Director Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Email: kelsey.o’neil@uconn.edu Appointments: https://calendly.com/koneil

Kelsey A. O’Neil joined UConn in the summer of 2018 to serve as the Director of the Rainbow Center; the University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexuality (LGBTQIA+) resource center. As the director, Kelsey serves as the leader in campus inclusionary efforts.  They are charged with planning, organizing, and administering programs designed to provide awareness and understanding of LGBTQIA+ issues, social support for student constituents, and assistance in achieving their professional, educational, and personal goals. Kelsey identifies as a trans masculine, queer, higher educational professional. Within their professional work they are interested in transformational leadership and mentoring programs.  Kelsey came to UConn from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH where they previously served as the Assistant Director for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. In their free time Kelsey enjoys exploring the outdoors with their dogs, Layla and Beau. They love kayaking, hiking and the ocean. Kelsey is also a foodie and is always up for trying a new recipe.

Assistant Director Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Email: ian.shick@uconn.edu Appointments: https://calendly.com/ishick

As the Assistant Director for the Rainbow Center, Ian works to ensure LGBTQ students have a safe place to express themselves and find success at the University of Connecticut. They support the Director in the development of the Center’s Programming and have a personal passion for Interfaith work, mutual aid development, and gender theory. Ian is new to the University, joining the team in Sept. 2023, and is excited to bring their experience to UConn.

Before their work at UConn, they served as the inaugural Assistant Director for LGBTQ+ Resources at the Myatt Center – University of New Haven where they established a formal celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month and Native American Heritage Month Celebration and was the lead program developer for the center. They have also served as the inaugural Education and Training Coordinator at the Q Center, the LGBTQ Resource Center at Binghamton University, developing LGBTQ+ Training and Education Programs for the entire University Community.

Ian is originally from Buffalo, NY, and attended the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) where they received a B.S. in Paper Science and Engineering. They graduated in 2020, from Binghamton University, with an M.S. in Student Affairs Administration and a Master’s of Public Administration with a focus in Nonprofit Management and Genocide & Mass Atrocity Prevention. They are a lover of all things *gender* and are deeply invested in queer history and media across all genres. When not in the center you can find them reading manga, thinking about philosophy, and jamming out to Ska and Midwest Punk.