Advocacy Cafe

Creating Safe Spaces: the LGBTQIA+ Community and its Intersection with IPV

Description

This training will look at cultural competencies when working with members of the LGBTQIA+ community, understanding current terminology, concepts of intersectionality, and learning about the specific needs associated with LGBTQIA+ victims of intimate partner violence.

Faculty

Ryan Steinmetz came to New Mexico from Ohio as an AmeriCorps member with a program called Border Servant Corps; his placement with La Casa, Inc. in Las Cruces New Mexico started a 10+ year career working in the Intimate Partner Violence field focusing mainly on IPV prevention and education as well as working with child witnesses of domestic violence. In addition, he served as the director for several Southern New Mexico area non-profits (including the Border Servant Corps organization that brought him to NM) that helped him make strong connections with a diverse network of organizations in the Borderlands region. Ryan currently serves on the Learning and Development team for the City of Las Cruces, having worked with the organization for almost nine years in several capacities. Since 2017, Ryan has served as the chapter president of PFLAG Las Cruces, an organization committed to the support of LGBTQIA+ individuals and their families, education on issues affecting the queer community, and advocacy on behalf of the queer community at the local, state, and national levels. Ryan earned master’s degrees in both Public Administration and Counseling Psychology from NMSU. While he has lived long enough in Las Cruces to call New Mexico home, he will forever be an avid Ohio State Buckeyes fan (who happens to love green chile)!