LGBTQI

Jessica Stern | 1 | #ColumbiaPride

My name is Jessica Stern and I'm the executive director of outright Action International. And in my

spare time I teach a spring course at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs on LGBTIQ rights in law and public policy around the world.

And if I could say one thing about the value of this course. Is that it changes people's lives. It makes LGBTIQ students

feel and be seen. And it makes straight allies feel more equipped to bring a queer analysis into whatever work they are most

passionate about and they most focused on. It actually helps people govern better. So a few years ago I had a government official from Indonesia.

And Indonesia is a really important country for LGBTIQ rights because for the past few years things have been sliding downwards and every day she'd show up in class

having done all the homework and she had more questions than anybody else. And at the end of the class she said this class helped prepare me to go home and govern better.

I'm going to go home and work on laws and policies to make sure they are not persecuting LGBTIQ people and in some cases they're actually helping them.

And I can't think of a better outcome from any class than to actually have an impact on law and policy.

OutRight International Director Jessica Stern’s annual course at Columbia School of International and Public Affairs on LGBTQI Rights and Public Policy is changing the lives of its students, who range from government officials to undergraduate cis and straight allies.