Lavender Leadership Honor Society

Historical Information about the Lavender Leadership Honor Society

The Lavender Leadership Honor Society (LLHS) celebrates and develops leadership for LGBTQ+ social justice. Founded in 2015, the society has been acknowledged in the Washington Post and is believed to be the first collegiate honor society focusing on leadership for LGBTQ+ social justice. Every year, there is an induction ceremony to honor leaders.

New Changes - Lavender Leadership Honor Society

The LGBTQ+ Equity Center is piloting a new structure for the 2024 cohort; this new structure will only apply to new inductees. This academic year-long structure is designed to cultivate community and well-being, and will give leaders attendance priority for specialized workshops to enhance their leadership skills. Applicants who fulfill the requirements will be inducted into the Lavender Leadership Honor Society in Spring 2025.

Eligibility

Applicants will be selected based on their leadership skills and commitment to LGBTQ+ communities. We define leadership beyond the heteronormative notion of always being in the forefront and having the loudest voice. Leadership is multifaceted, it is inclusive of those who are in the forefront, and those who are creatives, strategists, mobilizers, and thinkers who may not always be in the forefront. Our definition of leadership encompasses the multidimensional ways we work towards queer liberation. The LLHS application is open to all University of Maryland, College Park undergraduate and graduate students and the university's staff, faculty, and alumni. We especially encourage graduate students, faculty, and staff to apply.

Requirements

The process to become a fully inducted member of the 2024-2025 cohort includes the following requirements:

Participate in 3 of 4 to 5 designated workshops to network, enhance leadership skills, and develop a support system. There will be at least two workshops provided per semester. We will find alternatives for conflicting class schedules. A brief synopsis of each workshop is in the last section.
Participate in one check-in session per semester. There will be four 45 minute sessions (two per semester) via Zoom to gather participants, check-in, and to provide LGBTQ+ Equity Center and LGBTQ+ related updates. Check in sessions will be made available based on participants’ availability.

Benefits

Network and build community with potential inductees.
Attend curated workshops led by the LGBTQ+ Equity Center staff and social justice leaders to enhance your leadership skills.
Attend a career exploration and networking workshop geared toward LGBTQ+ leaders and professionals.
Build future collaborations with the LGBTQ+ Equity Center and UMD campus.
Optional joining of campus-wide LGBTQ+ Equity Center affiliated projects.
Potential to connect with former inductees.

Applications are open until Monday October 7, 2024 at 11:59pm

Please apply at: go.umd.edu/LLHSapp2024

Workshop Descriptions

A time bank is a non-monetary system where participants barter their knowledge and skills to create a more sustainable community that is not centered on money or capitalism. Participants will delve into the history, meaning, and practices of time banking, sharing their knowledge, skills, and expertise. With consent, they will engage in time banking with other leaders. More Information Forthcoming.

This workshop will go beyond intersectionality 101, and explore systems and ideologies of oppression (anti-Blackness, racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ableism, etc), and how they show up in our daily lives, and in leadership in both theory and practice. This workshop will be customizable to participants’ needs and interests. More Information Forthcoming.

Participants will be guided to discuss the meaning of leadership. Participants will explore leadership and leadership styles beyond heteronormative narratives. Drawing from the works of theorists, organizers, writers, and leaders like Deepa Iyer, Bobbie Harro, and Paulo Freire, who deconstruct the idea of traditional power and views leadership as a shared approach that involves multifaceted skills, personalities, and ways of thinking, participants will explore various roles of social justice leadership, and apply them to their own leadership style and expertise. More Information Forthcoming.

Vision and principles of the Lavender Leadership Honor Society and its members:

A person speaking at a podium for Lavender Leadership Honor Society.

"We seek to create a world and a university community that is fully equitable, and which empowers agents of social justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, and all those who face structural and interpersonal marginalization because of their gender identity and expression or their sexual orientation.

We also believe in solidarity and collaboration, and in intersectional approaches to social justice that affirm the whole person and all things that can lead to liberated and flourishing communities.

We are a diverse community of leaders who value inclusion, kindness, and genuineness as core leadership values. We seek to build communities and networks, to support our communities, to foster an environment that creates spaces for many and diverse leaders and voices, to educate others, and to advocate for equity."

Induction Ceremony

Lavender Leadership Honor Society holds an induction ceremony every spring to honor undergrads, grad students, staff/faculty, and alumni who have been leaders within the LGBTQIA+ community on campus. Various awards are available to undergrads, grad students, staff/faculty, alumni, and friends of the university

Honorary Members

In addition to inducting over 200 student, staff, faculty, and alumni members to the honor society since our founding in 2015, we have inducted several honorary members:

Mara Keisling, Founding Executive Director of the National Center Transgender Equality

Laverne Cox, Actress and advocate for trans women of color and human rights

Fanta Aw, international and higher education leader

Cathy Cohen, scholar and intersectional social justice champion

Urooj Arshad, international sexual and reproductive rights advocate and queer Muslim organizer

Chloe Schwenke, international development expert and transgender advocate

Eboné F. Bell, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tagg Magazine ~ "Everything Lesbian, Queer, and Under the Rainbow"