Director, Community Programs
Honorifics: Ms. or Mx.
Prior to joining the Stonewall team in January 2021, Z worked as an educator and event coordinator in both higher education and healthcare. During her time with the Cleveland Clinic, they were able to impact both patients and staff by creating an LGBTQ+ Patient Care curriculum for incoming caregivers while working with the Stanley Shalom Zielony Institute for Nursing Excellence. Prior to the impact of COVID-19, Z served as the Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Inclusion at Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD). Throughout their time at CCAD, they had the privilege of advising and collaborating with student organizations such as the Black Student Leadership Association, the International Student Association, and the Queer Alliance. She also created many programs to promote the education and celebration of numerous intersectional identities and served on the institution’s Diversity Taskforce.
Regardless of the field, Z has been intentional in promoting the inclusion and equity of LGBTQ+ folks as part of their mission with every position they have held. As a freelance queer educator, she has collaborated with organizations in both Cleveland and Columbus, such as the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, Cuyahoga Community College Peace Officer Basic Training Academy, Ology, & Creative Babes. As a representative of Stonewall, Z currently co-chairs the Short North Alliance Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Access (I.D.E.A.) Council, serves on COSI’s Center of Societal Inclusion (C.O.S.I.), and serves on Columbus Public Health’s LGBTQ+ Health Coalition.
Z earned their Bachelor of Arts, majoring in art therapy, from Capital University (Bexley, OH) and their Master of Arts in Education, with a focus in leadership in higher education, from Baldwin Wallace University (Berea, OH). She resides in the historic Olde Towne East neighborhood, with her husband (Pierceston Brooks), their cat (named Kitten), and a hoard of various house plants.
