LGBTQIA Resources
Queer Gaels Connect!
Saint Mary's College is listed by New Ways Ministries as one of the most LGBT friendly Catholic campuses in the country. We strive to offer a supportive, inclusive and nonjudgmental space for all members of the LGBTQIA community. We have collected resources on this page to showcase our community commitment and help us all connect with one another. Here is a helpful guide to navigating any college campus as a LGBTQIA person.
On-Campus Resources
Que(e)ries
Que(e)ries is a subcommittee on campus that supports the LGBTQIA+ community on campus. The core working group consists of faculty, staff, and students, including campus offices and groups who are invested in initiatives supporting our charge.
PRIDE Club
PRIDE is a student run club that meets throughout the year in Delphine Intercultural Center. For more info, e-mail pride@stmarys-ca.edu, visit PRIDE (@smc_pride) • Instagram photos and videos.
Gender Inclusive Housing
Saint Mary’s offers Gender Inclusive Housing available to all students at no additional cost. Students can live with anyone, regardless of gender identity, and can pick from spaces across multiple buildings and room types. It is the intention of Campus Housing to make room assignments on how you, the stu dent, identify. There are also gender inclusive/gender neutral restrooms on campus.
Chosen Name Policy
SMC also has a Chosen Name Policy for students. Click the link here or in the resource section of this page to get more information.
The Queer and Trans Lit Collection in the Library at the Power Plant
The Queer and Trans Lit Collection (QTL), in the Quiet Study Room in the Power Plant was created with generous funding from the Que(e)ries Committee. The QTL collection, initially envisioned and curated by former faculty member Anna I. Corwin and former education librarian Molly June Roquet, continues to be supported and maintained by SMC librarians. It features queer and trans books from across our collection: adult fiction and nonfiction, young adult fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels, and picture books. It is meant to be a visible and easily accessible collection highlighting and supporting our LGBTQIA+ community. Additional LGBTQIA+ literature can be found throughout the stacks. Check out the Trans ebooks too!
Resources
Safe Spaces at SMC
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) supports and affirms people of all identities, including LGBTQIA+ people. We adhere to strict principles of confidentiality, neither confirming or denying that a student is being seen at CAPS without their written consent. We have a Safe Zone placard on the front door of our office. Dr. Dana Collins is our Director, and Dr. Cynthia Cutshall is our Associate Director.
Intercultural Center (IC)
Commonly called the IC, the Intercultural Center hosts student-led events catered to specific identities, one of the events is titled Queer Thoughts. Find updates about the IC programs on their Instagram page: @theic. The IC also assists and hosts PRIDE Club events. The IC annually hosts Lavender Graduation: A Commencement Ceremony to celebrate Queers graduates at SMC.
The Center for Women and Gender Equity (CWGE) + The CARE Center
The Center for Women and Gender Equity (CWGE) is another safe space for LGBTQIA students to find support and information. Stop by Monday-Friday from 9:00-4:30 or call to make an appointment to speak to CWGE staff. The CARE Center/CWGE is a shared space and has flag representation of both the trans and LGBTQ rainbow flag. Contact Megan Gallagher, mag7@stmarys-ca.edu or Sharon Sobotta, ssobotta@stmarys-ca.edu.
The Library at the Power Plant
In addition to the Queer and Trans Lit collection (contact: Julie, JLM51@stmarys-ca.edu), the Library at the Power Plant has 4 reservable study spaces, a sensory-friendly room, and loanable tools (whiteboards, laptops, textbooks, etc.), as well as staff to help with research and checking out materials. Stop by during our open hours, and browse our Queer Studies Research Guide (contact: Noelle, noelle@stmarys-ca.edu) for updated LGBTQ+ research resources. For any additional questions or concerns, please contact Lauren MacDonald, Dean of the Library and Academic Resources, and Director of the Museum of Art at LMM24@stmarys-ca.edu.
Saint Mary's College Museum of Art
Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art is a safe space on campus for LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty. The museum acts on the belief that art illuminates our lives and creates a more humane world. We seek to amplify underrepresented narratives and provide a safe space for these stories, creatives, and artists. If you are interested in learning about queer artists represented in our museum collection, email us at museum@stmarys-ca.edu. Visit our pop-up gallery in Brother Jerome West to see MoA serigraphs by queer alumna Lisa Congdon.
Student Disabilities Services (SDS)
The SDS reception area (FAH 190) as well as the HP/SDS Student Lounge near the restrooms is available for students to have a quiet and supportive space to hang out. We also have a gender-neutral restroom. Various office doors within the FAH 190 office have Safe Zone signage and there is a sign in the lobby that Everyone is Welcome Here. We are putting more signage up to help students know it is a safe space. Contact sds@stmarys-ca.edu.
Mission and Ministry Center
The Mission and Ministry Center has a lounge that is open to all people to study, rest, eat, and be in community. Grounded in the Lasallian 5 Core Principles, MMC staff members actively affirm the human dignity and sacredness of all persons. Contact Carrie Davis, Director of the Mission and Ministry Center, cak6@stmarys-ca.edu.
VP for Student Life Office
VP for Student Life Office is a safe space stickers/placards and welcoming atmosphere. Couches, fidgets, snacks, coffee; business hours, and a quiet place to study. Ferroggiaro Hall #202. Contact Jim Sciuto (jsciuto@stmarys-ca.edu) with student assistants at suite front desk.
Title IX Officer
The Title IX Support & Compliance Offices has Resources, Supportive Measures, and Resolution Options to assist students and employees that have experienced, or have concerns about, sex/gender/sexual orientation discrimination or harassment on-campus or by any of our campus members. Visually inclusive, the office itself are designed to ensure students and employees can report any experiences related to bias, and I have specific resources and options to assist any students who may experience sex/gender/sexual orientation discrimination (Title IX). Contact Jess Varga - jev7@stmarys-ca.edu, Dante 112.
The STEM Center
The STEM Center is intended to foster an inclusive, welcoming community of STEM students. Students of all genders and orientations are welcome, and the tutors and staff work to make sure that all students are supported. Anti-bias training is provided to all tutors and language to this effect is included in our guidelines. If students ever have any problems at all, we encourage them to reach out to Karen Ruff (director, kmr20) and Magaly Arias-Lobatos (coordinator, ma19).
The Student Media Center
The Student Media Center in Sichel Hall is a study lounge and hybrid screening/editing lab available to all students. The lounge is open. Contact Jason Jakaitis, 415-238-2243.
The Center for Writing Across the Curriculum (CWAC) and the Tutoring & Academic Skills Center (TASC)
CWAC and TASC are located in De La Salle Hall, Room 110. There's a rainbow safe space placard on the door, and another in the main space.
Ethnic Studies Department
The Ethnic Studies Department is a part of, and stands, with the LGBTQ + community at SMC and beyond. Contact Michael Viola, mjv7@stmarys-ca.edu.
The Theatre Program
The Theatre Program, our classes, and our spaces, including the LeFevre Theatre, are an LGBTQIA+ affirming community. The "Safe Space" logo in the LeFevre Theatre, introductions always include pronouns, the many Queer community members who work with us daily. Many of our faculty and staff are themselves queer-identified. The rest are staunch allies. Any of us would be a safe person to talk to.
The Psychology Department
The Psychology Department is committed to celebrating and supporting the LGBTQIA community through our course offerings as well as all of our personal interactions with community members. Please feel free to use the Psychology Lounge for socializing, studying, or just hanging out!
Collegiate Seminar & Jan Term Office
Collegiate Seminar & January Term Office (Korth Tower) welcomes all students needing someone to talk with, vent to, figure out resources with, or if they just need a place to collect themselves, we are here. Contact Melissa Benham, mrb15@stmarys-ca.edu or Claire Williams cmw9@stmarys-ca.edu.
The School of Arts & Science Grad Operations Office
The School of Arts & Science Grad Operations Office always welcomes students (grad or undergrad) from across campus who are looking for a space to be authentic, open, and hang out. We're a welcoming place always looking to support others however we can! Stop by Dante 202.
Women's & Gender Studies
WaGS welcomes and supports students, staff, and faculty from the LGBTQIA community and encourages students to take our classes and become majors and minors.
The Career Center
The Career Center welcomes and supports every student in their professional development during college and beyond. We encourage students to honor their unique identities and experiences, and we value the diverse perspectives they bring to the workforce. Contact Hilarie O'Connor, Assistant Director, ho9@stmarys-ca.edu or stop by Ferroggiaro 2nd floor, Office #203B or the Career Center Annex downstairs.
The Legacy Garden
The Legacy Garden is a place where community connects with nature and is intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations. The Legacy Garden has a rainbow and pink triangle sign to designate the space as a safe space. Contact smcsustainability@stmarys-ca.edu.
Facilities Services and the Soda Activity Center
All are welcome in Facilities Services and the Soda Activity Center. We aim to treat everyone with respect and a high level of service in all of our interactions. Contact Karen Cresci, klc30@stmarys-ca.edu.
Supportive Faculty and Staff
Amy Braun
aeb26@stmarys-ca.edu : I'm a member of the queer community and contribute to queer and trans affirming music and art scenes locally. I have expertise in the biology of sex and the neuroscience of gender and sexuality. In addition to providing general social and emotional support, I enjoy equipping queer, trans, nonbinary, and intersex people with a nuanced biological understanding of sex and gender that helps them refute overly simplistic essentialist arguments that are used to undermine and invalidate them.
Shannon Davis
srd16@stmarys-ca.edu : Queer professor offering a Queer, liberated space. Office 6. The whole theatre dept is a safe space. Most of us already found each other here.
Lt. Lyla Lauren
I believe that people have the right to be who they want to be in this life, and the world should not determine your path. Be proud of who you are and move forward in life. Stand in your authentic power and be a strong force. I know that ally ship is a wonderful gift to embrace, so don't be afraid. Throughout my life, I have faced discrimination. However, I have never allowed it to hinder my progress. This is your life, so live it as you see fit. Life is meant to be created in the way you desire, so take charge and create the life you want.
Mitchell R. Foster
Mitchell uses they/them/siya pronouns and centers their work in community building through vulnerability, transparency and accountability. Having been born, raised and educated in the Philippines, their work is rooted in Filipino concepts and ideology, one of which is kapwa which places importance on the recognition of oneself in another. As the Director of the Intercultural Center, Mitchell centers their work in queer and feminist theories, and multiracial studies, and indigenous ways of being inclusive of indigenous peoples from the Philippine Islands. They are interested in and have done work around transgender/non-binary identity education, Filipinx consciousness, bi/multiracial experiences, and spirituality outside & inclusive of organized world religions.
mcf12@stmarys-ca.edu (925) 631-4003
Sixto F. Montesinos
sfm5@stmarys-ca.edu: Our music program at Saint Mary's is a safe, inclusive, and supportive space for all students. We celebrate diversity in all its forms—race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, religion, and background—and are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. Here, you can express yourself freely, collaborate openly, and grow as both a musician and a human being. Hate, discrimination, and exclusion have no place in our community. Music brings people together—and so do we.
Matthew Zapruder
mjz4@stmarys-ca.edu: Our MFA program actively welcomes LGBTQ+ individuals, and I would be glad to talk with any student about their writing and their lives, to recommend reading and lend them books, to connect them with other LGBTQ+ students and supportive communities on campus, etc. LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty are welcome and safe here!
José Feito
I am the current Chair of the Psychology department as well as of the Queeries committee. I teach courses that center and celebrate the queer experience e.g. The Psychology of Gender PSY332, Human Sexualities PSY333 and Queer Theories WGS311. Please feel free to stop by my office PSY116 to say hello anytime.
And more...
Maria Grazia De Angelis - mdeangel@stmarys-ca.edu
Sarah Beth Dempsey - sdd4@stmarys-ca.edu
Julie Ford - jaf17@stmarys-ca.edu
Jenyth Gearhart-Utchen - jjg13@stmarys-ca.edu
Meredith Hawkins - mah40@stmarys-ca.edu
Cathleen Huston - cwh4@stmarys-ca.edu GV 209
Ana Ramirez - amr18@stmarys-ca.edu GV 209
Grant Rozeboom - gjr5@stmarys-ca.edu Power Plant 112
Claire Williams - cmw9@stmarys-ca.edu
LGBTQ Activism Archives
The San Francisco LGBT Community Center. 415-865-5555, www.sfcenter.orgThe Pacific Center in Berkeley. 510-548-8283, www.pacificcenter.org.
Rainbow Center builds community, equity, & well-being among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, asexual or agender, and two-spirit (LGBTQIA2S+) people & our allies in the Bay Area.
In Their Own Words: Paul Giurlanda
Ambassador Miguel H. Diaz: "God, Mysticism, and Queer Sexuality" (2023)
Ambassador Miguel H. Diaz: "God, Mysticism, and Queer Sexuality" | Saint Mary's College
Dr. Díaz, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2009 to 2012, is the first and only theologian to serve in the role. His talk is rooted in his most recent book, Queer God de Amor (Fordham Press, 2022), in which he explores the mystery of God and the relationship between divine and human persons by turning to the writings of St. John of the Cross. This is the first lecture in our Doing Theology Latinamente Speaker Series. Sponsored by Theology & Religious Studies, and Mission and Ministry Center.
Native American and Indigenous Student Association Discusses Two-Spirit and Queer Native Culture (November 2020)
Dr. Lauren Esposito Talks About STEM and Inclusion (March 2019)
Dr. Lauren Esposito Talks About STEM and Inclusion | Saint Mary's College
Autistic Disability Rights Activist Lydia X. Z. Brown to Speak at St. Mary's College (January 2021)
Since 1995, we have been offering support & social opportunities to the LGBTQIA+ community & its allies.
Hotlines include:
The GLBT National Health Center at 1-888-843-4564 or 1-800-246-7743 (National Youth Talkline)
The Trevor Project, a 24/7 suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQIA (including questioning) youth.
TimelyCare offers students a 24/7 extension of Saint Mary's College medical and counseling resources that is as easy and convenient as making a video or phone call. As part of SMC’s efforts to prioritize the health and well-being of our campus, students now have free and immediate access to medical and mental health support.
The Queer and Questioning Support Group meets in the Counseling Center. The group is a safe, confidential place for LGBTQIA students to discuss issues related to sexuality and gender. The goal is to create a sense of community and support and to provide a forum to meet others who are thinking about these subjects. Stop by the Counseling Center (in Augustine Hall) or call x4364 for more information.
2025 Drag Show May 6th, 7pm PST
St. Mary’s College in Moraga one of most LGBT-friendly (2022)
St. Mary's College in Moraga one of most LGBT-friendly - California Catholic Daily
Saint Mary's College of California Acknowledges National Coming Out Day (October 2021)
Saint Mary's College of California Acknowledges National Coming Out Day | Saint Mary's College
Community Photos
Queer Community at SMC
