justin adkins

LGBTQ Cultural Competency

Words can be used to help, to sooth and to hurt.  In this workshop we explore various identity words for sexual orientation, biological sex, and gender identity and expression.  Interspersed with justin’s life stories this is a great beginners workshop.

justin developed this workshop when he realized that his audiences often did not have a firm grasp on current LGBTQQIAA terminology.  This workshop does not talk about sex, in the sense of how we do it, and thus is great for high schools and workplace diversity trainings.

justin’s “LGBTQ Cultural Competency” workshop touches on identity, biology, respect, and empowerment.

This interactive 1.5 hour workshop is intended for everyone from Jr. High – Adults

Bully to advocate in 5 hard steps

Growing up justin bullied one of the only queer people he knew, going from being friends to enemies when he found out that his friend had lesbian mothers.  justin was shaken when in 1998 his friend committed suicide.  Still in the closet, justin knew that his bullying may have contributed to her death.

Now justin tells his story to help prevent teenage bullying. Talking about words that heal and words that hurt, justin references pop-media allies as examples of what an ally can look like.

This workshop is intended for Jr. High and High School students and educators (there are 2 versions of this one for educators on prevention and one for students).

justin’s video discussing bullying for Huffington Post: Gay Voices:

My fabulous transgender life

Original advertisement for this workshop!

Original advertisement for this workshop!

Spend an hour hearing justin’s tale of growing up in an evangelical house, becoming a missionary, coming out as a christian lesbian and as a transgender buddhist.

justin’s humorous life story focuses on identity development and  acceptance.  As he says, “you can’t make this shit up”

justin has not met a question he will not answer.  Knowledge is power and he believes that even most “offensive” questions come from a place of ignorance not hatred.

This keynote is best for conferences, college students, community centers.

Coming out … not a one-stop shop

Referred to as a “master of coming out” justin has completed a hat-trick, coming out as a lesbian, as a trans man, and as bisexual.  justin’s coming out workshop focuses on self-care and understanding.

In 2004 justin came out to his extremely conservative evangelical christian family as a lesbian and ran off to Massachusetts to get married.  In 2006 he came out as a trans man on the job at a fly fishing/hunting company and then in 2009, to the dismay of some of his lesbian and gay co-workers who were invested in their little identity boxes, as a bisexual after his divorce.

In this workshop justin discusses tools and ideas to make coming out a doable process.  He addresses that you are never done coming out and how identity labels are often more restricting than the closet doors they are meant to open.

The Moment I Knew, for Huffington Post:

My “I’m from Driftwood” story:

Meditation, it’s kinda queer

Spending over 15 years as a practicing Buddhist, justin approaches meditation as a practical tool to add to your toolbelt, using meditation as a way to relieve stress and to train the mind.

Being queer is not always easy and justin believes that meditation can help.

justin has a piece “Right Now It’s Like This” featured in Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices published by North Atlantic Books (2019).

A former student of the Buddhist teacher Noah Levine. justin completed mindfulness facilitation training with Noah Levine at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society in 2011. He has since written for Medium about teachers and so-called American Buddhism.

About justin

justin adkins is an educator, consultant, and life-coach living in Williamstown, MA. He worked in higher education for 14 years, most recently as Associate VP for Student Affairs at The College of Wooster (2020-2021) Previously justin was Associate Dean of Students in charge of conduct and Director of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, Social Justice (IDEAS) Center at Allegheny College (2016-2020) and former Interim Director of The Davis … Learn More...

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Workshops

“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up in mine, then let us work together.” -Lila Watson justin has over 15 years of experience in life coaching, consulting,  leadership and anti-oppression based education in non-profit, educational, and religious organizations. He has led multicultural social justice based trainings in a variety of settings including social service … Learn More...

Life Coaching

ho·lis·tic - adjective \hō-ˈlis-tik\ Characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole. I have been a life coach, primarily working with 15-24 year olds, since 1999. I believe that everyone needs someone to bounce ideas off of and part of thriving is working with others to discover your full potential. Looking at life from a holistic approach we can discover new … Learn More...