About the Power of One Conference

The Power of One Story

By Heidi Stanton
Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center
Washington State University

There are many identity development models that explain adolescent behaviors, emotional development, and cognitive skills. Most of these models, however, pathologize Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) youth identity development and explain their non-heterosexuality as a break from the norm or a failure to develop full maturity. Pair that with the struggle in many high schools to have recognized Gay/Straight Alliances and an all too common lack of family support for the LGBT youth and you have a recipe for high levels of adolescent angst. Historically, LGBT youth are always fighting something. They fight to survive bullying in the hallways, they fight to be accepted in their families and they fight to express themselves and find peer support in their high schools. So, it is not surprising that LGBT youth often have a heightened sense of “Them vs. US” as a leadership style. As Higher Education Administrators we often serve as mentors to the students we serve and we try to help them navigate their way from First year experience to graduate student but how do you reach a student who automatically perceives you as the enemy? How do you teach a rebel to be a leader?

This was a problem that colleagues Heidi Adielia Stanton (WSU) and Leslie Webb (CWU) were facing as advisors to LGBT students on their respective campuses. Their solution came after the past two years and much discussion regarding the creation of an annual LGBT leadership conference in the Northwest region. In 2004, Washington State University hosted the Out in the Wheat fields conference and in 2005 Central Washington University hosted the Power of One: LGBT Leadership Conference. Participation indicated that these types of events are needed and desired as both were well attended by students from all over the region. This past spring, the University of Washington, Tacoma hosted the Power of One conference in April. While it is exciting that there is a continuation of an annual Northwest regional LGBT conference, there is still a recognized need to develop one sustainable conference that all Northwest colleges and universities support through participation and attendance.

Stanton and Webb believe a regional Board of Directors to oversee and ensure the continuity of the conference and establish a regional effort for connecting LGBTA students in the Northwest would be an ideal way to address this issue. To start, the region will focus on the following states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. As the regional chair for the LGBT Knowledge Community within the organization of National Association for Student Personnel Administrators, Stanton has received positive responses from other regional officers and has even been told that there is seed money available to help get the Board of Directors established. The entire scope of the region also includes: Utah, Alberta, Nevada, Montana, and British Columbia. The board would play the following roles: provide a structure to sustain an annual regional LGBT Leadership Conference, accept and award conference bids on an annual basis, and provide support and guidance to host-colleges during the planning process. In addition, the board could grow in nature to be a resource for all college LGBT centers allowing our region to become more unified in its LGBT initiatives. While the exact structure of the Board has not been determined, the need for such an entity is clear.

Stanton and Webb facilitated poster sessions and an ancillary meeting at the NASPA Region V/VI conference this November. At that time they will be obtained feedback from their colleagues in the following areas: 1. It is believed that a regional Board of Directors charged with the oversight of a sustainable regional LGBT conference is a good idea and would be supported by regional institutions. 2. There is interest from the various institutions in having representation on the Board of Directors. Though Stanton and Webb agree in wanting to get core states onto the Board of Directors, they are also clear in stating that Washington State University and Central Washington University will be the key institutions behind this endeavor.