November Staff Spotlight

This month, we have a first for our Staff Spotlight Award: A two-time winner! Congratulations to Angie for snagging this honor for a second time in the same year. Angie has stepped up and demonstrated exemplary skills as both a leader and a team player. She constantly goes above and beyond to spread the message of IYG and foster cultural competency surrounding LGBTQ+ young people throughout the community. To celebrate her second Spotlight win, we've asked Angie to share her own experiences as a queer person and an employee at IYG:

"I attended high school in Indianapolis in the early to mid-1990s. I knew I was different from most of my friends, and that I couldn’t talk to my parents, teachers, or clergy about it. I didn’t have the words at the time, though we are fortunate to have the necessary language nowadays. I was, and still am, gender non-conforming and pansexual. As a teen, I could not be part of the LGBTQ+ community. I was unable to discuss my feelings or concerns, and I felt deeply alone. I believed that I was 'defective.'

That is why, as an adult, I am so passionate for the work I get to do at IYG in our outreach and education department. Our program is a building block to help foster an environment in which no child or young adult will feel alone or 'defective' for being queer ever again. The most rewarding aspect of my job is that I get to advocate for kids and young adults in ways that will help them grow, feel seen and appreciated, and experience a more just and equitable life."