Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network (GSA Network), a national organization that supports trans and queer youth to unite for racial and gender justice, has launched GSA Network Southwest to intentionally engage trans and queer Native youth and support the growing LGBTQ+ movement in the Southwestern United States.
“Community organizing has deep roots in the Southwest, particularly for Native people who have historically self-organized to secure their sovereignty, protect natural resources from exploitation, and preserve their traditions and well-being,” said Ginna Brelsford, Co-Executive Director for GSA Network. “After building partnerships with local organizations in the Southwest for more than 15 years, I’m proud that we will now establish a regional presence to not only bolster LGBTQ+ youth organizing, but also purposefully integrate Native young people into the movement.”
“Organizing practices in the Southwest have traditionally centered trust and relationship-building to create lasting change,” said LuzMarina Serrano, GSA Network’s Lead Organizer for the Southwest and West, and former Program Manager at New Mexico GSA Network. “We’re excited to learn from our local partners and renew our long-term investment in developing trans and queer youth leaders in the region.”
GSA Network Southwest, which will operate out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the third regional office dedicated to carrying out our national work, following the launch of GSA Network Midwest in 2017 and GSA Network Southeast in 2014.
Connect with GSA Network Southwest on Twitter and Facebook.
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Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network (GSA Network) is a next-generation LGBTQ racial and gender justice organization that empowers and trains trans, queer, and allied youth leaders to advocate, organize, and mobilize an intersectional movement for safer schools and healthier communities. In California, GSA Network connects over 1,000 GSA clubs through regional summits and youth councils. Nationally, GSA Network leads the National Association of GSA Networks which unites 40 statewide networks of GSA clubs, and GSAs Unite, an online campaign and petition platform supporting youth organizers across the country.