Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) of Massachusetts is hold it’s annual conference on Saturday, March 30, 2013 at MIT in Cambridge. The conference is an opportunity for more than 200 students and educators to spend a day building community and sharing resources for creating safer, more affirming schools for LGBT youth, educators, and allies throughout the Commonwealth. GLSEN Massachusetts announced that Alex Newell and David Wilson will be the conference keynote speakers. Registration and additional information can be found online at www.glsenmassachusetts.org.
Alex Newell has gone from regular high school student, to appearing on one of the hottest series on television - putting him into the national limelight. Fierce, dynamic, and wildly talented, Newell is one of those great talents that comes around once in a lifetime. Newell can currently be seen with the recurring role of “Wade ʻUniqueʼ Adams” on FOXʼs “Glee,” and he has quickly become a fan favorite on the show. Newell shines as shy, timid, outcast Wade, and his alter-ego Unique, whose bold and daring personality and talent on stage demands attention in every scene she is in
Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Newell grew up in the small town of Lynn, about thirty minutes north of Boston. Newell notes that although his neighborhood was rough growing up, it was a melting pot of culture. He was exposed to dozens of different races, religions, and fine arts from a very young age, something that would help fine tune who he is today and what his career goals would be in the future.
Newell is a role model and inspiration for LGBT teens worldwide. His personal goals include giving people motivation to be whoever they are, no matter how different, and to never change for anyone.
David Wilson was born and raised in Boston, MA. David graduated from the Boston Public Schools and Northeastern University with an undergraduate and Master’s degree in Business Management. As a parent, grandparent and out gay, African American man, David has been a role model, mentor, advocate and activist for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender community for over twenty years.
David and his husband, Rob Compton, were one of the seven, same-sex plaintiff couples that sued the Commonwealth of MA for the legal right to marry. After a favorable Supreme Judicial Court decision in 2003, David and Rob were one of the first couples to legally marry in the United States on May 17th, 2004.
