Safe Space on Campus Trainings & LGBTQ+ Resources
Foster a more inclusive college and university with an affirming and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ individuals
Safe Space on Campus Training
Safe Space on Campus Trainings empower faculty, staff, and students to create a more inclusive, affirming and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ individuals at colleges and universities. Participants will gain the knowledge and tools necessary to foster safe, respectful spaces where all members of the LGBTQ+ community feel welcome and valued.
What NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Must Do Now
National organizations like the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, The Task Force, PFLAG, GSA Network, and others have long led the fight for equality—but this moment demands a renewed, student-focused strategy. Even as institutions and states dismantle formal DEI infrastructure, we must broaden our legal advocacy, student-led storytelling, and on-campus allyship trainings to actively support LGBTQ+ students.
Here’s what needs to happen:
🛡️ Create a National LGBTQ+ Campus Defense Fund
Fund legal challenges, emergency scholarships, housing stipends, and relocation support for LGBTQ+ students directly impacted by anti-DEI laws or who are forced to transfer due to unsafe conditions.
🎓 Support an LGBTQ+ Higher Ed Policy Coalition
Form a united national policy task force to push back against state legislation, coordinate campus resistance efforts, and provide expert guidance to university leaders under pressure.
🌐 Launch a Visibility & Accountability Campaign
Use media campaigns, public scorecards, and storytelling to expose what’s happening on campuses and celebrate institutions that are resisting anti-LGBTQ+ pressure. Name and shame those enabling harm.
🧭 Expand Direct Campus Support
Reinvest in programs and build new tools that provide alternatives, empower queer student leaders, and give prospective students a roadmap to safe campuses.
📣 Amplify Student-Led Movements
Provide mentorship, resources, and platforms to elevate the work of LGBTQ+ student organizers already leading the charge—from walkouts and protests to peer support and underground safe spaces.
No Longer Rely on LGBTQ+ Best Lists
Over the past several years, we've seen a devastating rollback of protections and resources for LGBTQ+ people across the United States—currently under the Trump administration and previously in states actively pushing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. These actions haven't just been symbolic. They've led to real consequences: the defunding, silencing, or outright closure of LGBTQ+ resource centers, the censorship of inclusive curricula, and the gutting of DEI offices on college campuses.
As a result, once-trusted LGBTQ+ Best Lists & Resources—those 5 star ratings you used in online guides or rankings—are no longer the reliable resources they once were. Many of these lists haven’t been updated regularly, fail to account for recent legislative changes, or present a rosy picture that doesn’t reflect the lived experiences of current students. A campus that earned high marks for LGBTQ+ inclusion last year may now be in a state that’s passed anti-trans laws or banned DEI funding entirely. The reality on the ground has changed.
SAFE SPACE & LGBTQ+ CAMPUS EXPERTISE
Shane Mendez Windmeyer, M.S., Ed.
Shane Mendez Windmeyer is a best-selling author, LGBTQ+ campus pioneer, and civil rights champion with over two decades of experience leading and advocating for LGBTQ+ inclusion in higher education.
As the founder and longtime Executive Director of Campus Pride, Windmeyer has been instrumental in building a national movement to create safer, more inclusive campus environments. Through his trailblazing leadership, Campus Pride empowered future leaders to drive positive change, serving over 1,400 colleges and universities and thousands of LGBTQ+ and ally students, faculty and staff.
Windmeyer is the creator of the Campus Pride Index, the premier benchmarking tool for LGBTQ+ campus inclusion, and author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, which profiled the top LGBTQ-friendly campuses. Their work also includes editing groundbreaking books, such as Brotherhood: Gay Life in College Fraternities and Out on Fraternity Row.
Raised on a farm in Hiawatha, Kansas, Windmeyer is of mixed Native American and Mexican heritage, bringing a distinctive perspective to their advocacy. As a member of the Iowa Tribe, they hold a bachelor’s degree from Emporia State University and a master’s degree from Indiana University. Windmeyer lives in Charlotte, NC, with their husband, Thomas Feldman; the two married in 2015 after 20 years together.
Visionary Leadership & Achievements
Qualifications for Safe Space on Campus Inclusion and Diversity Work:
- Extensive Experience in Higher Education Advocacy: 30+ years of advocating for LGBTQ+ campus populations, with expertise in intersectional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
- Program and Curriculum Development: Created nationally recognized curriculum and programs addressing LGBTQ+ inclusion, Safe Space training, bias and hate crime prevention, and improving campus safety.
- Training: Conducted hands-on Safe Space inclusion training for over 6,000 community members across 650 college campuses, fostering awareness and allyship.
- Nationally Published Resources: Published a widely referenced listing for nearly two decades on the best and worst colleges for LGBTQ+ students, shaping informed choices for LGBTQ+ applicants and their families.
- LGBTQ+ Campus Climate Work: Developed LGBTQ+ inclusion metrics for improving campus climate; supported 800+ campuses in expanding LGBTQ+ policies, programs, and best practices for institutional change.
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