the necessary tools to shift the foundation of inequity. Including education on using technology, including computers and financial literacy platforms, the Leadership Academy makes technology accessible and builds a groundwork for community change.  

The Leadership Academy is in the pilot stage of development and will serve as a prototype for similar initiatives. The Leadership Academy is currently serving clients in the TLGBQIA community in New York City. We are studying the costs and benefits of each stage of the process to best evaluate how to scale impact for the TLGBQIA community.

GLITS initiatives are a transformative space centering Black Trans leadership and wisdom for community development and healing that will lead to economic sustainability, urban infrastructure and social equity. GLITS builds networks of safety and support that uplift marginalized voices as leaders of the community and advocates for social change. GLITS addresses the oppressive intersection of housing insecurity and educational gaps for TLGBQIA+ individuals through work that will serve as a pilot project to exemplify approaches applicable in communities around the world.

We currently have introduced the first members of our Leadership Academy. We anticipate filling all slots in the Leadership Academy in the next year in addition to documenting the project as a pilot program. We anticipate scaling in the next five years as an example and impacting additional individuals. GLITS media work is of increasing importance to the level of impact our solutions create.

We measure progress toward these goals based on the numbers of individuals who are impacted by our programming. We align ourselves with goals around moving toward an equitable society with greater access to resources for members of the TLGBQIA+ community. 

There are five staff members on our team. 

GLITS is led by a founder and executive director with decades of experience in developing meaningful solutions for the problems faced by the TLGBQIA+ community. As a dedicated leader she is committed to creating interventions that are grounded in the needs of the community. 

Ceyenne Doroshow, the Founder and Executive Director of Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society (GLITS) has broken down barriers for the TLGBQIA+ community. She is a major media advocate, unafraid to tackle global political issues from a place of love and personal vulnerability. Her transparency about her own personal and professional struggles is central to my advocacy and is core to the operations of GLITS through a deep understanding of the struggles our clients face every day at the intersection of POC, Black, trans, and queer identities. GLITS is committed to leadership development and is grounded in a multi-generational approach through harm reduction, human rights principles, social justice, community empowerment, centering Black Trans leadership. Ms. Doroshow is a leader in addressing the disparities in health care and health resilience for the TLGBQIA+ community. 

GLITS can benefit from the opportunities offered through Solve and will use all funds and opportunities to elevate the TLGBQIA+ community and leadership. 

GLITS offers unique opportunities for community members to holistically heal from trauma and oppression. Prize funds will be directly applied to material needs for programming for clients and for capacity building.  

GLITS is eager to benefit from collaborations with allies who can support the TLGBQIA+ community. 

Funds from the Robert Wood Foundation Prize would facilitate the introduction of increased access to technology and equity for members of the Leadership Academy. 

GLITS seeks to center the growth and leadership of the TLGBQIA+ community and overcome barriers to access for community members. The Elevate Prize would increase our capacity to create community leaders. 

Increasing access for the TLGBQIA+ community to new technologies and the opportunities created by STEM/STEAM education is a goal that GLITS pursues for all its clients including those fleeing persecution for their gender identity and sexual orientation. GLITS has worked on asylum cases, helping to save the lives of applicants, and seeks the opportunity to increase access though the GM Prize. 

Members of the TLGBQIA+ community, particularly those who have experienced incarceration, homelessness, or poverty, are often marginalized from access to digital literacy and cutting edge technologies, the HP Prize would enable GLITS to continue its aims to develop equitable access for community members. 

Gender equity in technology is necessary and GLITS mission to improve equity and access would be advanced though access to the Innovation for Women Prize.