Towards a Trans Utopia: Documenting Trans Joy to Reimagine the Present and Future

Join us this June for the 2026 Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD) Pride Forum, a celebration of Pride Month.

Grounded in the visionary framework of José Esteban Muñoz’s Cruising Utopia, Dr. Z Nicolazzo, Rabbi Abby Stein, and Dr. Darin M.L. Stewart will explore radical trans futurity amidst intense political and social backlash. Moving beyond the rhetoric of mere inclusion, the conversation will critically examine how transgender individuals and communities can navigate the stark realities of "interest divergence" within modern institutions. Together, the panelists will highlight strategies for not only surviving the present moment but actively forging a liberated, utopian future.

This conversation will be moderated by Maddie Soufleris, PhD student at GSEHD. 

About Dr. Z Nicolazzo:

Dr. Z Nicolazzo is the Interim Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in the College of Education and a professor of Trans* Studies in Education at the University of Arizona. Her scholarly work focuses on discourses of gender in educational contexts, with particular attention to how those discourses influence life chances and educational opportunities for trans students, faculty, and staff. She is the author of Trans in College: Transgender Students’ Strategies for Navigating Campus Life and the Institutional Politics of Inclusion and co-author and co-editor of several texts including Digital Me: Trans Students Exploring Future Possible Selves Online, Becoming in Global Trans Studies: Critical Approaches to Educational Theory, Methodology, Ethics, and Politics, and Weaving an Otherwise: In-Relations Methodological Practice. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting, playing with her precocious dog, and cooking and baking.

About Rabbi Abby Stein:

Abby Stein is a Jewish educator and rabbi, award winning author, speaker, and activist. She was born and raised in a Hasidic family of rabbinic descent, and is a direct descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Abby attended Yeshiva, completing a rabbinical degree in 2011. In 2012, she left the Hasidic world to explore a self-determined life. In 2015 Abby came out as a woman of trans experience. Since coming out, she has been working to raise support and awareness for trans rights and those leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy. Her memoir Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman was published by Seal Press in November 2019. Her second book, Sources of Pride, is forthcoming and will be published by Ben Yehudah Press.

About Dr. Darin M.L. Stewart:

Dr. Darin M. L. Stewart is Professor of Higher Education in the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver. At the end of his 25-year academic career across multiple institutions, Dr. Stewart has received numerous awards and is widely acknowledged as one of the foremost scholars in the field of higher education studies. Their research and writing has covered the philosophy and history of [insert illegal stuff here] in U.S. higher education, how U.S. colleges and universities (dis)engage with [that illegal stuff], and the learning and becoming of minoritized college students through intersectional lenses, including spirituality, religion, and faith. His work has intentionally centered BIPOC, QT, and QTBIPOC identities, knowledges, and experiences as intellectually compelling, spiritually meaningful, and morally demanding. 

About Maddie Soufleris (moderator):

Maddie Soufleris (they/she) is a PhD student in Education with a concentration in Education & Inequality at the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development and serves as the Assistant Director of Residential Case Management within the CARE team at GW. They graduated with their M.A. in Higher Education Administration with a focus in Social Justice from GW in May of 2025. Maddie’s work and research center on trans epistemologies, queer and trans inclusion in higher education, and building systems of care that support marginalized students. Outside of work and research, they are passionate about creating spaces where queer community, authenticity, and connection can thrive, whether that be in higher education settings or through their work bartending in DC’s lesbian nightlife community. They are especially interested in how community care, joy, and belonging can serve as forms of resistance and transformation.

This event is part of the George Washington University Seminar titled, "Intersectional Masculinities: At the Junction of Multiculturalism and Patriarch," which is sponsored via support of the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. It is co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences' Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office, the Elliott School Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the GW Office of Community, Culture and Inclusion, and the GW Multicultural Student Services Center.

This program is open to all students and members of the GW community, as well as outside guests who wish to attend. Participation is not limited based on any individual’s personal identity, characteristics or viewpoint.​​​​​​