Willow Stein, MSW (they/them or she/her) is a volunteer at SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program at the Pride Center of Vermont and co-facilitates Pondering Gender and Sexuality, a group for all questions and questioners, focusing on the intersections of sexuality, gender, identity, and social norms.  Willow has long been a creature with great curiosity and an amiable kettle-stirrer, as well as a survivor of emotional and sexual violence.  They strive to practice collaboratively and kindly, to build and strengthen community, and to empower other survivors to recover and use their voices.  Before their MSW, Willow studied studio arts and creative writing, and enjoys pottery, poetry, and gardening.

Melanie Jannery (she/her) has been with Pride Center of Vermont’s SafeSpace Anti-Violence program since January 2019 in her role as a master’s in social work intern.  Melanie has worked for other non-profit community centers supporting people with mental health challenges. She recognizes that there is a lot of overlap between the various communities and welcomes conversations about this.  Melanie has a strong belief that when people get the support they need around navigating something that may have been traumatic for them, the impact can be greatly reduced, leaving the person feeling more connected. Melanie openly identifies as queer woman with a disability as she partners with her service dogs Jacob and Winston who you will also see around the center.  Having first come to Burlington in 2003, the sunsets kept her here, then community, then the trees, and now recognizes Burlington as her home.

After completing the volunteer or internship application above, please email safespace@pridecentervt.org introducing yourself to the team.

We’d love to know a bit about you! Such as, name/pronouns, your favorite quote about social justice and/or survivors, what motivates you to get involved with LGBTQ+ anti-violence work, and how many hours a week/month you would like to volunteer/intern with us. Please also include the best way for us to contact you.

We have a variety of ways you could get involved that are constantly changing! Some are more behind the scenes and some involve directly working with survivors, all of which are important to keeping our services up and running and increasing our abilities to serve LGBTQ+ survivors statewide.

Gustavo is a queer, non-binary puertorriqueñe born and raised on the island, and they are excited to work as our Transgender Program Coordinator, supporting and uplifting a community that means so much to them. They are a recent graduate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a focus on intersectional feminism and its roots in communities of color. They are a passionate LGBTQIA+ and racial activist who wants to work on making spaces more accessible and safe for all folks in the community and the intersections of their identities.

Gustavo is always open to learning more about identities and the ways that they can be challenging and empowering for folks here in Vermont. Being very new to the state, they are looking forward to exploring a new place and meeting wonderful new people. In this role Gustavo hopes to help create networks of care and empowerment for all of us in the trans (and overall LGBTQIA+) community. Gustavo is a hugger, avid reader, Beyoncé stan, and will never say no to good vegetarian food!

Anne is an advocate with the SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program and has a background in building community spaces for healing and resiliency. She comes to the Pride Center after completing her master’s in Intersectional Gender Studies in Sweden.

Anne is also a coordinator for GLOW, our programming for LGBTQ+ women and women-aligned community members. Want to learn more about GLOW or get involved? Send Anne an email!

Also send Anne an email if your curious about: Advocacy and supporting LGBTQ+ survivors; trainings and workshops related to SafeSpace’s mission; creating inclusive women’s spaces; collaborating with GLOW

Skylar is a queer, trans-masculine, and non-binary activist that is passionate about exploring the ways that LGBTQ+ people navigate balancing perception, visibility, and authenticity. Sky seeks to empower people to challenge not only themselves, but the cultures around them. He believes that if people can learn to both stretch and love themselves, they can also learn to both stretch and love the world. Skylar is cheesy, witty, and refreshingly transparent.

As a staff member, Skylar deeply values humility, lifelong learning, and remaining continually reflexive to the community’s needs. Sky simultaneously works towards holistic community mental health and collective social justice.