Workshops
Signature Workshops
Jesse Beal has been an educator for the past fifteen years. All of their workshops are highly customizable and can be designed for a variety of audiences. Jesse has led workshops for senior student affairs leaders, Greek Life, athletes, LGBTQ+ student organizations, peer educators, and professionals. If you don’t see what you are looking for, please reach out to discuss the creation of a program for your institution or group.
Jesse uses an intersectional frame in all of their work, focusing on power, systems, and those at the margins of the margins. For many programs, Jesse will bring in a co-facilitator.
All workshops include a pre-engagement phone call or meeting to discuss needs and expectations, as well as a post-engagement follow-up.
Gender & Sexuality
LGBTQ+ Identities 101
Similar to the SafeZone training, this program seeks to provide a foundational understanding of LGBTQ+ identities, gender, and sexuality, as well as LGBTQ+oppression, heterosexual, and cisgender privilege, and allyship practices. (2-4 hours)
LGBTQ+ Identities 201: Trans and Nonbinary Identities
This workshop builds upon LGBTQ+ Identities 101 and focuses specifically on trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming identities, with particular attention paid to the intersections of identities. (2-3 hours)
LGBTQ+ Identities 201: Bi, Pan, and Fluid Identities
This workshops builds upon LGBTQ+ Identities 101 and focuses specifically on polysexual identities, with particular attention to the intersections of identities. (2-3 hours)
Navigating Nonbinary (In-Group)
What does life after college look like for nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming individuals? How do you approach resumes and cover letters? Do you share your pronouns? What are the pros and cons of being out on the job? Whether you are headed to grad school or are planning to join the workforce, the next steps after college can feel daunting, this is especially true for nonbinary graduates. In this interactive community-based dialogue, we will explore these topics and share resources, strategies, and advice to prepare you for your transition. (1.5-2 hours)
Navigating Nonbinary (Out-Group)
This interactive workshop is designed for university staff and faculty to understand the different needs and experiences of nonbinary students. Here we examine how nonbinary students have many similar, but also many divergent needs from their trans peers. We will explore the areas of housing, forms and documents, restrooms and athletic facilities, sports teams, and more to determine how to best serve nonbinary students. (1.5-2 hours)
Is This For Me?: Body Love and Redefining Body Positivity for Trans and Nonbinary Identities
The mainstream body positivity movement is a movement for cis people because the over-emphasis accepting your body exactly as it is. This excludes many of us who identify as trans or nonbinary. This position ignores those of us with protean relationships with our bodies or those of us who experience dysphoria. This focus on acceptance and positivity also decenters the critique of the systems of oppression that place variable values on our bodies. In this interactive workshop we will disrupt the conventional conversation on body positivity, center trans and nonbinary narratives, and take on self-love beyond acceptance and as a practice that includes all of us. (1.5-2.5 hours)
Trans and Nonbinary Resistance and Resilience Through Community
This interactive workshop will allow participants to map their communities and connections and locate liberation within a collective context that necessitates love, community, and solidarity work. Grounded in theories of social justice, this program explores the ways in which trans and nonbinary individuals and their communities can work together to resist structures of oppression, to be resilient, and to build a community of friends and accomplices to stand in solidarity together. “Remember: Oppression thrives off isolation. Connection is the only thing that can save us.” – Yolo Akili (2 hours)
Teaching Trans: A Toolkit for Faculty Working Toward Trans Inclusion
This workshop is specifically designed for faculty members to aid them in supporting trans and nonbinary students and leading discussions with trans-related content in their courses. Particular attention will be paid to the intersections of race and class. Faculty will be given the opportunity to discuss and work through past experiences and communicates scenarios. Designed to be completed in 1 hour and 15 minutes, this is an ideal brown-bag or catered lunch program.
Understanding Intersectional Feminism/Unlearning White feminism
This interactive workshop provides an opportunity to explore intersectional feminism, the history of feminist theory, and to challenge ourselves to notice and name white feminism as a form of white supremacy. (2 hours)
Gender Pow!: Breaking Down the Gender Binary
This fun and highly interactive workshop examines the gender binary in depth by looking at historical, cultural and scientific understandings for both sex and gender, playing games, and building knowledge together. (2.5 to 3 hours)
Healthy Masculinities 1 & 2
A dialogue-based two-part workshop designed for men and those who hold masculinity to build community and share knowledge. Together we will work to unlearn unhealthy/toxic masculinity and how to use our privilege to support marginalized gender identities. This workshop includes a co-facilitator who identifies as a man. (2 hours/session)
Sexual Violence and Partner Abuse in LGBTQ+ Communities
This workshop examines how gender and sexuality and LGBTQ+ oppression impact LGBTQ+ individuals and communities dealing with sexual violence and partner abuse. Particular attention will be paid to how individual identities experience interpersonal violence, systemic issues that prevent our community from seeking help, and how race, class, and other social identities impact individuals’ experiences.
Social Justice
Working from Whiteness
Designed for white practitioners, this facilitated dialogue will explore how white staff and faculty must work to create racial justice within our campus communities and how we can best support our white students and colleagues in unlearning racism. (2-3 hours)
Working from Whiteness II: Decentering Whiteness
Designed for white practitioners, this facilitated dialogue will explore how white staff and faculty must decenter our stories, comfort, and safety, as well as white culture within the university system. Participants will be challenged to think more deeply about our roles as educators and how we can build a more racially just communities in collaboration with our colleagues and students of color, following their leadership. (3-5 hours)
Introduction to Social Justice
A foundational training on social justice core competencies, including understanding identity, privilege, power, oppression, allyship, and much more. This program is highly interactive and includes Theater of the Oppressed games to engage participants in learning. (3 hours to full-day inservice)
Social Justice Games
A fun and interactive way to learn (and reinforce) core social justice competencies through games. Inspired to Augusto Boal, this program allows participants to learn while laughing and connecting with others. (1-1.5 hours)
Facilitation 101: Leading Conversations that Make the Difference
A modular workshop designed to support peer educators and professional facilitators in how to lead conversations on social justice. This workshop covers everything from the basics of public speaking to managing an audience to dealing with disruptive behaviors to showing up as your authentic self. (2.5 hours to full-day inservice)
Pop Goes the Movement!: Pop Culture Pedagogy in Social Justice Education
A workshop designed for facilitators seeking to effectively utilize pop culture in their curriculum design to support participants learning and to engage people in social justice topics by utilizing what they are already talking about. (1.5-2hours)