KINGSTON, R.I. –March 26, 2012 – The University of Rhode Island will present a panel discussion focusing on the unique workplace experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, queer or questioning individuals as they navigate life after graduation.
The discussion, titled LGBTIQ2 Life After College: A Focus on Careers, will feature a select group of URI alumni, including a mayor, lawyer, engineer and counselor, and is hosted by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer and Questioning Alumni and Friends Chapter.
The discussion will be held Thursday, April 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Alumni Center lounge at 73 Upper College Road in Kingston and is sponsored in part by the URI Student Affairs Diversity Programming fund.
The event is part of the 17th annual LGBTIQ2 Symposium: Connected Communities. The alumni chapter aims to foster and promote a positive campus and alumni community and to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness.
The symposium is a week-long series of events running from April 2 through 6.
The panel members for the discussion are: Daryl Finizio ’99, the mayor of New London; Jim Moore ’88, who now serves as a career development advisor at a law firm; Ernest Vetelino Jr. ’73, an engineering specialist at Electric Boat; Holly Nichols ’98, a counselor at URI and another panelist who has yet to be chosen.
Finizio graduated from URI with a bachelor’s degree in political science and received a master’s degree in public administration from New York University. He served on the New York City Council as a criminal justice policy analyst during and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the Westerly Town Council in 2006. He became Mayor of New London in 2011.
Moore graduated from URI with a degree in journalism and has since worked as a reporter, in advertising, the hospitality industry and college admissions. He received his law degree from George Washington University in 2001 and spent the last 10 years in law, including intellectual property litigation. He now guides lawyers in all aspects of career growth and development as part of the O’Melveny & Myers LLP Talent Development team.
Vetelino earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at URI and worked at Electric Boat as a chemistry lab technician before transitioning to computer science with a degree from the University of New Haven. He is now an engineer in EB’s Information Technology Services Group.
Nichols is a clinical counselor at the University and is co-advisor of the school’s LBTQ Women’s Group. She was recently involved in a campus screening of It Gets Better at URI: Coming Out for Change. The video was a local component of the larger national It Gets Better campaign, launched last year after a rash of suicides by lesbian, gay and transgender youth.
Other campus events during the week-long symposium will take place in the Hardge Forum in the Multicultural Center, 74 Lower College Road in Kingston, unless otherwise noted.
Events are listed below:
MONDAY, APRIL 2
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Safe Zone Workshop
2:30 to 5 p.m. – Tomboy film screening and discussion with director Celine Sciamma
7 to 9 p.m. – Gay Life in Israel by Jonathan Friesem and Hillel
TUESDAY, APRIL 3
11 a.m. to noon – Coming Out in the Classroom by Lynn McKinney
1:30 to 3 p.m. – Sharing Stories and Finding Solutions: Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in the LGBTQ Community, Women’s Center Library, 22 Upper College Road
7 to 9 p.m. – It Gets Better at URI: Coming Out for Change film screening and discussion by LBTQ Women’s Group
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4
10 a.m. to 11 a.m. – LGBT Issues in Local Government by Gary Blazejewski
Noon to 1 p.m. – Infusing LGBTQ Consciousness in the College of Nursing by Delores Walters
2:30 to 4:30 p.m. – Sexuality and Body Image by Ryan Sallans
6 to 8 p.m. – Female to Male: Scouting the Unknown by Ryan Sallans, talk and book signing
THURSDAY, APRIL 5
Noon to 1 p.m. – Intersections of Race and Sexual Orientation by Daniel Trapani
1 to 2 p.m. – History, Current Practice and Construction of Drag by Deja D. Dellataro (Floyd Anderson) and Autumn De La Rue (Rob Koob)
2 to 4 p.m. – Harry Hay Documentary and Discussion by Lynn McKinney, Memorial Union, Room 318, 50 Lower College Road
4 to 6 p.m. – Queer Life After College: Focus on Career by LGBTIQ2 Alumni and Friends Chapter, Alumni Center lounge
8 to 11 p.m. – Queer Prom and Drag Show
FRIDAY APRIL 6
10 a.m. to noon – Safe Zone Workshop
Noon to 1 p.m. – Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth by Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August and Megan Kennedy, discussion and book signing
2 to 3 p.m. – LGBT Faculty Fellows Program by Delores Walters and Annemarie Vaccaro