Changemaking leadership: building LGBTQIA+ connection at MSU Denver 

What do LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff members need to feel connected and supported at work? 

That’s the question Tyrell Allen, director of the LGBTQ Student Resource Center at Auraria, and K Scherrer, Ph.D., professor of Social Work and Faculty Fellow in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, set out to answer when they founded the Queer Faculty and Staff Collective in 2023. 

Rather than start with a plan, Allen and Scherrer began listening. They hosted a series of conversations with the Metropolitan State University of Denver community to better understand what LGBTQIA+ employees needed. 

From those sessions, five core goals emerged: 

• Organizing social, networking and educational events that meet member needs. 

• Providing opportunities for advocacy and dialogue around policy and practice. 

• Strengthening institutional resources on LGBTQIA+ issues. 

• Supporting employees’ professional development. 

• Collaborating with campus partners to improve employee satisfaction and retention. 

To bring those goals to life, Allen and Scherrer prioritized sustainable, shared leadership. They helped draft bylaws and formed a Leadership Council with co-chairs and committee leads across four focus areas: advocacy, engagement, governance and membership. 

The result is a thriving affinity group with a clear mission and collaborative structure. In April, the QFSC’s Leadership Council received a 2025 Team Roadrunner Award for building an inclusive community and advancing meaningful change for LGBTQIA+ employees. 

“In my role at the LGBTQ Student Resource Center, I’ve seen how often faculty and staff members are looking for community, for spaces to connect and talk about issues that matter to them,” Allen said.

“Before the collective, there weren’t many consistent opportunities for that. I’ve really appreciated how this group has become a home for those conversations and initiatives — a space that wasn’t mine to create through the Student Resource Center alone but one our community clearly needed.” 

Leading with community and care 

Members say the QFSC’s strongest impact is the sense of connection it fosters. 

“We’ve been able to bring together folks from a variety of different backgrounds — professionally, generationally and through lived experience — throughout the institution,” Allen said. “I’ve really appreciated the ways that some of our more experienced staff and faculty members have come in and helped be different possibility models for the newer staff and faculty members.” 

The group also makes intentional space for joy, a value that members say is central to its culture. 

“There’s something really joyful about being in community with folks with some shared identities and experiences — to really relax and to let our hair down together,” Scherrer said. 

Evolving leadership, a sign of growth 

This year, the QFSC held its first elections, establishing a rotating leadership model to support continuity as the group evolves. 

Allen’s term as co-chair concludes at the end of June. Scherrer will continue in the role alongside incoming Co-Chair Andrew McGeehan, associate dean of students. 

“We’re still coalescing around our new leadership team,” Scherrer said. “But we have a little bit more space now that some of those more structural components are established to do more visioning work.” 

The 2025-27 QFSC Leadership Council includes a mix of new and returning members: 

Incoming and continuing leadership (starting in July): 

• McGeehan (he/him) – Governance Committee lead (2024-25), co-chair (2025-27) 

• Ashly Carrera (she/her/ella) – Engagement Committee lead (2024-27) 

• Codi Whittington (she/they) – Governance Committee lead (2025-27) 

• Joshua Harris (he/him) – Advocacy Committee lead (2025-27) 

• K Scherrer (they/them) – co-chair (2023-26) 

• Ryan McKenna (he/him) – Membership Committee lead (2024-27) 

Founding Leadership Council members finishing their terms: 

• Tyrell Allen (she/her) – co-chair (2023-25) 

• Jennifer Cheek (she/they) – Advocacy Committee lead (2024-25)