I am a passionate and experienced educator, scholar, advocate, and practitioner. I grew up in the predominantly white middle-class suburbs of metro Detroit during the 80’s and 90’s where my upbringing was shaped by the privilege of well-funded public education, competitive women’s sports, and being a queer kid in a fairly conservative community. I found my voice and my desire for self and collective transformation in my twenties, and decided to pursue a career in higher education.
As a faculty member turned equity, inclusion, and student affairs leader, I hold almost two decades of higher education experience. I am the former Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Equity, and Inclusion at Champlain College where I also served as the Title IX and Bias Response Coordinator. Prior to that, I directed the Office of Pluralism and Leadership at Dartmouth College and taught courses at Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, the University at Albany, and the University of Vermont, where I was awarded the LGBTQ+ Faculty Leadership Award.
Being a white, queer, trans man, I am particularly attuned to the impact that institutions and norms have on the well-being of individuals and communities. I have produced research and scholarship on the strategies that trans people employ to navigate interpersonal and institutional discrimination. For this work, I was awarded the nationally renowned Institute for Citizens and Scholars Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies as well as a Dissertation and Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Middlebury College. I have authored pieces on mental health considerations for LGBTQ+ high school and college students, trans identity management, queer theory, and trans-specific microaggressions in healthcare settings, and was featured on the 2018 BBC World News report “What’s the Real Difference Between the Sexes?”
Over the years, I have leveraged my expertise to advocate for trans inclusion and to educate healthcare professionals, K-12 teachers, non-profit leaders and staff, and higher education professionals across the United States. From 2018-2019, I served as a founding member and patient advocate on the Gynecology Trans Healthcare Pathway project for the Department of Gynecology at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, NH) where I worked with doctors, nurses, interns, and administrative staff to identify address gaps in care for trans men and assigned female at birth (AFAB) non-binary patients.
At a fundamental level, I consider community one of my core values. It’s important to me to nourish a sense of belonging and ensure that marginalized voices are heard. I currently serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Outright Vermont, as a Co-Chair of the Belonging, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the City of St. Albans, and I am the founder and primary administrator of the Transgender Vermont Facebook Group. While living in the Upper Valley of VT, I co-facilitated a bi-weekly peer support group for trans and non-binary adults. From 2009-2014, I served as a co-chair of the National Women’s Studies Association Trans/Gender Variant Caucus. And, when I lived in Albany, NY, I supported the work of the Pride Center of the Capitol Region (Albany, NY) as a participant on the programming committee, grants committee, and then as a member of the Board of Directors.
I earned my doctorate and master’s degrees in Sociology from the University at Albany, State University of New York and my bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Colby College. Additionally, I am a certified Restorative Justice Facilitator and graduate of Harvard Institute of Education’s Management Development Program. I am a Board Certified Massage Therapist and a certified yoga and meditation teacher and social-emotional learning facilitator.
I founded Embodied Values, LLC, to be able to provide healing and transformative services that help people and organizations embody their values.
~ Reese
Video Interview: “[Trans]lating Justice: Reese Kelly”
Certifications:
- Social-Emotional Learning Facilitator (SEL*F) Certification, Breathe for Change, March 2022.
- 200-hour Yoga & Meditation Teacher Certification (CYT-200), Breathe for Change, March 2022.
- Title IX Certificate, NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, 2020.
- Social Justice Training Institute, Long Beach, CA, 2019.
- Title IX: Bias and Cultural Competency Training, ATIXA – Association of Title IX Administrators, 2019.
- ADA/504 Coordinator Certificate, ATIXA – Association of Title IX Administrators, 2019.
- Restorative Justice Facilitator, Restorative Justice Program at Skidmore College, 2017.
- Title IX Coordinator Certificate, National Association of College and University Attorneys, 2016.
- Motivational Interviewing, Dartmouth College, 2016.
- Management Development Program, Harvard Institutes for Higher Education, Cambridge, MA, 2014.
Embodied Values Consulting 