Diana Bruce

Gender Justice

As our understanding of gender identity evolves, so must our organizations, be they non-profits, schools, government agencies, small businesses or corporations. Let me collaborate with you to build an understanding for the need for a more gender inclusive place to learn and work, and then work with you to disrupt disempowering practices and replace them with more affirming ways in which we can show up for each other and each of us can show up as our true selves.

Building Capacity

When it comes to building the skills to do the job, people learn in so many ways. Let me collaborate with you to train and provide technical assistance for your team or facilitate your retreats. From transgender rights to school health, I will meet your team where they are, and we can build from there.

Health and Education Equity

Our health and education attainment are intertwined, and we can’t have one without the other. We know that healthier students learn better, and that schools have an opportunity to advance education equity by removing barriers to health. Let me collaborate with you to design bold, student-centered, school health policies and programs that advance academic success through school health services, using equity as our non-negotihtble lens.

Strategizing

Planning is hard. Let me step in to collaborate with you, as we take the plunge and explore the ways in which your school or organization is thriving, ways it can improve, and the steps needed to take it to the next level. Whether you want to develop a policy or program, I can work with you as you dare to do better.

About Me

For the past 25+ years, I’ve advanced health and education access and equity through school health, reproductive health, HIV/STI prevention, sexuality education and LGBTQ advocacy. I am an expert at navigating Title IX, FERPA, HIPPA and Section 504 to advance equity for young people, and have participated in a number of friends-of-the-court briefs before federal courts on behalf of transgender students. Along the way, I’ve developed an approach to my work that helps schools and organizations. I build radical empathy, pair it with sound public policy, engage the community of experts that can enact change, and together identify a student-centered solution. Today, I use this approach as I consult with schools and organizations across the country.

Under my leadership as Director of Health and Wellness for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) from 2008-2019, we improved attendance and graduation rates for expectant and parenting students, supporting them in delaying subsequent pregnancies until after high school. We developed the nationally recognized DCPS Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Policy Guidance, and oversaw the training of more than 5,000 school staff. We removed regulatory barriers to allow school-based health centers to dispense medication, including contraception. We ensured 100% of schools had staff trained to administer medication to students and Epi-pens on site. Bottom line, I worked tirelessly to build collaborations with community partners so we could uncover the gaps that left our students without supports, and transformed bureaucratic systems to increase access to health services and academic opportunities. I want to do the same for you!

Before DCPS, I advanced federal policy efforts for national membership organizations on HIV/AIDS prevention, sex education and reproductive health, and served as an interim executive director. Raised on the U.S./Mexico border, I stayed home for college, earning a Bachelor’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso. I then moved to NYC to follow my passion for public policy, earning a Master’s in Public Administration and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

When not advising schools and organizations, parenting my two amazing teenagers is my focus, along with teaching yoga from an equity framework, leading as Youth Chair and Board Member of the Stonewall National Museum and Archives and mentoring women new in their careers through the Women’s Information Network Advisory Council in DC. My pronouns are she/her/hers.

Contact

I would love to hear from you! Learn how we can work together to build a more inclusive place to learn or work.

Let's connect!