April 12 & 13, 2024 Conference

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Jayne Walters (she/her) is a Board Member for Annapolis Pride and former Board Member and the Director of Education for Indy Pride. She was the first openly transgender manager in the history of Indianapolis Public Library. Having worked in libraries for over 14 years, she now works for the Anne Arundel County Public Library, her writing has been featured in Library Journal and Children & Libraries. She has spoken on LGBTQ+ issues for libraries, companies, legislature, and on the news, gave a keynote speech at the USAP 2024 Conference, and is a contributing author in the book Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries (2023). Her passions include LGBTQIA+ representation in juvenile literature; making sure libraries are accessible and equitable for the community and making them a safe and welcoming environment for all.

In this talk for business owners, community members, local governments and more, Jayne Walters, MLIS, gives actionable advice for people seeking to be allies to the LGBTQ community, both in their region and across the world. This talk features a thumbnail discussion on the setbacks and leaps forward experienced by the LGBTQ+ community in the last ninety years in the United States, and also details real-world, practicable examples of ways the community at large can help bolster some of its most vulnerable members. As the first openly transgender librarian in the history of the Indianapolis Public Library, and a board member on multiple Pride organizations, Ms. Walters can help build your allyship beyond pride flags in June—solidarity is amazing, but only action can secure the future of our LGBTQ+ family.

Katie Jenifer (she/they) ecstatically joined ENC in July 2023 and has hit the ground running, honored and privileged to work toward the full and complete liberation of all LGBTQ+ North Carolinians! She is a licensed attorney from North Carolina and the proud mom of two queer kids. When their youngest daughter, who is transgender, transitioned in 2013, her family almost immediately began to face obstacles where they felt like having a legal advocate would be beneficial. After NC passed HB 2 in 2016, Katie and her family decided that she would go back to school to become that legal advocate. In 2017, Katie started law school at North Carolina Central University. She graduated in 2020 and passed the July 2020 NC Bar Exam. Since then, she strives to be a resource for the queer community, particularly trans/nonbinary people; spearheading a name and gender marker correction clinic at their law school, collaborating with the LGBTQ Center of Durham and the Durham Public Library to offer a quarterly in-person legal clinic focused on the LGBTQ+ community needs, co-chairing the Pro Bono & Community Engagement Subcommittee of the NC Bar Association's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee, holding the position of secretary of the NC Pauli Murray LGBTQ Bar Association, and serving on the Board of Conversion Therapy Dropout Network. While liberation movement work activates and sustains her, Katie also enjoys spending time with her family, taking their dog to the local dog park, being outside, and reading.

This presentation will focus on how allies can show up for queer youth and advocate for them in various contexts - as parents, educators, health care providers, etc. It is vital for allies to stay informed about issues affecting LGBTQIA2S+ youth, and to leverage their privilege to speak on behalf of children and youth in spaces where their voices are silenced.

Mollie Burkholder is the Educational Programs Manager for PFLAG Charlotte. They also work as an instructional design and organizational development consultant in the field of international development, working with clients such as the World Bank Group, USAID, and the Sesame Workshop. Before receiving her master’s degree in International and Intercultural Communications from American University, Mollie served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guyana, working as a community health educator and LGBTQ+ health advocate. They also spent two years teaching English in rural South Korea. Mollie identifies as a genderfluid individual, diehard Philadelphia sports fan, and proud dog dad.

Candelario Saldana is an associate in Cadwalader’s Capital Markets Group. He represents investment banks and other financial institutions in secured commercial lending transactions, CLOs, commercial mortgage-backed securitizations and other asset-backed securitizations.  In 2022, Candelario was named among the American Bar Association’s “On the Rise” honorees, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s “40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” and a “Top Latino Lawyer” by Latino Leaders Magazine. He was also awarded the 2022 “Young Lawyer of the Year” by the Mecklenburg County (NC) Bar. He was named by Super Lawyers as a Charlotte Rising Star for Securities & Corporate Finance in 2023 and 2024. Candelario has also been on the North Carolina Attorney Pro Bono Honor Society for three years in a row, 2020, 2021 and 2022.  In 2024, Candelario received the Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award presented by the Mecklenburg County Bar, which recognizes an attorney who champions diversity and inclusion in Mecklenburg County while embodying high ethical standards, unquestioned integrity and consistent competence. He also received the 2024 “Top Lawyers Under 40” Award from The Hispanic National Bar Association which recognizes members who have demonstrated professional excellence, integrity, leadership, commitment to the Hispanic community, and dedication to improving the legal profession.  Candelario received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law. He is admitted to practice in North Carolina.

Brainstorming session for ideas for Union County Pride 

Cristal Robinson (they/them) is the attorney at Robinson Law. As a seasoned attorney, business owner, and educator, Cristal is passionate about advancing the rights of neurodivergent, queer, and other diverse people through legal representation, advocacy, and consulting. Cristal focuses on discrimination law under disability & civil rights, as well as promoting diversity, equity, & inclusion in education, employment, & business ownership. Cristal is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, which is limited to just one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction.

Prior to Robinson Law, Cristal Robinson was a business owner of American Real Estate Services in Amarillo, Texas, and a certified Montessori teacher. Cristal has a Juris Doctor, Master of Business Administration, and Bachelor of Business Administration in finance. When Cristal moved from Texas to North Carolina, Cristal downsized their practice areas and stopped representing people in family law, criminal law, and other litigated cases. The firm is completely paperless, virtual, and mobile.     

Outside of the office, Cristal Robinson enjoys watching their autistic son experience life, growing older with their autistic spouse, and figuring out their true self as a late-in-life diagnosed autistic professional. 

In this talk for teens and families, Jayne Walters, MLIS, discusses the history of setbacks, but also leaps forward, experienced by the extended LGBTQ+ community. Though things are hard now, they’ve been hard in the past, too—during the Holocaust in the 1940s, the Lavender Scare in the 1950s, the Stonewall Riot in the 1960s, Harvey Milk’s assassination in the 1970s, the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the death of Matthew Shepherd in the 1990s, and the fight for Marriage Equality in the 00’s—all the way up to the Don’t Say Gay laws and Affirming Care challenges today. But, with each of these dark moments in LGBTQ+ history also comes with progress, growth and a “new normal” that gets closer every year to including all people, of all orientations and identities. When things get hard, we will endure. And when we endure, we celebrate as individuals and as a community. It does get better.

Join us for a 90 minute QPR Suicide Prevention Training class, where you'll learn how to be a "Gatekeeper" - someone trained to recognize the warning signs of suicide and intervene effectively. With suicide being the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 24, and LGBTQ+ youth being four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, this training is crucial. Equip yourself with the skills to identify individuals at risk, ask the right questions, and guide them to the help they need. Suicide is the most preventable death there is. Together, we can save lives and create a safer, more supportive environment for everyone

Amy Campbell (she/her/hers) is a multifaceted visionary, an award-winning actress, director, producer, artist and photographer.  Her work with Mental Health America of Central Carolinas has earned her prestigious recognition including a Silver ADDy Award and Mental Health Educator of the Year Award in 2023. Amy is also a Holy Fire Usui Reiki Master, a certified professional coach, QPR Suicide Prevention Trainer, and motivational speaker. What people may not know, she has navigated life with a debilitating, undiagnosed mental illness for over four decades and is 1 of the 1.7 million adults who have attempted suicide.  Her mission is to change how we think, treat and talk about mental illness, through the transformational power of storytelling. She moves audiences with her unapologetic authenticity and empowers others to break free of the carnivorous shame spiral, to love the artist within, and to turn their situations into their superpowers.