Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network)

Carolyn Laub. Carolyn Laub is the Founder and Executive Director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. Carolyn received a 4-year fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation in 1999 that helped launch GSA Network. In 2000, she was honored as one of the first U.S. recipients of the international Ashoka Fellowship, a 3-year fellowship that supports her work as a social entrepreneur. In 2012, she… See full bio.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.

Story: GSA Network was founded in 1998 to empower youth activists to start Gay-Straight Alliance clubs to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools.

GSA Network began working with 40 GSA clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1998-99 school year. The organization quickly expanded and by 2001 GSA Network became a statewide organization. By 2005, GSA Network began operating programs nationally.

In 2008, GSA Network became incorporated as its own independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Prior to that, GSA Network was a fiscally sponsored project of The Tides Center.

Carolyn Laub is the founder and director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

Evidence of Impact Summary:

Gay Straight Alliances Network (GSA Network) coordinates and helps to form student groups in high schools across the US to foster a safe environment for queer youth. These GSA groups individually and collectively help to reduce bullying, harassment, and intolerance toward queer youth. Their success can be seen in the fact that the network has grown significantly since its inception. There are now more than 900 GSA groups in California alone. GSA organizations work at both the local level and the national level through their National Association of GSA Networks.
See expert comments.

Organization Strengths Summary:

Gay Straight Alliances Network (GSA Network) has been a leader in LGBTQ youth research, participating in studies that show the connection between having a GSA and anti-oppression frameworks in schools to higher graduation rates, lower suicide rates, and better overall school climate for all students. Additionally, their focus on youth empowerment training has been a model for other organizations across the nation.
See expert comments.

Areas for Improvement Summary:

Experts note that GSA Network could improve by embracing their transition from successful start-up to major national organization. They could improve on their marketing and branding as well.
See expert comments.

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Carolyn Laub is the Founder and Executive Director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. Carolyn received a 4-year fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation in 1999 that helped launch GSA Network. In 2000, she was honored as one of the first U.S. recipients of the international Ashoka Fellowship, a 3-year fellowship that supports her work as a social entrepreneur. In 2012, she received the prestigious James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award in 2012 for her innovative youth empowerment model. Carolyn was a leader of the grassroots youth effort to pass the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (AB 537), an historic law that prohibits discrimination based on actual and perceived sexual orientation and gender identity in California schools. She co-founded the Make It Real Project, a youth-led statewide initiative to implement AB 537. In 2001, Carolyn served on the California Department of Education's AB 537 Advisory Task Force. In 2002, she co-founded the California Safe Schools Coalition, which is dedicated to the full implementation of AB 537. Carolyn has co-led the coalition since its inception and helped author the coalition's groundbreaking report, Safe Place to Learn: Consequences of Harassment Based on Actual or Perceived Sexual Orientation and Gender Non-Conformity and Steps for Making Schools Safer. Prior to starting GSA Network, in 1997, Carolyn created Outlet, a support program for LGBTQQ youth living on the San Francisco peninsula. Additionally, Carolyn was the Director of the AIDS Prevention Program at the Mid-Peninsula YWCA where she developed innovative HIV prevention curriculum and published her research documenting the link between gender ideologies and adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior. She currently serves on the Board of the Transgender Law Center. Previously, she has served on the Board of Directors of Bay Area Young Positives, KQED's Community Advisory Panel, and Stanford Pride, the Stanford University LGBTQQI alumni club. Carolyn graduated from Stanford University in 1995 with a BA in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on the social construction of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the United States.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.