Page 6 | Autumn 2022 Talking about gender and sexual diversity in education continued
sexual diversity consultant for five Saskatchewan School Divisions .
Dr . James McNinch ( professor emeritus ) is currently a consultant with the Saskatchewan School Board Association on a project about parent / teacher home visits . He is also conducting PD for Prairie Spirit School Division administrators and board members in the area of gender and sexual diversity .
During his 20-year career , with the Faculty of Education , James served in a variety of roles : dean , associate dean , director of the Professional Development and Field Experiences office , director of the Teaching Development Centre , and Director of SIDRU ( the Faculty ' s research unit ), as well as professor of professional studies . Particularly memorable was the anthology James co-edited and contributed to , entitled , I Could Not Speak My Heart : Education and Social Justice for Gay and Lesbian Youth ( 2004 ). Also that year , James created and taught a course on school and sexual ( and gender ) identities ( EFDN 306.3 ). " This course continues to be an elective and has hopefully been updated to keep up with this dynamic field of teaching , learning , and research ," says James .
Camp fYrefly , a 4-day annual retreat that welcomes teens and young adults who identify as 2SLGBTQA +, has been an important part of
James ' work over the years . As dean , he used his influence to help bring Camp fYrefly to Saskatchewan . James was program co-ordinator for Camp fYrefly and the fYrefly in Schools programs from 2016-2018 and he is still helping with fYrefly : " This year the camp returned to Regina as a live event after being online for the past 2 COVID-19 years . There were 57 campers and more than half of them self-identified as being gender fluid or non-binary . This is further proof that gender as a marker of identity is beginning to fade . It has already been 5 1/2 years since Parliament passed a bill ( first proposed in 2005 !!) protecting the rights of transgender and other gender diverse individuals ," says James .
Dr . Fritz Pino is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Work . Fritz says her " research and community work have always been centred on exploring the experiences of queer and trans communities , specifically queer and trans sexualities and identities that intersect with race , age , class , and migration ." All of Fritz ' s current projects are also centred on queer and trans lives . A few examples include the following : Fritz is conducting interviews to document the lived experiences of queer and trans Filipino immigrants to assess how being a racialized queer or trans intersects with www2 . uregina . ca / education / news