San Diego LGBT Pride Official Souvenir Guide 2014 | Page 21

CHAMPION OF PRIDE

VINCENT “VINNIE” POMPEI
Vincent “Vinnie” Pompei is the director of the
Youth Well-Being Project at the Human Rights
Campaign Foundation. One of Vinnie’s primary
roles at HRC is to chair Time to THRIVE, an annual
national conference for educators and other
youth-serving professionals to promote safety,
inclusion and well-being for LGBTQ youth.
Vinnie also serves as the president for the
California Association of School Counselors and
spent over ten years as a middle school teacher
and high school counselor. He helped start his
district’s first middle school Gay and Straight
Alliance that led to him training the entire district
staff on issues affecting LGBTQ youth.
Before joining HRC, Vinnie was an LGBTQ cadre
trainer for the National Education Association
and authored the LGBTQ section of the American
School Counselor Association’s National Model.
He also directed The Center for Excellence in
School Counseling and Leadership’s (CESCaL)
annual educator conference on LGBTQ youth,
was a chapter president for PFLAG and an
Ambassador for the Trevor Project.
Vinnie’s passion for creating safe and inclusive schools has been nationally recognized. He was one
of four public educators invited to the first White House Anti-Bullying Summit with President Obama
and was recently called to testify at a congressional hearing on school safety.  In addition, he was
named one of Advocate Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, received awards from both Equality California
and KPBS, and was selected by the National Education Association as a Classroom Superhero.
Vinnie will graduate in August with a Doctorate in Education Leadership from San Diego State
University.

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