Ithaca College

 Luca Maurer, Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services program director, has co-authored a book with Eli R. Green, Assistant Professor of Public Health at William Paterson University, The Teaching Transgender Toolkit: A Facilitator’s Guide to Increasing Knowledge, Decreasing Prejudice & Building Skills.

 The Teaching Transgender Toolkit is a detailed collection of educational best practices, lesson plans and resources for those who wish to facilitate training about transgender people, identities and experiences. The first of its kind, the book translates the authors’ decades of experience into a book that can be used by trainers of all levels to provide accurate and effective training. With particular attention paid to intersectional approaches and marginalized identities, the lessons are complemented by extensive foundational knowledge about transgender people’s identities and experiences, detailed guidance on how to plan, facilitate, and navigate the nuances of teaching about transgender-related topics, and resources to build further knowledge. These will help build participants’ basic knowledge about transgender people, reduce anti-transgender prejudice, and build ally skills, and are ideal for use with college students, community groups, faith communities, parents/family groups, K-12 school professionals, college and university staff and faculty, and medical, mental health and social service providers.

Transgender people are in our families, our communities, our workplaces, our faith communities, and our schools - they are part of the fabric of our society. Yet stigma and discrimination can make it extraordinarily difficult for transgender people to make their way in the world, and for everyone to learn accurate information about the lives and experiences of transgender people. Education and empathy are first steps toward making a difference and building a more inclusive society in which everyone may fully participate and is treated with dignity and respect. We hope our work inspires and equips others to make just such a difference.