Patrick Finnessy, (click here for vitae) Ph.D. candidate, is the Director of the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He offers LGBT Awareness Training at the local, regional, and national levels for colleges/universities, secondary schools, corporations, and not-for-profit sites. He is available for consultation with a negotiated honorarium by contacting him at pkfinn@uic.edu.

Mr. Finnessy's research focuses on education and the correlation between teacher identity, sexual/gender identity, and curriculum. He created and published a curriculum guide for the anthology GROWING UP GAY/GROWING UP LESBIAN and has presented workshops at local, state, and national conferences to business professionals, human resource representatives, counselors, social workers, teachers, professors, and administrators.

He has also completed a doctoral concentration in Gender and Women's Studies. Prior to his work at the university level, Mr. Finnessy served as a high school Dean of Students and an English teacher for ten years.

Each consultation/program is designed to meet the objectives of the intended audience.

POSSIBLE PRESENTATION OBJECTIVES:

To define and discuss the terminology on the subject of sexual and gender identity

To challenge individuals to overcome their reluctance and/or discomfort in discussing, within various settings, issues of sexual and gender identity

To assist individuals in seeing how homophobia/heterosexism is related to other forms of discrimination

To provide individuals with resources for intervening in instances of homophobic behavior

To acquaint individuals with the special needs of LGBTQ individuals

To provide individuals with models/resources for responding to the needs of LGBTQ individuals

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES:

Index of Attitudes Toward Homosexuals
Heterosexual Quiz
Comfort Zone Questions
Discussion of Homophobia---Charting the Layers of Oppression
Mini LGBTQ History Lesson(s)
Religion and Homosexuality
Curriculum Strategies

Contact Patrick Finnessy at:
pkfinn@uic.edu or: http://www.lgbtcampus.org/network/patrickfinnessy.html