Scholar Update: Jackson Shultz

by Jackson Shultz, GSBA Scholar 2008-2009

Since becoming a GSBA scholar, my life has changed in innumerable ways. In 2009, I married the love of my life, Kristopher. Together we have helped one another to make progress toward our educational and career goals. We both graduated from Washington State University with degrees in women’s studies in 2010. We then moved to New Hampshire, where we both worked full time while completing our master’s degrees at Dartmouth College. Kristopher is the Family Case Manager at the local homeless shelter and is completing his thesis on LGBTQ youth homelessness. I worked as a Web Programmer at the Geisel School of Medicine while completing my thesis, an oral history of transgender activism. I graduated in 2014 with a degree in creative writing. My writing has been published in two LGBTQ anthologies and several academic journals, and in 2011, I won the National Confluence Award for Excellence in Creative Writing.

(L-R) Kristopher, Mosely and Jackson

While attending Dartmouth, I had several incredible opportunities to be involved in local LGBTQ endeavors. I currently serve on the board of directors of the Upper Valley Rainbow Connection, a local LGBTQ social organization. I am also the Education Director for the Trans Education, Activism, Community & Health (TEACH) Alliance. TEACH Alliance is a non-profit organization that provides transgender advocacy services through outreach to educational and health professionals, and promotes autonomy in transgender communities by teaching activism and community-building skills. Through this organization I have been able to travel from California to Maine, providing workshops and forging connections with other LGBTQ activists, educators, and advocates. My favorite activities, however, are focused on mentorship: I serve as a local mentor for several transgender and gender non-conforming youth, and volunteer as a youth counselor for the Trans Youth Equality Foundation.

Since graduating, I have taught as an Adjunct Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at New England College. I teach creative writing and writing fundamentals. While teaching, I am currently taking a gap year before starting a doctoral program. I spent the early part of this school year developing my master’s thesis into a full-length manuscript. I’m pleased to say that my book, Trans/Portraits, will be released from the University Press of New England in October 2015. Looking ahead, my goal is to return to the Pacific Northwest and begin a doctoral program in higher education administration and leadership in the fall. I strongly believe that having openly LGBTQ administrators is critical to the success of LGBTQ students, and hope to affect positive change in policies and practices to better accommodate the unique needs of LGBTQ students. In the mean time, I will continue teaching, writing, and spending time with my husband and our obnoxiously large Newfoundland dog.

Check out Jackson and Kristopher in their TEDx talk on transgender liberation and gender equity.