Leisan C. Smith is a native of Columbus, Ohio. She moved to Cincinnati to attend the University of Cincinnati earning her Bachelor of Arts in Communication and her Masters of Education in Educational Foundations and Graduate Women's Studies certificate. Her professional experiences and her passion include working with and advocating for students, especially those students whose voices are not always heard. Some of these experiences include overseeing a YWCA program for teen moms and their children, being a high school principal and running an Upward Bound Program. Leisan is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., MUSE Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir and she is a 2012 YWCA Rising Star.

T.N. Vaught is an activist, educator, and the Program Coordinator of the University of Cincinnati LGBTQ Center. T is originally from Buck Creek, Indiana, which is a small farming community outside of Lafayette, Indiana. T graduated with honors from the University of Cincinnati in 2011 and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Within the next two years, T plans to complete a Master’s degree in WGSS with research centered in the evolving linguistics within the Trans* community. Eventually, T wants to pursue a PhD in History with a focus on the LGBTQ community through a queer theoretical lens.

Derrell is from Saint Louis, Missouri. He graduated summa cum laude from Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government (with a minor in Ethnic Studies) and a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance. He has presented on diversity at conferences around the country in the form of his thesis and lecture-recital, Whence Comes Black Art?: The Construction and Application of "Black Motivation."  Derrell has recently published an essay entitled “Homosexuality/Failing/African/States: Reconsidering Definitions Surrounding Anti-Gay Policies in Africa” in the Queering Africa/Trans-ing Diaspora: Mapping Multiple Migrations anthology. He is a 2nd year master’s student in opera at CCM, under the tutelage of William McGraw.

Benjamin is the Social Media student worker at the LGBTQ Center. He is from a military family, having lived in England, Germany, and Ohio. Benjamin graduated from Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio and is in his third year as an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati, where he majors in Electronic Media with a minor in Spanish and a Journalism certificate. He is involved with UC Alliance, a student group for UC’s LGBTQ and allied community. In fall 2012, Benjamin studied in Madrid, Spain for a semester. He is currently interning with the “Enjoy the Arts” program in residence at the Cincinnati Museum Center.