GLSEN names Willingham-Jaggers new executive director
dallasvoice.comMelanie Willingham-Jaggers The board of directors of the GLSEN, the national nonprofit organization working to make sure K-12 education is safe and affirming for all students including LGBTQ youth, announced today (Wednesday, Jan.
26) that Melanie Willingham-Jaggers has been named the new executive director for the organization. Willingham-Jaggers said their vision for the next chapter of GLSEN’s work is “rooted in the belief that education can and should be an experience that is safe, affirming and liberating — and that we can achieve that goal only when we build in racial, gender and disability justice into our education system as a key indicator of success.” Before joining GLSEN in 2019 as deputy executive director, Willingham-Jaggers served as the program associate director of The Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
As a part of the leadership team there, she worked to ensure the strategic, programmatic and operational excellence of the Institute.
She has extensive experience in social justice movement and organizations as a manager and consultant, including work in curriculum design, facilitation, organizing within and beyond various marginalized and intersecting communities, including current and formerly incarcerated and underground economy involved people, LGBTQ community, youth, immigrants, people with disabilities and senior citizens.
