Don’t Dim Your Light: Queer Leadership and Being Yourself at Work | Ep. 226 (with Di'Andre Davenport)
Di’Andre Davenport has built a career around helping young people find opportunities to lead. A first-generation master’s graduate from Paterson, New Jersey, he talks with Bryan about civic engagement, the mentors who recognized his strengths, and what it means to build a professional life without hiding his identity as a Black gay man.
Their conversation moves from the joy of Di’Andre’s first Pride to a homophobic comment on a university video that briefly made him want to hide. Di’Andre reflects on how the university responded, and why every student and staff member deserves the same support, whether or not they are well known on campus. He and Bryan also question who gets to define “professional,” from colorful clothes and blue braids to the questions queer people can ask in a job interview.
In this episode, you will:
- Hear how mentors helped Di’Andre turn his strengths into a role he created at William Paterson University.
- Consider what meaningful institutional support looks like when a queer staff member faces harassment.
- Explore how personal style and authenticity can shape queer leadership at work.
Di’Andre’s story asks educators and leaders to notice both the people coming into their own and the conditions that allow them to do so openly. It is a conversation about making room for the next person to show up as themselves.
Queering Education is a Teaching While Queer podcast centering LGBTQ+ educators and the real-world realities of teaching while queer. We explore queer representation in education, including burnout, tokenism, doxing, visibility, boundaries, and advocacy for inclusive classrooms, safe schools, and anti-bullying practices.
This podcast supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, asexual, aromantic, agender, and two-spirit teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to reduce isolation, protect educators, and build community.
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Keywords: Teaching While Queer, queer educators, LGBTQ teachers, inclusive education, gender identity in schools, safe classrooms, anti-bullying strategies, educator burnout, LGBTQ advocacy, queer visibility in education