Navigating College Admissions as a Transgender Student

For parents, students, mental health providers and guidance counselors 

Searching for colleges that are a good fit for transgender students can be overwhelming. The focus is on finding campuses that are inclusive, supportive, and welcoming. This is complicated by the current political climate which has resulted in legislative changes in many states throughout the country, some of which are restricting the rights of transgender individuals. At this virtual workshop, we will discuss how to find campuses that can support and meet the needs of transgender students.  We will address how prospective transgender students can assess whether or not a school is a good fit. Participants will leave this interactive workshop with the skills to determine how safe and affirming a school will be and how to navigate the admissions process for transgender students. 

Tuesday, May 9th 8pm-9:30pm (EST), 5pm to 6:30pm (PST)

Presenters/Facilitators:

Lisa Dube, MSW, LICSW (she/her) of Merrimack River Wellness in Newburyport, MA

Carolyn Caplan, (she/her) Independent Educational Consultant and founder of AdmissionsMom

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Lisa has been a licensed clinical social worker since 1995. Prior to opening her private practice, Lisa worked for the U.S. District Court for more than twenty years, as a treatment specialist.  In 2018, she established a private practice focused on the needs of families and individuals navigating gender identity exploration and transition. Over the last few years, Lisa has become passionate about the intersectionality of gender and neurodivergence, and has received extensive training in the neurodiversity affirming paradigm. She is World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) certified, and has also completed a year-long intensive in working with families. More recently, Lisa has completed Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 1 & 2 training and has brought this lens into her practice.  She currently facilitates several groups for parents and for young adults, many of whom are navigating the college journey. Lisa is licensed to provide clinical services in Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

Carolyn Caplan has more than 35 years of experience as a classroom teacher, 33 years of experience as a mother of three mostly flown and grown young adults (including her amazing and magical trans daughter), and seven years of experience as a college admissions consultant. She's also known as "AdmissionsMom" on the subreddit r/ApplyingToCollege, where there are over 1,00,000,000 members of the community. Carolyn's focus is on creating opportunities for teens and parents to embrace the amazing opportunities the transitional transformation of college admissions offers parents and their children, and finding joy and connection in the journey while processing and understanding the stress that accompanies it. Carolyn especially enjoys working with transgender students in helping them reach their full potential while they discover colleges where they can be safe and supported as they learn more about themselves and grow into the adult humans they are meant to be.