Samuel Neil Byrd, MTS, MEd

Samuel Byrd (any pronouns) is a QT identifying Gender and Sexuality educator, consultant, and national board-certified counselor originally from rural Appalachia. As a first-generation professional, Samuel has worked over a decade to expand access to education, to support primary care and mental health and wellbeing, and to dismantle systems of oppression. Over the years, Samuel has served as a public school teacher, college counselor and lecturer, interfaith chaplain, lobbyist, and community activist.

Samuel received their undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, a Master of Education from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a Master of Theological Studies from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. Whether in the halls of Vatican City, in legislative chambers on Capitol Hill, or in the classroom, Samuel advocates for underrepresented communities and promotes social transformation through a radical and enthusiastic practice of inclusion. Samuel's research interests are at the intersections of queer, womanist, and postcolonial thought, organizational praxis, and historical analysis of ancient civilizations.

Samuel currently is the Director of the Yale LGBTQ Center and serves as a senior diversity leader of numerous initiatives that promote a transformative and inclusive environment at Yale University.