I am one of the founding board members of the Queer and Trans Graduate Student Union (QTGSU) at UC Santa Barbara. The QTGSU, founded in spring 2018, is the first graduate student organization for LGBTQIA+ students and is now the largest graduate student affinity organization on campus with over 150 members. The QTGSU represents students from departments all across campus, including STEM disciplines as well as the Humanities, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences.
I first served as QTGSU Treasurer and later as Vice President. During my tenure as a board member, I shared responsibility for planning and implementing events that range from social meetups to Envisioning LGBTQIA Wellbeing: An Interdisciplinary Conference, hosted by the QTGSU in 2018. We also created a mini grant program. Designed to have minimal barriers between the applicant and the support, the QTGSU mini grant provides vital emergency financial assistance to queer and trans students in need. However small, the mini grant program supplies much needed relief to LGBTQIA+ students at UCSB, many of whom are struggling financially due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An important aspect of my work with the QTGSU involved strengthening ties with other institutions on campus, particularly the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (RCSGD). I worked closely with the RCSGD staff starting in spring 2018 to revive their LGBT Mentorship Program. I fought for the formation of and sat on the formal committee governing this program for over a year. Throughout my time there, the committee developed a workflow that ensures the success and stability of the program for years to come. I have since participated in the program twice as a mentor.
During the 2021-2022 academic year, I served as one of two Graduate Student Representatives in the Linguistics Department at UCSB. Grad Reps act as liaisons between faculty and graduate students. We participate in faculty meetings, manage feedback from graduate students, advocate for graduate student needs, among other duties.
The UCSB Graduate Student Association recognized my contributions to graduate student life with the Dixon Levy Service Award in 2020.
Chloe Willis 