Jax Wokas, a high school student, was appointed to the Affirming and Inclusive Schools Task Force by Gov. JB Pritzker this week.
Wokas will serve as a co-chair of the panel, which was created by executive order. The task force will recommend ways to make public schools safer and welcoming for transgender or gender-nonconforming students, or those who see themselves as not exclusively male or female.
“Public education is a right for all of our children, no matter their citizenship, race, sexual orientation or gender identity, and this task force will help ensure that our state always lives up to those values,” Pritzker said in a prepared statement. “The incredible group of leaders on this task force will focus on disrupting the patterns of discrimination we see too often in our schools and work toward guaranteeing inclusive school environments for students of all gender identities.”
The members are tasked with providing the governor with a report outlining the legal rights of “transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming students” and strategies for providing such public school students with a supportive and inclusive environment.
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Affirming and Inclusive Schools Task Force
| Task Force Appointee | Home City |
| Darren Reisberg, Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education, Co-Chair | Chicago |
| Jax Wokas, current high school student, Co-Chair | Naperville |
| Emily Jade Aguilar, recent high school graduate | Chicago |
| Nicki Bazer, Attorney at Franczek P.C. | Chicago |
| Amy Biancheri, Teacher at Batavia High School | Batavia |
| Keith Brown, Principal of Illini Bluffs High School | Glasford |
| Marcus Campbell, Assistant Superintendent/Principal at Evanston Township High School | Evanston |
| Ginger Colamussi, Prevention & Wellness Coordinator at Oak Park and River Forest High School | Oak Park |
| Brian Coleman, Counseling Department Chair at Jones College Prep | Chicago |
| Myles Brady Davis, Director of Communications and Press Secretary at Equality Illinois | Chicago |
| Meghan Duffy, Principal at Audubon Elementary School | Chicago |
| Nat Duran, Youth Engagement Manager at Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, a program of Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago | Chicago |
| Jordon Eason, recent high school graduate | Chicago |
| Jennifer Gill, Superintendent of Springfield Public Schools | Springfield |
| Jamie Gliksberg, Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal | Chicago |
| Benton Goff, recent high school graduate | Carbondale |
| Tre Graham, current high school student | Marion |
| Ghirlandi Guidetti, Staff Attorney at ACLU | Chicago |
| AJ Jennings, Teacher at University of Chicago Laboratory Schools | Chicago |
| Jennifer Leininger, Associate Director of Community Programs and Initiatives at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago | Chicago |
| Betsey Madden, Chief Legal Counsel & Ethics Officer at the Illinois Department of Human Rights | Chicago |
| E Marshall, Sexual Health Project Manager at the Chicago Public Schools Office of Student Health and Wellness | Chicago |
| Veronica Noland, School Board Member at Elgin School District U-46 | Elgin |
| Channyn Parker, Manager of Strategic Partnerships and External Relations at Howard Brown Health Center | Chicago |
| Charlie Wysong, Attorney at Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. | Chicago |
| Mika Yamamoto, parent | Chicago |
| Jordee Yanez, graduate student at the Illinois State University School of Social Work | Springfield |
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